Forbidden Universe

Paranormal => The Paranormal & Ghost Society => Topic started by: AngelOfThyNight on May 10, 2017, 04:49:16 PM

Title: Our Big Island Hawaiian April 2017 Adventures & Journeys.....
Post by: AngelOfThyNight on May 10, 2017, 04:49:16 PM
Our Big Island Hawaiian April 2017 Adventures & Journeys.....

 One of the most beautiful places I have ever adventured in was when I went to Hawaii. In a sense the big island is like a lost world as lava is always flowing, rain forest are similar to jungles and you are surrounded by the Pacific Ocean. I have in my time been on some islands journeying but out of all the islands I ever visited Hawaii is as good as it gets.

Despite that this was my family vacation I took them there as a gift because I wanted to do something nice for them since I am always taking them to places that are often rugged. However, in between all the snorkeling, relaxation and seeing the sites I did manage to do some pretty sweet paranormal investigations. So allot of these places ill talk about in this report will eventually be added to our site given that I get my other cases up eventually. Most of the locations I visited have a few good ghost stories so really it does not get better then that nothing like adventuring in some haunted caves or at some ancient sites.

The big island of Hawaii perhaps is the most rugged but it is also an island full of adventure, ancient sites, ghost towns, volcanoes, lush rain forest etc etc. I found that the big island is very diverse a snowcapped volcano, high desert, rain forest and different types of beaches you wont see anywhere else in the world. It can be raining in one part of the island while another part is sunny. It does not take long to cross the island believe me when I say that.

I actually rented a cottage in one of the most primitive regions of the island just outside of Pahoa. Most of Pahoa is rain forest, lonely roads and uninhabited shoreline. The cottage I had sat in the rain forest and had a little trail that led me out to these volcanic cliffs overlooking the ocean so retrospect it was pretty bad ass. It had a nice view but also was remote. If your going to really experience Hawaii go primitive get a place in the jungle so you can experience the nature and at night hear the tree frogs its amazing especially when the full moon peers through the jungle.

My trip to Hawaii would be memorable but I also wont lie I had some bad luck on the trip to which ill get into throughout my report. It all started though when the TSA in Reno lost Tammy's license. She put it in the basket through the machine well I guess it got stuck in the machine and they tried to argue with her telling her they do not have it. I had to tell the TSA supervisor that it probably is on its side inside the X-ray machine so that is why it did not come out. Eventually they had to have someone look in the machine and low and behold there it was. But if she did not get her ID back she would have been stranded so she was in tears because she did not know what to do. They were not helping her with the issue pretty much trying to say she lost her ID when all along it was them but that was the first incident we had on the trip right from the get go. This is why I hate to fly because these airlines including TSA treat people like garbage!

I am not much of a flyer to tell you the truth I hate flying between security, hassles, rude people hitting you in the face with there suitcases, lack of space on the plane and dealing with all the other BS that comes with it. In this case we would fly from Reno to San Fran then over the ocean for five hours. I had burger king at the San Fran airport it only took me 45 minutes to get some has browns, coffee and a sandwich which they screwed up our orders. The person of course serving us spoke no English and did not even know what a hash brown was. If your going to work a public service job like Burger King then speak fucking English sheesh! Yeah don't order Burger King at the San Fran airport trust me go anywhere but there!

.On another note the flight from San Fran to Hawaii is quite boring all you see is blue ocean for thousands of miles. As a matter in fact if you ever look down into the ocean from a plane you can see massive piles of garbage floating on the surface of the water some of it from the Tsunami that hit Japan then again Hawaii gets tsunamis also. You never realize how vast our planet is till you fly over the Pacific Ocean. Their is utter nothingness for thousands of miles even if you survive the plane crashing what would be worst I think is lost on sea clinging to a piece of luggage while sharks are circling around you lol.

 It was the most uncomfortable flight no food, one drink and less then a foot of space for my legs which killed my knees considering I have chondromalcia. Why would they have us fly over Hawaii in such a uncomfortable plane I just do not get it. United treats its passengers crappy and their planes definitely fall short of comfort especially for a tall guy such as myself. The flight is about five hours long once your over the ocean they should have offered us more considering how much I spent but its all about money packing folks in like sardines it cant be safe!

I was looking forward to spending time in Hawaii I went all out brought all sorts of marijuana edibles such as all sorts of candy, suckers, trokies, chocolate, honey sticks for kona coffee, six strains of marijuana vape cartridges, gummies, cinnamon bears and the list goes on and on. I was stoned my entire trip LMAO! I know how to live it up and if your going to go to Hawaii you should totally get involved not just with the local culture but party like a rock star.

No regrets there I mean when you think about it I had a huge list of places we would go that would include Kalapana Painted Church, Puuhonua o Honaunau National Historic Site, Peaceful Cove Cottage, Lava Rock Beach, Kapoho Snorkeling, WaiOpae, Kapoho Ghost Town & Lighthouse, Lava Tree Park, Panda Express, Akaka Falls, Kaumana Caves, Volcanoes National Park, Thurston Lava Tube, Chain Of Craters, Rainbow Hilo Falls, Kahalu'u Beach, Kealakekua Bay (Captain Cook), Hikiau Heiau Temple, Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park, Kuamo’o Burial and Battleground, Haunted Mackenzie State Park & Kings Trail/Caves, Waipi'o Valley, Laupahoehoe Point Ghost Town & Cemetery, Richardson Beach, Onomea Bay Botanical Gardens, Pana'ewa Rainforest Zoo and the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Plantation.

I learned allot about Hawaii I mean we flew into Kona its mainly an outdoor airport meaning you walked out onto the tarmac to catch a plane there really is not anything indoor. The culture on the big island is nothing like being on the main land. Most of the people speak there native language, most white folks are tourist while the natives are Polynesian it seems and many of the tropical birds and flowers you wont see anywhere else. I found out real quick that some people in Hawaii seem to be a bit rude especially if your white sorry its just my experience. When I visit places like this I try to give everyone the good, bad and ugly. I honestly did not feel as if I belonged on the big island I had a few people try to run me off the road, got into two or three arguments with idiots and had multiple Hawaiians who either grunted at me or who were short when talking to me. Not to mention that some dude chased me with a sword so you do have to be careful where you explore and go. There are people constantly being murdered or coming up missing trust me just some advice to anyone who plans their dream vacation here.

