chinese new year

The Chinese new year festival was held yesterday in Kalakaua park. There's plenty to eat, $18 shirts to prove you went, Wadaiko (Japanese drumming), ice shave, cute girls, chinese dragon dancers and a great place to take kids.

More site seeing

Captain Cook monument is not terribly exciting. It can be kayaked and hiked to, the New Zealand couple I met said it was a 1.5 hr hike. We did the kayak. Lani, the guy that rented us the kayaks, charged us $50 for a 2 seater and a 1 seater. When I asked about kama'iana rates, he replied "Those are kama'iana rates." Some places, maybe in Kona will have kayaks for $20/day, strap them to your rental and you're ahead of the game.

Lani did provide dry bags though which I didn't trust enough to put my camera into, but in the end worked out very well. He also said it was a 20 minute ride, but it took us about 30 minutes in the double kayak, the single took about 45.

We encountered a manta ray that was huge and awesome in the middle of the bay. Make sure you lock your car and bring plenty of water and it's also a nice place for a picnic. Don't forget a snorkle either, the yellow tang are abundant.

The memorial is at the southern tip of Kealakekua Bay park, launch from here. I made a fancy map!:


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Merrie Monarch

The Merrie Monarch festival is going on. If you ever want to go, buy tickets in January 'cause I hear they sell out in February.
If you want to go to the free shows get there early. We arrived about 15 minutes before it started and we couldn't get in.

This is a once a year chance to see some super hot Hawaiians dance. I'm really sorry we missed it.

Surfing

There are a brazillian websites devoted to the best beaches in Hawaii. I'm just starting to learn to boogie board and I've found two beaches that have the waves for it near Hilo. First is Richardson's Beach and the second is Honoli'i. Richardson's is the most well rounded of any of the beaches I've been to. It has snorkeling, wading, sun bathing, a grill, showers, and waves for body boarders. Even has a small beach for kids to play in. If you're in a group with mixed interests regarding a beach, Richardson's is the place to go.

The only down side to body boarding at Richardson's is that in the middle of the wave break there are a few big rocks. During high tide you can only see them as a wave goes past. There's intimidating and you don't want to get caught on a wave headed towards them. It happened to J and I and it was pretty scary stuff. We made it with only a few scrapes.

Honoli'i is a famous beach for surfing. It's about the only thing you can do there, the beach is mall and full of rocks. The surf is outstanding. It's perhaps not the best place to learn to surf as there is always a crowd and the waves can get pretty big if you don't know what you're doing (like me).
Both beaches are within biking distance of Hilo.