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È Komo Mai
15-19 September 2008
AGM and HAWAI’I Educational Report
by Beverley Auerbach, Director of Marketing - Americas.
WITIA went exploring on the Big Island of Hawaii between 15-19 September 2008, in a program set up by WITIA members who live in this little bit of paradise. My husband Bart and I were among those who arrived a day early to look around – our first time on the Big Island.
From the start, we knew this experience would be special. Leaving Hilo airport by van, we drove along darkened, near-deserted roads lit by street lights that cast a muted orange glow. This downward lighting shields the night sky from light pollution, since the famous Mauna Kea Observatory is located here. But the effect as you’re driving is warm and intimate, like the night air or like the people who make their homes on this volcanic isle far out in the Pacific. Headlights showed us the road – but what we didn’t see would amaze us later.
Our home for the first several nights was Uncle Billy’s Hilo Bay Hotel, comfortable and unpretentious until we opened our lanai doors and saw the million dollar view – midnight ocean crashing in on the black lava shore just footsteps away. It poured, conveniently when we were under cover, but Hilo is on the wet side of the island and it would come down in brief, roping streams many times during our stay. It was breezy enough not to need the air conditioning – we slept with the door ajar, lulled by the rhythms of rain and surf.
Our first excursion was shopping at Hilo Hattie’s. This state-wide retailer will pick you up and drop you back for free, knowing that you’ll come away with Aloha wear that is just the ticket for the islands but possibly over the top for back home. I resisted the bright tropical colors but not the styles – it is probably mandated that every tourist buy a Hawaiian shirt or dress, but I drew the line at flower headbands and ukuleles. Through the day there were happy reunions with ohana – “family”, WITIA members from near and far, and by evening everyone showed up for the WITIA-sponsored cocktail party under the stars. Only it poured, so it was a cocktail party in the bar – Hilo Hattie fashions and shell and flower leis in great abundance. Our gracious Hawaiian members organized a little silent auction – who could resist another shopping opportunity?
“Get the business out of the way fast” might have been the motto for our next morning’s Annual General Meeting. Without contentious issues, contested races or by -law debates, we agreed to meet in Beijing next year, keep our dues at the same low level, and ratify our incoming Board members. How easy was that? Meanwhile we were welcomed by George Applegate of the Big Island Visitors Bureau and a representative of Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim, who was recovering from a heart attack suffered a few days earlier – apparently not related to the prospect of seeing us. But others were continuously surprised at the composition of our group – we mainlanders didn’t spark the same interest as the many Australians, Nigerians and even Gaynor McLachlan from Scotland, whose charming brogue brought a twinkle to the Hawaiian eye.
After lunch, we started our quintessential Hawaiian touring, and what could be more Hawaiian than the transplanted Australian macadamia nut covered with chocolate? At Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Factory, we viewed the factory process and learned about the nut that changed an empire. Or started a civilization. Or at the very least gave sustenance to foraging pigs, and in the process improved their pork beyond calculation. We would later discover on our own that there is almost no food that Hawaiians deem incompatible with macadamia nuts. It is a truth beyond dispute, and to prove it, we were plied with these tempting globules on many occasions. I recommend an active vacation in Hawaii if only to counteract the macadamias.
Southward we drove to the Akatsuka Orchid Gardens to view a profusion of sometimes flamboyant, sometimes delicate orchids of every hue and size, 100,000 of which were displayed under acres of greenhouse. You could blissfully lose yourself in orchids. Did you know that orchids can have fragrances from divine to feh! They can even smell like chocolate-covered macadamia nuts, or let’s say macadamia-encrusted mahi mahi. With the afternoon fading, we left for nearby Volcano National Park, with our arrival timed to catch the smoky lava glow emerging from Kilauea caldera. The park is well-forested, but when you get to the actual caldera area, it is an enormous, ash-colored wasteland. An interpretive exhibit as well as a very conversant Park Ranger made this a fascinating stop.