Despite that factor the island is beautiful when you fly over it the water is so clear and honestly parts of the island reminded me of Nevada. Much of the volcanic landscape in northern Nevada is very similar to the terrain found just east of Kona so in a sense I felt like I never left the Silver State lol. Only difference is that Hawaii continues to grow and probably in a million years it will its own continent more then likely if lava continues to pour out into the sea. Their is no island like it on the world it has 8 of the 13 climate zones some of them include the snowy dry tundra at the top of the peaks, tropical rain forest, high desert, sub alpine forest, reefs, jungle, sand dunes, subterranean cave systems, black, white and green sand beach's just to name a few. It rains on parts of the island more then anywhere in the US so I had allot to look forward to and experience here!

When I landed off my plane I had gotten yelled at by a cop because I chased my shuttle down and had to cross the road at the airport. Go figure I get in trouble no matter where I go but if I did not catch it we would have been late for our rental. We rented an SUV for the island so we could take dirt roads I had gotten a sweet deal on it. Plus I burned a ton of music so I could play some of my favorite tunes while cruising along the ocean so it was nice! My first stop was at Walmart I went to buy a fishing pole I brought my tackle box, line, reel etc but my pole would not fit so I bought one there it was nice but I knew on the trip home id have to leave it because it did not fold up since it was designed to catch Marlins lol.

Then we went over to Denny's which had a nice ocean view problem was the service sucked balls we were the only people eating there yet drinks were never refilled and the food took forever to get. Hell they were out of some food I guess being on the island you learn to understand their are not many amenities. But for anyone who tells you Hawaii is super expensive this is not true prices in the grocery store, Walmart or even at a restaurant such as Denny's are no different then here in northern Nevada. I did have a nice Philly Steak Sub before we would head on out to the SW part of the island.

Tammy wanted to drink Kona so I had plans to take her to the historic Kona plantation well they were closed so that was a bummer. The Kona in Hawaii is the best coffee in the world trust me. If your going to ever go out to Hawaii a few things are a must to experience one of them is Kona besides the coconuts and the ancient culture. When I drove south along the coast there are ancient lava walls everywhere built by ancient civilizations who once thrived on the island. Their are palm trees everywhere my son could not contain himself he was cracking open coconuts and drinking the juice out of them lol.

When you drive south of Kona you will hit allot of little towns most of Hawaii is truly rural and most of the tourism takes place on other Hawaiian Islands. But the big island is rather primitive not allot of stores or gas stations. So once you leave Kona really the other major city is Hilo on the eastern side of the Island with the volcanoes Kīlauea and Mauna Loa in the center of the island. As a matter in fact the big island is so large that if you removed the ocean around it the land mass is larger then Mount Everest hell the peak of Mauna Kea stands at over 13k which is larger then even the mountains I climb here in the Sierra Nevada's. Its so cool to drive around Hawaii and see these mountains off in the distance not much has changed even for the ancients who once built there villages around these volcanoes.

The first location that we would visit would be the Hōnaunau Painted Church. Its a gothic architectural church overlooking the ocean. The priest that built the church built this place with his hands in 1842. While most folks were probably enjoying resorts in Kona I was wandering these grounds enjoying all the gardens which surround this church. If you want to see abundant birds, nature and tropical flowers this probably should be your first stop. I definitely love historic sites not only because of the history but also most of them do tend to be haunted which really makes great additions on our website for our viewers. So our first site we would journey at would overlook the beautiful Hōnaunau Bay the place where Captain Cook meant his end!

St Benedict's Painted Church In Hōnaunau

While the Paint Church is a beautiful piece of history it does have an eerie feeling to it. I been a paranormal investigator really for most of my life. I can go to hundreds of places feel not a thing but when I went here I felt something here. There just is allot of energy here but this place seen many funerals and deaths also. Next to the church is an old cemetery it appears that at one point lava flowed through here years later after people were interred here. You can see hardened lava rock all around the graves everywhere more then likely it occurred after the cemetery was built. It looks like behind the church is a newer area for burial as I can imagine it would be nearly impossible to bury anyone in rock after the flow.

Sadly the cemetery is off limits I wanted to go check out the old crypts and stones. But the sign says danger rocks. In my opinion not sure what the danger is its Hawaii the entire island is rock whether your on a beach, hiking in the rain forest or climbing the hills. The rock gives the island character you wont avoid it if your on the big island. Yet a sign said keep out due to this factor. The cemetery should be open it does coincide with the churches history. I suppose I could have went around the gate but I did not want to be chased by a Hawaiian priest lol whom lives on the property especially my first hour in Hawaii. Although most of the cemetery seemed to be very safe and accessible so my thought is they just want to keep people out perhaps to prevent desecration.

But it is a nice burial ground and if you have time while at the church you can walk around it. Its very intriguing to see lava flow all around crosses. What is even more amazing is the church itself. If you want a taste of Hawaiian beauty the entire grounds surrounding the church are tropical gardens. Their are gecko lizards everywhere, wild canaries and I even seen a wood pecker. Birds, butterflies, lizards and beautiful flowers are to be found around every turn.

The doors of the wood church were wide open hell honestly their was not a soul in site. A couple went into the church but they left real fast. Most people really do not take the time to see all the paintings or murals found within the Painted Church. Despite it being a local attraction services continue here as well. The church was built to teach native Hawaiians theology using depictions as many of those that attended church could not read or write very well. The murals in a sense are a way to teach others the bible but by using vivid paintings. One of those paintings is the battle between heaven and hell as a demon is being cast off a cliff its pretty intense.

Above the alter is painted as if your in a gothic cathedral. The alter has a few candles lit a wood cross and statues on each side of it. The ceiling is also painted with a rainbow and palm theme. A few windows in the church was open a nice breeze was coming on in. Their is a small balcony above the entrance of the front doors as well. I am not even sure you can get up there maybe at one time they had an organ up there. Everything has been hand carved inside as well its so colorful even the poles have red bands painted around them.

The church is a bit eerie you have to understand that many funerals have taken place here followed by burial next to the church. I have worked over the years with churches most are haunted most have a ghost story or two. I am not sure what lurks here but sometimes the statues feel like they are alive or watching you its just real creepy in a sense.

