Susan’s place is just what we needed! It’s just as described. We had plenty of room and everything we needed was there.
We spent the whole first week of January here and had a great time exploring the Hilo side of the big island. It’s about a 35 to 40 minute drive to Hilo, depending on the traffic. But the quaint little village of Pahoa is only about 15 minutes away with great places to eat and an awesome little coffee shop. We found some nice snorkeling in the tidal pools that are only about 15 minutes south along the coastal jungle road (Government Rd). And the jungle road drive is an adventure in itself! Better than Disneyland! Susan’s place came equipped with all the snorkeling equipment we needed.
If you have trouble sleeping with the singing tree frogs and the neighbor’s rooster, there’s a Longs drug store just about 10 minutes down the road where you can buy earplugs. Personally, I love the jungle sounds. In the morning you can walk 2 blocks down to the ocean and watch the waves crashing on the rocks as the sun rises (too rocky for swimming).
In our week there we did the following:
1. Snorkeled and soaked in the Hot Pond tide pool while watching the sun rise over the ocean.
2. Snorkeled twice in the tide pools about 15 south of the house.
3. Visited Akaka Falls (easy hike, well worth it for the views.)
4. Visited Waipio Valley. Did the tour ride down into the valley. Lots of fun!
5. Visited Volcano National Park. Awesome!
6. Road bikes and hiked to the lava flow. Grueling! Scared me to death being 15 feet from hot lava and suddenly realizing there was hot lava in the cracks of the rocks underneath me. Worth it, but don’t be stupid like I was.
7. Shopped, ate and went to a movie in Hilo. Not much to do in Hilo. But nice town.
8. Visited Rainbow Falls right in Hilo. Beautiful falls, but hike up the road to the top of the falls and check out the amazing banyan tree! Incredible!
9. Visited the free Hilo Zoo and Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Farm and plant. The zoo is small but amazingly beautiful. Both of these are only about 25 minutes from the house on the highway to Hilo.
10. Drove up to the Mauna Kea visitors center at night to see the Milky Way. Beautiful view!
All in all, this has been a fantastic vacation and Susan’s place was the perfect home base.