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.