My family did not take an interest in the church as I did but if you decide to check out the place their is allot of art to see so do not just walk past but actually take a time out to look at each mural which basically tell you the story of Christ and most of the major biblical events through the murals which are found on the walls of the church.

On top of the church is a steeple also it has some amazing gothic architecture. I think their might be some sort of bell housed up in it. Their is also allot of hand carvings inside the church like I said if you take time out to see everything you will be amazed at the intricate work here. The man that built this church also painted the murals which in my opinion is very amazing. Not only is that skiill but Father Jean (or John) Berchmans Velghe was a true artist who put his heart and soul into this place which is why I love it so much.

I did sign the log book while I was here people come from all over the world to see this place trust me. Their is another painted church up near Volcano National Park but I just did not have enough time to visit it. But keep in mind not to confuse the one south of Kona with the one up near Kalapana.

I spent about an hour here admiring nature also adoring the murals of the saints and bible. In the front of the church there is a few statues also worth taking a gander at. I could spend all day here just birding and chasing butterflies. This will make a wonderful addition on our website in the future for sure. Our next destination was just a couple miles up the road its a place called Puuhonua o Honaunau  which is the site of an ancient city that had kings, queens, burial grounds, temples and served as place for the native Hawaiians to seek refuge at when they broke the Kapu or sacred laws on the island.

Puuhonua o Honaunau National Historic Site

I felt so honored to visit this place its one of the best preserved ancient cities on the big island with black lava stone walls everywhere, fish ponds and of course the beauty of Honaunau Bay. In ancient times this sea side ancient city protected law breakers who were on the run awaiting execution. Despite so many seeking refuge here seeking salvation or even redemption many of the people made it as far as the wall before being killed while on the run others were so desperate they swam across the bay.

This is a well known haunted location when I do my work I always try to find some locations that might have a few ghost stories that I can conduct my research at. Id love to be here at night because that is when most of the local ghost stories are told. But it is a national park so after dark its off limits to help preserve the ancient walls found here. Within those walls ancient lawbreakers had a chance to seek absolution where they could once again return to society.

The ancients here use to look up at the volcano and it did erupt time to time many of them worshipped Pele but also whales. The ruins here are all very well maintained and rather extensive. Their is also giant  gourds which grow up a trellis back in ancient times the natives grew them then used them to store water, food and other materials. 

The most amazing thing I found here was the sites great wall which stands about 10' high and is 17' thick. It goes for over a thousand feet and trust me its monolithic in size. This was an ancient wall built all out of black lava rock. Every piece fits tightly together and the wall has survived everything from storms to tsunamis surrounding all these wonderful ancient sites.

The bay is gorgeous the water is clear you can see sea turtles, tropical fish and there is a temple on a peninsula you can walk out. Fierce Kii or wooden images of gods guard the Hale O Keawe Heiau which is a sacred temple that houses bones of all 23 alii or chiefs of this city. Not far from that are royal grounds which were the sacred grounds home for the chiefs. Their is also a thatched work house, ancient fish ponds an the ancient Heiau temple which is one of the oldest structures in the park and remnants of Ki'ilae Village.

Their are what I call a few grass huts but also a set of stone tables and chairs the natives use to sit at playing a game. I also seen this giant structure where the ancients houses and built Koa Canoes. Back then they may have also built these toboggan like sleds known as  papahōlua  where the ancients would race down steep slopes known as hōlua slides. In total the park is about 420 acres and I am not even sure I seen everything to tell you the truth. My family pressured me on this trip to take it easy to try not to work but rather enjoy myself so I did not do as much extreme exploring as id like to but it would appear that along the coast line might be other walls and structures as well here.

Their is an area near the royal grounds where lava came through here at one time. Back in ancient times the natives felt that every decision they made had repercussions. Nobody ever wanted to anger Pele the goddess of fire or deity of volcanoes. The people who came to this city prayed for her forgiveness. Other times the ancients felt they angered Pele and at one time an eruption did take place where lava came right through the city. You can see the lava flows if you hike around here but no less for hundreds of years this place survived and today remains very well preserved.

Puuhonua o Honaunau served as a major political and religious center in the Kona part of the island. I have to say that this place is one of my favorite locations I explored in Hawaii. I mean how often do some of you get to see remnants of an ancient city which prayed to the a volcanic deity? Really when you sit down and think about it some of Hawaiians most ancient roots derive from this part of the big island. This is a place full of ancient culture, history and remnants of Hawaii's early past. The ancients believed in mana or spiritual power therefore the temple was built to honor Keawe'ikekahiali'i o kamoku, the great-grandfather of Kamehameha which in a sense was a royal mausoleum.

My first day in Hawaii was rather cloudy sure there was patches of sun but you could not see the volcanoes behind the ancient city they were under thick cloud cover. I could not stay here to long though we had a nice 70 mile drive across the island to get to our cottage. I really wish I could have stayed here longer its such a cool place to wander around at and like I said the great wall is definitely worth a gander you wont see anything like this trust me.

We decided to take the southeast route following the coastline of the big island its a longer route but it is very scenic. I am glad I took this route for a few reasons as when it had gotten dark we passed by lava flowing out into the ocean as the coastline was glowing orange it was really cool to see while driving to the cottage. I did not realize it but it gets darker earlier in Hawaii then here in Northern Nevada. The problem is on the big island everything kind of closes up at sunset and when your day is cut short that leaves less time to explore.

Their is not allot of amenities on the big island if you take the SE drive along the coast of the big island from Kona once you leave the city that is it you wont see gas stations, restaurants or service for miles its strange because people do live all over the island. So its easy to run out of gas lucky for us we did stop at a small town if you want to call it that to fill up. The town had a small gas station, bait n tackle shop and a restaurant that is it. I also seen a few abandoned houses both looked burnt over the years lava has been responsible for destroying many houses even at times cultural sites its just a way of life in Hawaii.

I should have stopped at the bait shop in a way I regret that. I thought once I got to the other side of the island I would have been able to buy bait n tackle boy was I wrong. Its like people do not fish on the east side of the island lol. It was the only bait shop I seen on my trip sadly id have to go buy sea food at the grocery store a few days later just to do some fishing.

