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<\/a>Akaka Falls<\/p><\/div>\n
I have just returned from the Big Island of Hawaii<\/strong>.\u00a0 As always, it was great friends, great golf, great cocktails, great weather . . . great time!\u00a0 Those who read last year\u2019s blog about our trip to the Big Island may remember that I had planned a \u2018Water Falls Tour\u2019<\/strong> to the Hilo<\/strong> or wet, side of the island, but no one else was interested in going, so the trip was aborted.\u00a0 I made a similar offer this year, and again, no one signed up, but a car was available this time and the group encouraged me to go by myself; apparently, they were looking for a way to get rid of me for half a day.\u00a0 So, please come join me on this mini adventure, so I don’t get too lonely.<\/p>\n It’s about an hour and a half drive from where we\u2019re staying at the Hilton Grand Vacation Club <\/strong>timeshare in Waikoloa<\/strong> on the west side of the island (Kona<\/strong>), to Hilo<\/strong>, on the east side of the island, where most of the big waterfalls are.\u00a0 The drive takes you through the historic Parker Ranch<\/strong>, which at one time, with 130,000 acres, was the largest cattle ranch in, not just Hawaii, but the U.S.\u00a0 Yes, bigger than anything in Texas, but that\u2019s another interesting story, maybe for my next visit to the Big Island.<\/p>\n The difference in weather between the two sides of the island is night and day, or rather I should say, dry and wet.\u00a0 Except for the lush environs of the hotels and golf courses on the west side, the terrain there is mostly dark, rocky unhospitable lava.\u00a0 Conversely, the Hilo side is incredibly lush green, as it gets lots of rain, averaging about142 inches per year!\u00a0 The reason for the vast difference in climate in such a small distance, I\u2019m told, has to do with the trade winds and the two huge mountains in the middle of the island, Mauna Kea<\/strong> and Mauna Loa<\/strong>, both above 13,000 feet and spectacularly snow capped at this time of year.<\/p>\n Snow-capped Mauna Loa<\/p><\/div>\n OK, we\u2019ve got the geography and meteorology details taken care of, let\u2019s move on to why I made this trek \u2013 water falls!\u00a0 I\u2019m not sure where or when I became enthralled with waterfalls, but I\u2019m guessing vacationing in Yosemite<\/strong> growing up might have had something to do with it, but they\u2019ve always intrigued me.\u00a0 To think that a waterfall starts out as a small drop of water, either from rain or melted snow, then unites with other drops of water as they journey to wherever gravity takes them; and when they reach a cliff, they joyously and beautifully cascade over it. What\u2019s mind-boggling to me is that it just keeps going, never seeming to run out of little drops of water!<\/p>\n Rainbow Falls, complete with rainbow<\/p><\/div>\n I headed out to the other side of the island around 7:00 am for my solo \u2018Waterfall Tour\u2019 which focused on three main waterfalls, Umauma Falls<\/strong>, Rainbow Falls<\/strong> and Akaka Falls<\/strong>.\u00a0 But I must say, when I got to the eastern coast of the Big Island, the views were breath-takingly beautiful of a rugged shoreline and spectacular foliage, the likes of which I\u2019ve never seen \u2013 just amazing!\u00a0 Every time I saw a \u2018Scenic Route’ This<\/strong> Way<\/strong> sign taking me off the main road, I took it.\u00a0 I\u2019d be hard pressed to find anything more scenic than my diversions on these \u2018scenic routes\u2019!\u00a0 I stopped just outside of Hilo at a small, out of the way caf\u00e9, where I had the best banana pancakes sprinkled with macadamia nuts ever.\u00a0 I heard Jack Johnson singing \u201cBanana Pancakes\u201d<\/em> the whole time.<\/p>\n I\u2019ll spare those who aren\u2019t interested in waterfalls, which apparently is the vast I was back on the ‘dry side’ by noon, and enjoying that, but with a head full of amazing images.\u00a0 Thanks for joining me, for your efforts please enjoy this eye-full of banana pancakes, sprinkled with macadamia nut!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Bob Sparrow I have just returned from the Big Island of Hawaii.\u00a0 As always, it was great friends, great golf, great cocktails, great weather . . . great time!\u00a0 Those who read last year\u2019s blog about our trip to … read more![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Mauna-Loa.jpg\")
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<\/a>majority based on my travel group, by just saying that Umauma Falls<\/strong> is in a great recreation area where you can ride horses and do a zip line over the falls.\u00a0 At Rainbow Falls<\/strong>, I actually witnessed a rainbow created by the fall, and Akaka Falls<\/strong>, the Big Kahuna of waterfalls, is in a Hawaiian State Park<\/strong> and provides a scenic circular trail through the rain forest to the falls, which are spectacular . . . if you\u2019re into waterfalls.<\/p>\n