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| Big Island Diversity Makes the Island a Visitor Favorite |
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Home of the world’s most active volcano, the Big Island of Hawai’i contains 13 climate zones and some of the most dramatic and breath-taking sights in the islands. While planning your trip to Hawaii, be sure to plan as much time as possible on this island to see the vast array of sights and sounds on this diverse island. The youngest of the Hawaiian Island archipelago, Hawai’i, more often simply called the “Big Island,” definitely lives up to its name. Currently the island contains somewhere around 4,050 square miles and continues to grow via the addition of active lava flows every single day. In fact, over 500 new acres have been added to the island just since 1983. The Big Island contains somewhere around 300 miles of coastline, 5 major volcanoes and contains two mountains, Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa that rise well over 13,000 feet from the ocean floor. It is a diverse island of barren, hardened lava flows to lush, tropical rainforests teeming with flora and fauna.
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The Big Island is an agricultural breadbasket for the Hawaiian Island chain. Farmers grow world famous Kona coffee, cocoa, vanilla beans, macadamia nuts, and kava. It is the only place on earth where seahorses are farmed. The lush rain forests of the island provide at least half of the state’s orchids and a large percentage of the beautiful flowers used to create famous Hawaiian leis. The Big Island is home to Parker Ranch, one of the largest, working cattle ranches in the United States at 150,000 acres. Meet Hawaiian paniolo and enjoy horseback riding in the gently sloping, grassy valleys of the northern part of the island. The Big Island is also rich in ancient history and was the home to ancient Hawaiian royalty. As a result, you will want to plan on returning to the Big Island for many years to come so that you can explore this island’s many fascinating and diverse wonders.
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| There is so much to see and do on the island, that you will have difficulty trying to fit everything in. The Big Island has two main population centers. One is Kailua-Kona on the west (dry) side of the island and the other is Hilo located in the dense rainforest (wet) southeastern side of the island. Kailua-Kona is a “beach town” which gets the major part of the tourism trade. Just 20 miles north of Kailua-Kona on the Kohala coastline lie a string of high-end resort complexes and designer shopping centers. Hilo serves as the seat of Hawaii county government, the location of the campus of the University of Hawai’i and the home of lush waterfalls, dense rainforests and tropical gardens. You will want to spend some time seeing the sights on both sides of the island as well as in the north end of the island. The north is the home of some gorgeous lookouts such as the Waipi’o Valley Lookout and the city of Waimea, home of the Hawaiian cowboys and expansive Parker Ranch. While driving around the perimeter of the island (some 300 miles) can be done, it is often slow going due to the many small towns, steep climbs and windy roads. It is definitely NOT recommended so take your time and allow enough time to spend some quality time on all sides of the island. You will definitely be glad you did! |
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