The last half of our drive to Pahoa we hit a bad storm it was raining so hard we could not even see the road and it was dark out. It was hard to drive in this because the rain was so intense that the visibility was really poor. But we did make it to our cottage and the lady that rented it to me left the lights on there, keys, note and even a list of stuff we could do for fun. I did not want to stay at a resort I wanted a true Hawaiian experience so I rented this little cottage in the jungle just a few hundred feet from these black lava cliffs overlooking the ocean.

I could not see anything when I arrived at the cottage as the home sits back in the rain forest its very overgrown here. In a sense it was a bit creepy pulling down the dirt driveway back into the woods here. It was raining hard we were soaked and were just glad to get inside. Although I have no issue with the rain in Hawaii its warm and feels pretty good. But ill tell you what when we arrived at our cottage the tree frogs and crickets were so loud you could barely hear one another speak lol. If you want a taste of the jungle stay out near Pahoa its all rain forest and when nightfall hits it all comes alive.

Also there were lizards living in the cottage its some kind of tradition in Hawaiian or common I mean it is a rain forest. I was a bit leery about sleeping with lizards but I came to realize that they are really cool to watch. If you sit down read a book they will come down the wall sit next to you and just watch what your doing. The owner told us in a note we can put them outside or leave them its our choice of course I left them they are harmless.Not only are lizards common on the island but so are wild chickens and trust me friends their are chickens everywhere in Hawaii.

I woke up in the next morning and seen wild chickens coming out of the woods running past the deck lol. You see them on the sides of the roads and hell when I was in Kona they were roaming the Walmart Parking lot and even trucking down the sidewalk in front of Denny's. The culture in Hawaii is like no other place I been to really most of the island is quite primitive most of it has rain forest other areas are just big open lava expanses.

It was nice to be at the cottage I was kind of surprised there were not bugs well we seen two giant palmetto bugs the whole time were here they live up in palm trees. But since I lived in Florida for four years of my life I was not freaked out by them but if your in the rain forest staying in a cottage like this you may see one or two. We could not find anywhere to eat I had to leave the cottage in the rain and went out to grocery store to get groceries at 10pm at night. Their is a grocery store in Pahoa I barely made it but was able to get some food, drinks and snacks. The cottage really is a small house it had a living room, giant deck, microwave, fridge, two bedrooms, tv etc it was very cozy cant say it was quiet man those tree frogs were loud. Plus the cottage is haunted its near the old Kings Highway an ancient route built for the natives two hundred years ago.

My first day in Hawaii was amazing but some of the locals are not to friendly others are. But some people speak very little English so they have issues communicating with someone like me who is a little more social. Pahoa is a really small cute historic town to but everything closes early at night the place is a ghost town their are not even cars on the road. I did not even realize that the cottage I rented was haunted did not find that out till the end of the trip but found the stove was turning on by itself and later the owner told me about a few of her own experiences here. Not to far from the cottage is the ancient kings trail so allot of ghost stories about ghostly soldiers who march on it so I really had gotten the full experience.

Kapoho (WaiOpae)

I had a good nights sleep it rained on and off all night but I opened up all the sliding glass doors in the cottage and never slept so good in my life. I was into my second day adventuring in Hawaii and I could not wait to snorkel in a reef that is nothing we get to do here in Northern Nevada. But I told my family it is something I want to do asap so our second day would be spent mainly on the water.

I started off the morning taking a walk out into the rain forest there is a trail which leads to this black lava beach. You cant swim there its to rough and I am sure there are some large sharks in peaceful cove I have no doubts. It was kind of a dreary day again hell we hardly seen any sun and we were two days into our adventure. Their is coconut trees everywhere and my son kept trying to crack open a coconut but had no success. I grabbed a huge lava rock smashed the coconut and drank some juice teasing him lol. I actually do not like coconut but see that was as fresh as it gets so I did indulge.

After we hung out for awhile on the beach we went out to get Kona Coffee. You see I brought with me these marijuana honey sticks. You can break open a stick put it in with your Kona Coffee its so good and not only is it good but the sticks are medicinal so if you have pain, anxiety or whatever the honey sticks will help with that. I love my marijuana honey sticks and they did me well when getting Kona Coffee. The coffee is some of the best I ever drank in my life believe me its the one thing I miss about Hawaii.

We then headed on off to Kapoho which use to be a bustling town before a volcanic lava flow consumed everything except for the towns lighthouse tower. Today instead of it being a town its a sea side community with allot of pretty homes that sit back in the rain forest or along the reef. My plan was to snorkel in the reef here this probably is the best place to see aquatic life on the east side of the big island trust me.But at least I can knock off the bucket list that I actually snorkled in a ghost town lol.

You have to park about a half of a mile away they have a small parking area with bathroom and change room. They also have information about some of the reef and aquatic life found here. Then you hike down a couple residential streets and through a path in the forest which takes you right out to dozens of tidal pools all filled with tropical fish its freaking amazing man that is all I have to say about it. Be careful because there are homes and some of them have back porches which face the tidal pools. I went to my left and some man on his porch bitched at my son and I saying were trespassing. We had no idea we were just following a path around one of the pools so make sure you stay to your right opposite of the houses and you will be fine! You learn as you go right?

I like this place because your actually not out there in the ocean the pools are calm some are actually heated by underground thermal vents. These are volcanic lava pools and life just thrives in them. We hiked out to an area that had three big pools so we could climb over some rocks and explore various ones for different aquatic life. But their is a giant pool when you first come out on the trail which is 8' deep in some areas if not deeper and has some underwater caves. That pool is a few hundred feet across and has allot of reef to explore.

I was a bit frustrated with my equipment I spent allot of my trip in Hawaii with things not working right its frustrating lets just say that. My fin was missing its ankle piece so I had to make a hole in the rubber but it kept slipping off. My gopro goggles broke never even used them I guess Tammy broke them trying to throw our gear over a tidal pool. Because you see all of this area is sharp glass like lava rock. So if you want to snorkel in various pools you have to climb rocks and sometimes wade through some of the pools so you sort of need both hands free to move around. The only thing that worked great is my snorkel gopro diving mask but the goggles I had and fins broke so I was not happen because I just bought them a week prior to heading out to Hawaii.

My son and I spent an hour in this one pool it was about 8' deep loaded with aquatic life only about 30' across and it was simply breathtaking. I found this other pool only 10' across but it had an underwater cave with fishing swimming in and out of it. We eventually hit the biggest tidal pool which had a moray eel, schools of tangs and even some other giant fish maybe groupers. I must had seen in a couple hours at least 40 different types of fish.