For dinner we went up to the Kilauea Military Camp, located within the wilderness of Volcano National Park, sort of a summer camp for armed forces with a rustic dining hall and abundant food and drink. This was the only time in Hawaii when we felt cold but nonetheless privileged because you can’t come here without an express invitation from someone in the military. Afterwards we went to a lecture in a nearby facility on “After Dark in the Park,” but here’s my confession: the topic wasn’t as advertised but it didn’t make any difference. It was too after dark, after too many macadamia nuts, in too comfortable a chair. In those brief moments when I managed to surface through the barrier of consciousness, I noticed that my fellow travelers were mostly dead to the world.
We left Uncle Billy’s the next day to explore north and west. First stop was Hilo town, set well back from the ocean because past disastrous tsunamis have suggested advantageous changes to building codes.
I bring this up because my adopted home is Southern California, where no amount of recurring disasters can break the determination to rebuild on the exact same spot. Hilo is quaint, low level, with a feel of 1950’s era small-town America. Opie might step out, except he’d have dreads and be carrying a surfboard. We went to the weekly farmer’s market for fresh and exotic produce, great guacamole and fruit, excellent local ceviche called poke (POH-kay), and … macadamia nut treats! We stocked up for lunch but stopped first at the Imiloa Astronomy Center right in Hilo.
If you take nothing else from this account, pay attention here! Imiloa was a wonderful interactive experience for both adults and kids – a scientific, historical and spiritual odyssey, and you should allow yourself three hours to read every inscription, see every film and pull every lever. Only a few years old, the facility is state of the art and takes you on a celestial journey. It lets you marvel that the first Polynesians actually arrived here over a barrier of thousands of miles of open ocean. Even more amazing – when they paddled away, they found their way back again. Once you could be lucky, but twice…
We drove to Waimea paniolo country in the north central highlands of Hawaii (you can’t cross the island in many places because multiple volcanoes, dormant and active, dot the interior). Contrary to visitor opinion, paniolos are not flaky desserts to be enjoyed with Kona coffee but the name for Hawaiian cowboys. Here in Waimea’s broad rolling pastureland arose the legends of the Wild West, Hawaii-style, with ranchers married to Hawaiian princesses, no fences and barns, and late night cookouts of macadamia-stuffed filet mignons over a solitary fire.
The most powerful beef barons were the Parker family, and they had the vast land holdings and much remodeled mansion to prove it. The last Parker, Richard Smart, was a retired Broadway musical star turned art collector turned rancher who liked to entertain the likes of John Wayne at the ranch house, now a state-owned museum. Today it is still a working ranch, the fifth largest in the United States, but tourists can horseback-ride, take ATV tours, visit their very good gift shop or just hang around the ponderosa admiring Impressionist art and the Chinese yellow-glazed porcelain collection.
The end of this wonderful day was at a wonderful place, the deluxe Waikoloa Beach Marriott. Surrounded by black lava that intersperses verdant golf courses, the resort not only has great amenities but a high-end shopping center close by for anyone’s retail fantasies. We had only one sleep here, with a wonderful dinner sponsored by the Big Island Visitors Bureau, but it seemed longer because we also had a rainless night and a delightful pool/Jacuzzi system that didn’t close.
The next day was devoted to going south down the Kailua-Kona coast.
We visited a Kona coffee farm with macadamia nut nibbles, a painted church to learn about Hawaii’s missionary past and ended up at Pu'uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park - The City of Refuge. This was an area where those who violated taboos in pre-missionary days could escape punishment, usually death. Ray Junior, our wonderful guide/driver from Roberts Hawaii Coach Company, spent a great deal of time teaching us to say Pu'uhonua O Honaunau as well as imparting much lore of the island. We especially liked the legend about the volcano goddess Pele abducting the handsome but reluctant Roberts Hawaii coach driver and turning him and his lover into the flowers on the ohi`a lehua tree, but Junior’s social and political commentary also made the destination come alive. He was, incidentally, a great fan of chocolate covered macadamia nuts and graciously shared everyone’s stashes.
