This family made us feel very welcome right off the bat. I flew in to Hilo on the last flight in and had to pick-up a rental car before heading to the house -it was already dark out and my GPS was not working well, but the directions provided by the host made the house easy to find. The house and beautiful tropical garden are in great condition and really transport you out of your concrete jungle mindset. The outdoor showers are a great way to rid your self of any black-sand from your excursions. The house rules were clear and very reasonable, and made sharing living spaces and amenities a breeze - this was our first time sharing amenities, so we were a little apprehensive about it before our trip. The water is potable and tasty, (filtered rain-water) so you can fill-up your hydration pouch and not worry about bottled water throughout the day. Although we didn't spend a lot of time in the house, and hence didn't have a LOT of facetime with the family, Riaan made sure we knew which places to hit and helped prioritize them. The host also provides you with a guidebook to take on the road with you - a heaven-sent since I lost my favorite map on the first day.