I was simply taken away the coral reef at the bottom was beautiful and the water was so clear I could see at least 20' if not more ahead of me. Every pool seems to have its own type of aquatic life some pools are so small and you can just go in there and have tropical fish swim right along with you as close as inches from your face. The ocean you can see a short distance away. There is trees that grow between the tidal pools also just a great place to have a picnic do some diving and its safe for your kids. Hawaii is having some major Tiger and Great White Shark problems so I myself prefer to be in an area where your not going to become a meal for one lol.

I did do some filming with my gopro its waterproof and made to go down at depths of 30'. So you can take photos or film underwater. I could not wait to use my gopro for this reef. Maybe ill ad some footage on our youtube eventually of some of the tropical fish I dove with in the pools with some music or something like that for my friends. I did not do as much filming here as I wanted to because I figured id some back a couple more times which I did but when I did my gopro was not working right and we have no idea why so I probably should have did most of my filming my first day. I guess that is what frustrated me is that everything of mine was breaking or not working it kind of sucks to spend thousands on a trip to Hawaii only to get there and have everything take a shit on you lol.

My time spent in the pools was amazing though although it was raining on and off plus the tide was coming in fast. We had to move a few times away from certain pools. But as the tide comes in more fish then when the tide pushes out many schools of fish get trapped in the pools and so the area offers a large variety of aquatic life. Some of the pools we swam in now were completely underwater. You have to be careful sometimes you can get cut open on the rocks even while diving because there are areas that are shallow such as channels or underwater caves. The rocks here are like glass and I had a few cuts that were bleeding when I left to go back to the vehicle. No less this place gets a 10 and when I left I was the only one up here snorkeling so I had the entire reef to myself that in itself is pretty awesome!

When we had gotten back to the car it was time to explore Kapoho a little bit. The only thing I guess that remains of Kapho is the old light tower and the cemetery. Back in 1960 a 1000 quakes occurred here causing cracks to open up in the street then lava began pouring out of a local sugar cane field just above the town where it slowly crept into the ocean forming the pools I swam in but also taking everything with it in its path totally erasing this old farming town.  I guess a hot spring resort, 100 homes and businesses were destroyed. If you drive around Kapoho today all you are going to see is a few homes here and there but there is no gas stations or restaurants or let alone one single business the entire town is simply GONE!

If you drive on route 132 for about six miles from Pahoa you can see a forest of ironwood trees growing in red cinders in front of a small 100' red rock volcano about a mile from the ocean. This is where most of the lava flow came from although I did not see the volcano I did visit nearby a place called the Lava Tree Forest which is fairly close by and has an awesome rainforest with a ton of nature to check out.

My first goal here was to find the Kapoho Cemetery really that is all that remains of the town. The cemetery sits on a dirt road there are no signs I seen for it just a gate which I parked at for awhile. As soon as I grabbed my packs, gear and cam some guy swinging a sword maybe it was a staff comes running out of the woods down the dirt road swinging at us yelling like crazy. I had to get my family quickly in the SUV and get the hell out of there. This is NOT a private cemetery as a matter in fact there is allot of websites with pictures and even peoples kids hiking around it so it was baffling that some guy would chase us out of here.

Its hard to say if someone was back here squatting then again maybe someone recently built a house up here. My family said they seen a house back here on the hill. Then again maybe what my family seen is a small building that was built in the cemetery which was used for gatherings and to keep folks out of the rain. Supposedly near the building is a monument that was erected to honor the graves that were consumed by lava.

Its a nice cemetery all Japanese and Hawaiian Natives looking off to the ocean but half of it was consumed during the 1960 lava flow. I guess behind the cemetery is a cinder cone which takes you to an ancient Kuki'i Heiau or ruins of an ancient temple. Trust me their are quite a few on the big island even if they are just lava rock ruins. But I guess you can take a hiking trail to the top of the cinder which is above the cemetery. Sadly I did not see any of it you could see the cinder cone off in the distance but the guy who was running around like an ape decided to show hostility swinging a weapon at my family and I. So that left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth I came here to do a story about the town of Kapoho only to be chased by someone weirdo in the rain forest.

People out on the big island lack social skills all the guy had to do is walk up explain things to me rather then shouting and swinging weapons. I am not even sure that this person was back here legally or that he had a right to chase us away from the cemetery. The cemetery is open to the public so is the trail to the top of the Pu'u Kuki'i cinder cone. But like I said things change maybe someone bought a house back here or something and decided they do not want anyone back here who knows. But it put a damper on this project that I know and I did not get to see the shrimp plant which grows back here which was disappointing!

Most of the cemetery is gone because lava consumed everything it actually was so intense that it consumed about 7 square miles of land and extended the island 1.2 square miles of new land along the coastline. The cemetery sits up on a hill so you can get a view of the town site unfortunately I did not make it that far and decided it was not worth dealing with this caveman so we moved onto the Cape Kumukahi Lighthouse.

When I arrived here I expected to see a lighthouse but the fact is this is just a metal tower with a light. Besides the cemetery the lighthouse is all that remains of the town site. In a sense the light is relevant in the fact that the lava flow barely missed it while destroying the keepers dwellings. Believe it or not their were allot of people visiting the lighthouse and the view of the ocean was nice. They had an old car that looked like lava flow or fire led to its demise. But other then that not much remains here there was a concrete building with some spray paint.

I thought it was a bit strange a lady came up to me to tell me she seen two women at the top of the lighthouse waving to her. Its a large metal tower allot of ladders/stairs and I thought wow cool we could go to the top. When I walked up to the lighthouse I seen that the ladders had all been removed to prevent people from going to the top. I thought to myself what is this lady talking about then realized maybe what those older women seen perhaps was a ghost because we did not see a single human being in that lighthouse when we stood in front of it.

My son did manage to find a way to climb to the first walkway and he could have went to the top. But most people are not going to climb 10' up just to reach a set of steps lol they probably removed access to the lighthouse for safety reasons. The tower sits at about 100 plus feet its not in the best shape but being there chilling for a half hour I see quite a few people drive up here just to take a gander at it. Its a well visited place people come from all over to see the lighthouse that survived the 1960 eruption so the town left it up a symbol.  Everything else in that town was buried under molten rock.