Our last night was spent at the iconic Royal Kona in Kailua-Kona, the former Hilton now owned by the Hogan family of Pleasant Hawaii fame. We were treated to a luau supper with entertainment at the King Kamehameha Hotel, and then, wouldn’t you know it, it was all over in the morning. Some ohana actually went home to reality. Not us though!
Bart and I migrated further south to the beautiful Sheraton Keauhou, built on ancient lava flows that cascaded into the ocean, for some pure relaxation by their beautiful pools and golf course. This resort is one that features a nightly gig by manta rays. Seven pm sharp, four gentle mantas show up off the bar terrace to glide and pirouette through the waters while feeding – a mesmerizing sight as you look down into their spotless, cavernous mouths.
With five nights on our own, we enjoyed exploring the Kona/Kahala Coast, going all the way up to the quaint artists’ town of Hawi in the north and then on to the lookout over Polulu Valley, and then another day going all the way to the southernmost part of the island. We had two special desires for this part of the trip: to take a tour to see the observatory at Mauna Kea and to journey out to where the lava from Mauna Loa is pouring into the ocean.
If you want to see Mauna Kea Observatory, plan ahead. We were unsuccessful in finding a company that had two seats on a tour, trying for three separate days. Going up to Mauna Kea is not really something you can do on your own as rental car companies expressly forbid your driving your rental on those steep mountain roads.
As for the lava tubes, the drive from the Kona side is more than three hours each way, so it is much better to plan this from Hilo. However the countryside was beautiful and the experience extraordinary, particularly going through Volcano National Park from the other direction. We noted frequent signs that differed from home. Instead of Don’t Feed the Bears or Deer Crossing, it was a graphic warning not to run over the geese – nene, Hawaii’s state bird. Lava flow from Kilauea travels underground via lava tubes to the southeast coast near Pahoa. The Big Island is actually riddled with lava tubes, some ancient and some in use. We arrived before dusk, turning off the main highway and following a country road toward the ocean. Signs warning of danger gave us some pause. We passed someone who had turned around, but on we went. Where the road ended, we drove on hardened lava, a moonscape of some fearsomeness in the low light. A man sold us a flashlight the size of my thumb, and we had water and sturdy walking shoes. By the time we reached the parking area, it was pitch black. We followed a trail of white iridescent paint on black lava to the lookout point, about a twenty minute walk. Lava does not harden smooth – the jagged, uneven ground, punctuated by crevices and outcroppings, requires undivided attention as you choose your footfalls. I was well aware that one false move could result in a nasty fall, twisted ankle or worse. They would have to carry you out…there would be no ambulances out on this abysmal point of land.
The Park Service keeps tourists far from the actual lava – what you see is a distant fiery glow against the sky and an occasional spattering of lava against the darkness. When the hot lava hits the ocean water, an acid mist is created. If you are too close and the wind changes, it could be fatal. Still, even from a distance, standing in the pitch black among strangers who spoke in hushed tones, it was a display of nature’s awesome power. Here our planet is in the throes of creation. We never took our eyes off it once we stopped picking our way through the lava, and when we had our fill, that’s when the wonderful moment happened.
For the first time of the whole trip, I looked up at the heavens and saw neither the rain clouds of Hilo nor the dulling resort lights of Kailua-Kona. Here were not the twenty distinct stars visible in LA or the hundreds seen from smaller cities.
In this inky eternal night, there were a billion stars, a resplendent Milky Way, constellations clear as a road map – it was, in effect, an amazing celestial extravaganza, no admission ticket necessary. I could imagine myself at sea in an ancient Polynesian outrigger, guided by those same stars, finding at long last this magnificent island of Aloha.
Our sincere thanks to the Big Island of Hawaii Committee, chaired by Audrey Meyers, who invited us to their home and made it a WITIA destination. Your hard work will live on in our wonderful memories!
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