Big Island

The Great:

• It is a tie between U.S. State and National Park facilities on Big Island (Hawaii) and the Mauna Kea Astronomy Education Centre run by the Hawaii University.
o United States park facilities: our camping sites where very clean, run by competent and friendly employees, and very cheap. At 5 $ a night, you can’t beat that price to camp right on the beach in Hawaii.
o The Hawaii University Mauna Kea Astronomy Education Centre gives outstanding presentations. As a visitor, I could use 10 to 15 different telescopes for my own stargazing experience. Astronomers helped us understand all the different constellations and planets. Seeing the satellites of Jupiter and all the craters on the moon is quite a sight! The presentation lasted a solid 2 hour. Price of entry to the site, cost of presentation, and fee paid to use the telescopes: zero. Unbelievable.

The Hidden:

• Definitely the Mauna Kea Astronomy Education Centre. There are not that many tourists. Most of them just go to the top of Mauna Kea, watch the sunset, stargaze a bit, then head back the hotel. They are missing out on the incredible presentation delivered by the astronomers at the Education Centre.

The Overrated:

• Big Island is trying to position itself as the “historical island” of Hawaii. However, we found that explanations about historical sites left us with more questions than answers. For example, we saw some great looking glyphs in the Petroglyphs field in Volcano Park. However, we could not find any written explanations about the glyphs. Why are they there? When were they left there? How did the natives manage to engrave lava rocks? Without proper explanations, most historical sites were underwhelming.


The Ugly:

• Driving in general on Big Island. Roads are often too narrow. Elevation can change quickly and without any warning. We felt like we were on roller coasters. The brakes on our rental car were busted for obvious reasons.

But worst of all were road signs on Big Island. They were either non-existent or placed in the worst possible locations, for example right when it is time to turn. Hawaiian tourist guides warn us tourists that it is dangerous to stop at crossings to get directions. Well, dear Big Island tourist officials, if tourists abruptly stop at crossings, it is because you did such a poor job at managing our expectations of what is ahead. Get a grip!

Other observations:
• We reached the Southern Point on Big Island at 18’54’39 parallel north. This is no ordinary place. The United States of America does not extend south of parallel 18’54’39 parallel north.
• Wine prices : 4.99 $ for a yellow tail shiraz. 6.49 $for a Turning Leaf, one of Ania’s favorite. I felt like a child exploring the alley full of cheap wines! Taxes on the precious liquid are too high in Canada!

But then as we exited the grocery store, a lady from a charity organization asked us if we would like to donate food or money. She mentioned that 1 in 5 Big islander food assistance. 1 in 5? I was shocked.

No taxes on wine, but no safety net for the poor folks. I guess there is no perfect world. Both sides have good argument. For now we chose to drink our Turning Leaf right on the beach :)

• “Kona Joe Coffee” was a great stop. We met a couple who were from the Ukraine. Both of them had managed to find an internship on Big Island. Life is so hard when your internship is in Hawaii. :)