I enjoyed my time out in Kapoho but sadly my gopro would not work right the rest of the trip so when I came here to do more diving hours of footage ended up not recording so I kind of think Kapoho is a bit unlucky for me between the sword swinging caveman and some of my gear breaking here. Do not get me wrong it was not a waste to come here but if you do the best part of this place is its reef. After my fun here we would spend the rest of our afternoon or evening rather at the Lava Tree State Monument which ill be including with our Kapoho addition on our site.

The monument is also on the edge of Kapoho when I went here we were the only ones hiking not a single car or person was back here. But in 1790 this area had some major lava flow coating trunks of Ohia trees leaving behind these tall lava molds of tree trunks its pretty cool. It also was my first experience in hiking in a true rain forest on Hawaii so many flowers and nature here its a nice place to take your family it really is. The park is about 17 acres and its as if the trees are frozen in time.

We took a .7 mile loop trail around the park and its so overgrown back here you feel as if your away from the world its really nice. As a matter in fact this use to be part of the old William Herbert Shipman Ranch before it became a park that you could hike in. It appears that this lava tree forest was created by molten lava consuming the trees then eventually draining leaving behind rocky trees. But some were created on other parts of the island by falling lava coating trees then burning the inside out.

At one time this area was the victim of a large fissure that opened up a rift caused by the Kilauea Volcano. Most of the trees are no longer taller then 11' which signifies how deep the molten lava flow was that passed through here. I mean you figure at 2000 degrees F the lava came into contact with the cool wet trees and as it cooled. More then likely the lava ended up flowing back down into the fissure and what you get are black rocky trees.

My experience here was nothing but pleasant its so quiet and all you can hear are birds. It  certainly beats being chased by somebody with a weapon just an hour before I went here. You can picnic here and its a good place to take the family if you want something accessible, quiet and in nature as a matter in fact the tree park resides in the Nanawale Forest Reserve so its a nice forested area of the big island. As a matter in fact if your going to go to Hawaii it is a must to see temples, lava trees and certainly volcanoes so this was on my bucket list. Kapoho area is really fascinating its a pretty part of the big island but like I said there are some nut cases to!

After the day we had I went up to Hilo with my family and we had Panda Express. I have to say by buying groceries or dining out at some fast food places I saved a ton of money. But I do not care where you go Panda Express has Chinese food you can count on no matter where you are in the world so it was for us heavenly to find one that we could have dinner at. I am not much into Hawaiian food such as pineapples, coconuts etc. I know some folks love it and that is great but its not my thing. Id rather have a burger, steak sub, pizza or some honey walnut shrimp.

By the time we made it back to the cottage once again it was almost nightfall actually it was. It gets dark quick here my family was going to bed at 8pm. I had my laptop and yes I had working Internet I was online every night I just did not talk to anyone but my friends gave me plenty to read while I was away. I think what I enjoyed most about the Peaceful Cove Cottage was it was quiet. But the rain was so nice coming down I left all the windows open, screen doors etc and just slept with the rain forest a few feet from my bed. Nothing like sleeping to nature after spending a day out in it. I could not await more to come our next day we would spend at Akaka Falls and spelunking in the Kaumana Caves.

Kaumana Caves & Akaka Falls

I woke up to a herd of chickens in the backyard of the cottage lol. Like I said wild chickens are everywhere they do not belong to anyone you could be in the woods hiking and see them running around. But my day would start off with Akaka Falls and then an extreme adventure in the Kaumana Caves. If your going to go to Hawaii doing a couple caves and lava tubes is a must because its part of the islands geology. Their are not to many places in the world where you can just park somewhere and go miles underground but Hawaii offers quite a few places you can do that at.

The first part of my morning would be spent seeing Akaka Falls the problem is that its one of the most visited waterfall on the big island which means tourist, tour buses, groups of people standing in the way etc. I am not much of a tourist guy my goal is always to conduct research at the locations I visit and delve into these locations. But Akaka Falls does not offer much room to explore as the trails are paved and their is allot of folks here. But here is the thing its an amazing waterfall and another part of the geology in Hawaii are some amazing falls which are worth checking out.

The one thing I am not to keen on in Hawaii is that people do not know how to drive sorry no offence but this woman ran me off the road while I was heading to the falls. I was driving in the left lane and she just veers into my lane pushing me into the median on the road at 65 mph. Lucky for her my driving skills are top notch you wont find a better driver in anyone as you will me. I can react to situations in a blink so I just drove on the grass at 65mph then veered around her back onto the road and yeah she got the middle finger. You cant take the NY out of me if you run me off the road putting my family in danger you will get the bird trust me lol.

The ride out to Akaka is nice its on the NE shore of the big island past Hilo Bay. Hilo is a cool city downtown is historic on the bay but other parts of it will make you feel as if your in Japan really. But I got to drive through it and figured id spend more time in Hilo the rest of my trip if I had time. Really Kona and Hilo are the two largest cities on the big island other then that their are a few tiny towns and in between its all primitive.

When I arrived at the state park their was tour buses everywhere. I did not stay long at Akaka Falls but I had to see them. The falls drop 442' twice the height of Niagara Falls. The drive along the Hamakua Coast is nice and eventually when you do hike uphill you will traverse a lush rainforest filled with groves of bamboo, ferns and wild orchids along the trail. You will also see allot of smaller waterfalls along the way.

When I took the trail it split to the right was the 100 foot Kahuna Falls which btw was closed they had a sign up. I was getting a bit pissed off on my journeys to Hawaii because everything I tried to see was closed or had a sign. After awhile I just started sneaking into places because if I want to take a risk by walking on a wet trail that is my choice. I get so sick of everyone taking peoples freedoms away what do they expect me to spend thousands of more dollars to come back because there shit was not opened the first time I was here come on! The trail is paved how bad could it have been to walk a few hundred feet to go see Kahuna Falls so with that being said I ended up only seeing Akaka Falls.

These falls are some of the islands most Iconic but its hard when people are at the vista point hogging the view. But the falls plummet into an eroded gorge its almost makes you feel as if your in the Amazon its all rain forest back here, cliffs and there is no way to the bottom of this deep gorge which you can look almost straight down into at the vista point. Its worth seeing though.

