Jason and Shannon's Magical Adventure

Photos: New Zealand

shannon-and-jason — Sun, 2 Jan 2011 09:55:00 GMT

South Island

Photos: Fiji

shannon-and-jason — Sun, 2 Jan 2011 09:39:00 GMT

Photos: Road Trip on the Big Island

shannon-and-jason — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

South Point and Green Sand Beach

shannon-and-jason — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 13:35:00 GMT

South Point (Ka Lae) is probably the coolest place we've been yet. This nice old couple picked us up on their way to the volcano and decided South Point sounded cool so they drove us all the way there. We weren't complaining since the hike from the highway was 12 miles and the climate wasn't exactly ideal. The Big Island of Hawaii is home to 13 of the world's 15 climates! The Ka'u desert is not one you want to be hiking 12 miles in. The only up side to the blazing heat is that it's ridiculously windy. So windy in fact that the trees grow sideways:

Gnarly. This was only about halfway down the road where sparse amounts of green vegetation still exists. Across the road was a wind farm creating energy for the island. We kept going and stopping at a couple lookouts until our friends left us. We still weren't at the true Ka Lae (point) so we decided to set off on foot across a field to get there.

It was much further than it looked.

When we finally got there we were astounded by the beauty of it. There were miles of lava rock cliffs with bright blue water. There is really no way to describe how nice it is. The locals have built platforms where you can actually cliff dive, and there are lava tubes to jump into as well. We didn't bring out bathing suits, but maybe next time is the current isn't too strong.

You can see more pictures of South Point in my album.

Earlier in the week we had stopped to pick-up a map and the lady in the gas station was telling us about Green Sand Beach (Papakōlea). She made it sound really cool so we thought it would be worth the hike. First of all, we didn't realize South Point was a desert till we got there. Second of all, we were told it was only 2 miles. It was more like 4. Third of all, we didn't bring enough water. We hitched a ride to the gate about 1.5 miles down the road that brings you to Green Sand Beach from there we started hiking along the coast. It took us about an hour and we were beat when we got there (we had already hiked 2 miles to South Point).

It was really amazing to walk through nothingness for an hour and come across this strange, beautiful place. You had to climb down the rock wall to get to the beach. The sand is actually olivine crystals from cinder cone and has an olive green colour. Super cool. By the time we got there we only had a few sips left in our water bottles. We didn't stay long, we just wanted to get back before we died of dehydration. Luckily for us this nice couple picked us up at South Point and drove us all the way back to the farm. They were one of the only cars leaving that area. Anyways... we went to Walmart and bought two more water bottles yesterday.

Honomalino Grey Sand Beach

shannon-and-jason — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 12:33:00 GMT

Where we're staying is about 1 mile down Mioli'i Road right off the highway. If you keep going another 4 miles down the windy, sloping mountain it will bring you to the town of Mioli'i. It is one of the only remaining traditional Hawaiian fishing villages using the same techniques they've been using for years. The state decided to declare the bay at the bottom of the hill a state park, which is kind of a kick in the face to the natives. They don't really like it when white people go down there that much (i wonder why...) so we had to go during the day. When we got down there you could see the women gathered shucking clams and the men out in their boats. I wanted to take a picture but felt rude so I refrained myself. Once you get down to the bay there is the state park area then you can walk onto this privately owned beach, where tourists aren't supposed to be, and it will take you to this path leading into the forest. We hiked about a mile and got to the Honomalino grey sand beach. It was pretty nice, lined with palm trees, very secluded, wild goats, all that jazz. The sand was blazing hot because it was so dark so you have to bolt to the water to avoid burning your feet.

Ho'okena

shannon-and-jason — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 12:19:00 GMT

On our first day off we decided we needed to get to a beach. We were told the farm we are staying at is in the middle of nowhere but we didn't really realize this until we wanted to go somewhere. The buses here are free but are nearly impossible to figure out if you don't know the landmarks. There are no bus stops, just a website that says around what time it will reach different spots (usually these places are half an hour apart), and you have to wave the bus down if you want to catch it. We decided hitch hiking was the way to go. We got lucky and the first car pulled over to pick us up. The lady hated life and just wanted to drive so she took us all the way there! The beach was nice... we realized when we got out of the water that we didn't pack beach towels. Darn. We layed around on a picnik table a bit, just hung out. A while later we saw spinner dolphins flipping around in the bay! The spinner dolphins feed at night and come to the bays to rest during the day so you can often swim with packs of them. We decided we needed to buy some snorkel gear so we could swim out further and get close to them.

The Adventure Begins

shannon-and-jason — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 10:38:00 GMT

September 1st Jason and I left Ottawa at 3:30am. We didn't sleep much the night before because apparently packing your life into a backpack for the next year requires careful thought and consideration. The trip took 24 hours and 3 plane rides from when we left home to when we arrived at our humble yurt here in Mioli'i on the Big Island of Hawai'i. It was dark when we got here and we were in a bit of a sleepy haze till we awoke the next morning to our first day of the job. Now we pick macadamia nuts for a living.

Photos: Mioli'i & South Kona area

shannon-and-jason — Mon, 6 Sep 2010 20:04:00 GMT

Our adventures on our first farm in Mioli'i