Eclectic Dinner at the Kūhiō Grill

It was recommended by a local. We had the most random assortment of things that sounded good.

Pancakes, fried rice, and chili cheese fries.

Banyan Tree

We are fascinated by the Banyan trees. This one in Liliuokalani park was particularly cool. There were too many hanging roots to count, and it did not seem cultivated. The hanging pieces look soft blowing in the breeze, but they are not. More like thin tree branches.

Nene

A Hawaiian goose. It is one of the few native birds and they are Very protected. There are sign’s everywhere about watching for Nene and not disturbing them. 

We have seen loads of signs but these are the first actual Nene we have seen.

Liliuokalani Gardens

A lovely spot on the mainland just across the bridge from Coconut Island. It was built in conjunction with a town in Japan. It’s easy to see that influence here. At one point Hilo had an extensive Japanese population and its own Japantown.

There were all sorts of narrow, bridges and stepping stones, winding through the pond. The only thing missing was some Koi fish. But we don’t think they like salt water.

Sam’s Jump

She couldn’t resist! Though, she said it was not as scary as the waterfall.

10 foot jump

20 foot jump! She made some friends in the process! They jumped together.

Coconut Island, Hilo

A tiny island park in Hilo Bay. There are a few small sand corners, plenty of swimming holes, and an old tower for jumping. Built by the Navy for training divers, it’s become a water park for local kids. 

There wasn’t a bridge back in the day (and people still lived here) and it made for challenging evacuations during the tsunami in 1960. That’s when they turned it into a park.

This shows the tsunami water levels!

Kaiwainou Stream Waterfall

A beautiful little spot. The waterfall is at the end of a cave or lava tube. We weren’t sure which. We could just see daylight on the other end.

Crabs!

There were so many crabs on the jetty!

This big guy was living on the edge!

Laupahoehoe Point

Jagged volcanic rock and raging water make up this section of the coast. Laupahoehoe Point is a small cove with a nice grassy park and an old jetty. It was put in the map during the 1946 tsunami because a school full of kids and teachers was washed out to sea. There is a monument and an interesting display about the event. Most surprising was that several student survived by forming a raft out of debris. They drifted for several days before they were found and brought ashore.

Monument to those lost in 1946.

Wild Turkeys

And not the ones in the back seat… we had heard there were turkeys here but until today we had not seen one. We are sure they are invasive and not really native, but we were excited to see them!