Local Folklore describes a stone found here called Pōhaku a Pele which when struck by a branch of the lehua ʻāpane it will cause the sky to darken and rains to fall. Lehua ʻāpane or ʻōhiʻa ʻāpane is an ʻōhiʻa tree (Metrosideros polymorpha) with dark red blossoms. I did not see the large stone but its upstream of the falls 70' away. Although these tropical flowers which are talked about in the legend are common they do grow here in abundance. I also read that an endemic species native to Hawaii of goby fish spawn just above the waterfall but mature in the ocean.

I did not spend much time at the falls it was a bit of a drive but after tour buses and crowds I felt I would be better suited to climb around in the Kaumana Caves. Their is a certain slice of serenity that comes with caving perhaps because its a world within a world. You wont find tour buses here or crowds. Most people do not like squeezing between rocks, crevices, tunnels and rock climbing inside a lava tube. I on the other hand never felt at home more then when I went adventuring in this cave system.

The caves are 25 miles in length in a county park you can get a brief tour of them or you can take it upon yourself to explore solely on your own if you wish to go a couple miles underground. Do not confuse this cave system with Kazumura Cave which is one of the longest and deepest lava tubes in the world. The problem is that Kazumura cost money requires reservations and you cant explore them on your own. However Kaumana is free and your given free range to explore the lava tube with no guides, tour groups or people telling you what you can or cannot do such as smoking a my marijuana oil so I prefer Kaumana.

You start off at these concrete stairs through a rain forest fern jungle to the bottom of a collapsed pit or rather skylight into the cave. If you go to your right from the stairs its more kid friendly but if you take the cave to the left its wild were talking giant lava rocks, small areas to squeeze through and terrain that goes up and down. When I was there I seen two different tour guides showing the cave off to some older guy and a married couple. The thing is in Hawaii you can find tour guides to show you these places I prefer to go myself. I already do my research and have more experience then even the guides as most of you know.

The lava tube itself was created by Mauna Loa in 1881 when the city of Hilo was facing annihilation. I actually did visit Mauna Loa when I went to the Volcano National Park its a beast and flows under the earth as well for many miles thus lava tubes are creature. History states that Princess Ruth Ke`elikolani camped directly in front of the advancing lava flow and stood praying, beseeching the goddess Pele to spare the city. I guess the lava stopped flowing less then a mile away.

When you go down into the cave you can actually see what is known as historic graffiti scratched into the rocks. Some say its hundreds of years old I am not sure not if the tube was formed in the late 1800's. It does not take long for the cave to fade into the darkness you go down this red cinder colored rocks down a hill then the tube levels out. Some of this tube is massive with high ceilings big enough almost for a subway to fit through it other areas you have to duck down in low areas just to enter more caverns or squeeze between some rocks just to journey further.

Allot of the ceiling is collapsing thus leaving behind rocks and boulders bigger then some vehicles which you will have to climb over or through to advance in the cave. Its lava rock so its sharp you fall, slip, rub up against the boulders it will cut you like glass so you know. But its one of the finest lava tube and cave systems in Hawaii really. This is a cave you work for sometimes you go up hill through a small cave other times you might come out in a cavern full of thousands of rocks and you just have to traverse them how you want but know its slow going their is no fast way to journey through this cave system.

The last half mile Tammy gave up said its to hard and she cant climb anymore. My son and I pressed on till we came to this big cavern and beyond that some sunlight peering through and trees growing inside the cave. Yes their is parts of this cave system that the ceiling is simply gone allowing sunlight and even vegetation to grow inside the cave. We could see the dim sunlight peering through so we kept pushing till we rested at this area and I sat under a tree inside a cave it was bad ass. The cave does continue on and comes out into the rain forest. My son looked at it once you get into the forest it goes back down into the lava tube. Problem is that if you go beyond a couple miles the land beyond that is private as a matter in fact many of the caves in Hawaii can come out in peoples backyards. The Kaumana Caves have multiple entrances.

We were at a couple miles underground we did not go further if I lived in Hawaii I might considering doing many more miles. But it took a few hours just to climb through rocks to get where we were at. So the area where the sun peered through was a great area just to have a nice picnic underground before we headed back to Tammy who sat alone in the dark for an hour. She missed out because the cavern had allot of formations besides the trees growing in it so that was pretty awesome. I did turn on my go pro for a portion of the journey but it might be too dark we did not take allot of lights into the cave it was just good ole fashioned exploring.

Its a rugged lava tube though but it stays cool all year around great for getting out of the heat. Their is allot of rock climbing involved here though some lava tubes are smooth not this one but the caverns are huge and their is allot of adventure this cave offers. When we reached daylight again I decided it was time for us to go to dinner. I did want to explore the other part of the cave to the right of the steps abut I was beat. It took allot of energy and endurance to go a couple miles underground here and just imagine one of Hawaii's longest caves goes at least 45 miles underground.

We did go out to KFC for dinner hey for me that was gold. When I planned this trip Tammy told me I wont have any food to eat because its all Hawaiian but not true. Hilo has plenty of places there that they do have here so I had a nice chicken dinner after a day adventuring. Yeah its simple but a sweet end to the day. By the time I had arrived at the cottage you guessed it hardcore raining once again. We had very few times where it was sunny on this trip most of the trip it rained, foggy and overcast out. If I remember correctly it started to rain a little outside and their was a cavern we were in where water was simply dripping onto us. Really the ceiling of the cave is not very far from the rainforest floor as a matter in fact tree roots grow through the ceiling of the cave everywhere! The best trip we would take we saved for our next day when we adventured at the Volcanoes National Park.

Volcanoes National Park

I have to be honest with you I spent years wanting to go here. I even dreamed of walking up to some of the calderas to get my picture with lava. Sad to say that allot of the park when I went was off limits. Like I said in my report previously everything seemed to be closed that I went to. What good is life without some adventure I am so not a tourist guy id rather be hiking around a caldera with lava then to sit there with a 100 people at some vista point but that is me. If I want to breath in some gas that is not that good for you that is my choice nobody should make it for me.

The Volcanoes National Park is breathtaking it actually resides in the heart of the big island so generally if you want to travel around the island you have to go around the massive volcanoes found here. Believe it or not the big island has plenty of cliffs, volcanoes and mountains. If it were not for these volcanoes the island would never exist but its amazing that a force as destructive as a volcano could lead to such beauty. I mean areas that experienced lava flow today are now full grown rain forest.

The park itself is 505,000 square miles or 323 thousand acres its huge. The two most active volcanoes in the world are found Kilauea and Mauna Loa the worlds most massive shield volcano. Its important to stop at the visitors center so you can get some insight into the birth of the Hawaiian Islands as volcanic activity has been occurring here for 70 million years at least. If these volcanoes continue to grow so will the island of Hawaii someday Hawaii could be the size of American or even Australia and rather then it be an island it could become a continent!

Mauna Loa stands at 56,000 feet above the sea floor this is higher then Everest. You can see Mauna Loa from just about anywhere on the island. The ancients feared this volcano because its eruptions were responsible for wiping out entire cities as a matter in fact they were so violent that their is years of history that the ancients were killed in such eruptions. An example of this happened in 1790 when a group of warriors with there families had gotten stuck up here. Most of the women, children and men were killed leaving behind footprints in the lava as they ran for their lives. I did not find the footprints but I heard they are up here unfortunately every single trail I tried to take was closed I could not even get near the caldera or craters so in a sense my dream faded quickly here my friends. Its so disappointing to travel across the world only to find out that most of the national park is shut down so I was only able to cover a few parts of it for our website sorry.

Mauna Loa stands at over 13,777' on the big island but its not the tallest of volcanoes. Their are many volcanoes that are found nearby including Mauna Kea which is supposedly bigger then even Mauna Loa. If you were to remove the ocean water the big island of Hawaii would be very massive but only a small portion of its land mass is exposed rising out of the Pacific Ocean. But without the ocean the sheer size of Hawaii would not be comprehensible really.

Right now Mauna Loa is not very active but Kilauea has been going strong since 1983 increasing Hawaii's Land Mass to the SW. As a matter in fact the cottage I stayed at is not far from the lava flow into the ocean in the town or community of Kalapana. You use to be able to drive into the park by taking the ocean route onto Chain Of Craters Road now its closed due to lava flow caused by this volcano as it pours out into the sea. You can still take Chain Of Craters but you have to take it from the near the visitors center and start off at the top of it. You can kind of see the glowing lava at night near the cottage its really cool so I definitely enjoyed where we bunked up at being on the edge of the volcanoes park.

Kilauea is about 4000' you can drive to the top and actually look into its Halemaʻumaʻu Caldera. Their is about three areas you can park above the caldera if you wish to see lava flow off in the distance which is known as the Halemaʻumaʻu Crater. The Caldera is amazing trees grow along the calderas edge all the way to the bottom of it then it becomes just a vast open expanse of rock and brown brush. Eventually in the middle of the caldera is the crater and you can just see in the distance laving boiling up splashing high into the air its an amazing site really. I never felt so small in my life when I stood on the edge of the caldera.

 The area is very hot also so steam rising up along the edge of the caldera as well. This was special for me because I never seen an active volcano before and its something all of us should see in our lives because earth is a volcanic planet it is the volcanoes that brought the geology and landscape you see before us. The terrain in Hawaii is also very similar to northern Nevada the difference is that Nevada's volcanoes are now extinct and someday the volcanoes of Hawaii may actually taper off to.

I also took my family to these hot steam fields the steam just rising right out of the ground its amazing really. But its very hot underground so the lava heats the steam and then it rises to the surface. I wanted to hike down into the caldera then to the crater but like I said all trails are closed even the trails that only go around it. I guess their is some gas they do not want people breathing in it wont kill you but its not safe for elderly or children. I could handle it probably I mean I smoke cigars what the hell is a little volcanic smoke lol.

Its strange because I often since as a kid have had flashbacks or visions as if I am in some little jungle hut looking up at Mauna Loa as its erupting. Maybe my past life is from Hawaii perhaps that is why I was drawn to visiting here who knows. Make no mistake about it the volcano's found in Hawaii are remarkable. At times Mauna Loa can be seen snowcapped believe it or not. During my visit it was not but I seen the photos and did not know that till recently. I wanted to drive to the top of Mauna Loa to take in the views visit the observatory etc but guess what? The road to the top was gated another area closed. At least here in the California and Nevada Sierras your free to explore roads are not gated or trails are generally never off limits. For a national park and how much it cost to enter here it was ashamed to see all that was closed. The road to Mauna Loa should NOT have been closed man what a disappointed sorry everyone I wanted to bring you guys more here I really did it was a let down for even me.

I ended up visiting Thurston Lava Tube but its all lit, maintained and that really takes away from the full experience. I get that they want all walks of life to enjoy it but the lava tube needs to be as natural as possible if people are going to understand the geology of it all.

All I had left to do is take the Chain Of Craters road which descends right down to the ocean from Kilauea. The cave was named after Lorrin A. Thurston the grandson of American Missionary Asa Thurston who came here in 1823 and was one of the first Europeans to lay eyes on the Kilauea Volcano. I believe the man who owned the ranch where Lava Trees National Monument is located also was involved with helping set up the parks boundaries and tried to compromise with other ranchers who at one time had ranches where today's national park is located.

The hike is through a fern rain forest not to far actually from the caldera.Thurston discovered it in the early 1900's at one time it had a bunch of stalactites but since then thousands of people have removed them. So really nothing is left here but a smooth tub with kind of a sandy floor throughout it. Id say between the cave and rain forest your looking at about a half of mile of hiking its not very large. But it is something that is open to the public in the park so you should check it out to say the least. I prefer primitive caves but this one is safe to take your family so go for it if your here.

I finished off the last remaining part of my adventure here journeying on the chain of craters road which will take you right down to the coast from the top of Kilauea. Along the road are a variety of large craters where historic eruptions took place. These craters are hundreds of feet deep you can visit about four to five of them along the road and they have vista points. One of the craters was full of hot steam then again I read that when it rains steam is generated making it seem like the volcanic crater is active. Its amazing because you will see the barren arid Kau desert and the rainforest on this journey which is about 18 miles in length.

The Pauahi Crater, which last erupted in 1979, is 300 feet wide and up to 500 feet deep. So these craters are amazingly large and at one time lava oozed out of them. I seen about four to give craters each one was different one of them was so old that a rain forest grew in the crater. I read that at one time many temples petroglyphs and ancient villages used to reside along the chain of craters road. During the 13th century Hawaii's first sacrifi