The luau dinner was a perfect way to cap our first night on the Big Island. There was music, dancing, storytelling, great food (cooked the traditional way), and the people were all smiling and having a great time. The host went around interviewing guests, and many are couples about to get married, or were celebrating their wedding anniversary. The night we went to bed, I thought, Hawai’i is a celebration of nature, love, and spirit.
What a beautiful place to be in.
What We Brought: Swimming clothes, hiking boots, jacket, rain jacket (important if you’re going to Hilo), sunscreen, lots of water, camera, binoculars, and our super smiles.
Near Kona airport is the Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park where you can see so many honu (sea turtles) just chilling by the beach. Word of caution though, people are not allowed to get near the turtles. They are protected by law. As there are a lot of them, make sure to look where you're going cause you don't want to trip on them.
The Park is massive. There are fish ponds on one end, a lake and a restoration project on the middle, and a swimming area on the other far end. It was not reallt advisable to swim when we were there due to strong waves. A lot of people were swimming at the far left side of the beach though, where it was much calmer. We attended a free Geological Tour which I highly recommend if you're interested to know a bit of how the Big Island was formed.
The one thing that I was so excited about when we went to Hawaii are the beaches. Much as we have beautiful beaches in the Bay Area, they’re too cold for my tropical body, and the idea of being able to swim in Hawaii (with a life jacket since I really can’t) drew me in. We spent our second day doing the most touristy-thing, snorkeling. Morning, we did a spur-of-the-moment decision and booked a snorkeling adventure in Captain Cook at the Kealakelua Bay, which they say is the best spot on the Big Island.
After that, we did the Mantaray Night Snorkel in Holualoa. For the activity, we held on to a floating board with blue lights. The blue lights attract zooplanktons, the mantaray’s favorite food. So it’s basically watching the mantaray munch on zooplanktons about three feet away from you. I did not see the mantaray. I had to be rescued back to the boat early in the session. The waves were very strong that night and I am not a confident swimmer. Larry was very hyped up about the adventure though (he was the guy on the left-most, bottom of the board), and it’s one of the things he remembers most about our trip.
For our third day in Hawaii, we hiked down the Pololu Valley to experience one of its black sand beaches. The trail could be a bit steep and rocky for some people so be prepared. The hike down is worth it though. Don’t just stop by the beach, walk further and discover the forested area. We saw some campers there too. After the valley hike, we braved the clouds and went hiking at the Palila Discovery Trail. There we saw endemic birds – Palila, Amakihi, and the Hawaiian owl.
We ended the night by stargazing and learning about astronomy at the Observatory in Mauna Kea, the world’s tallest volcano and mountain. There were telescopes set up by astronomers, and people were encouraged to look through them to see the stars.
Our fourth day was a chill day spent with our couple friend who moved to Hilo recently. They took us to Akaka Falls in the morning. It was probably the shortest “hike” that we did, 45 minutes maybe and we walked super slow. The park also has a paved path so it’s more friendly to tourists.
After that, we walked by the famous Lili’uokalani Gardens to get to the Coconut Island. The area seems to be a family favorite for swimming and having picnics as there were a lot of them when we went, which was surprising cause it was raining a little. By the way, Hilo is the rainiest city in the United States.
We met with another couple friend (with their mom and daughter too) and they took us to Rainbow Falls and the Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawaii. It was a quick stop at Rainbow Falls because it was raining so we did not really see any “rainbow”. We had a blast at Imiloa though, practically because we love learning and places like it will always be fascinating to us.
Just look at Larry (photo below) getting all nerdy with Rich, my friend Sheila’s husband. This is what happens when scientists meet. We also loved their planetarium which reminded me of the Samuel Oschin Planetarium at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, California.
It is our wedding anniversary! What best way to celebrate the La-Va (Larry + Iva) anniversary than to see actual lava! We went to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park where we saw the Kilauea crater bubbling with lava. At the Kimpuka Puaulu, we even walked through a lava tube and did a little birding.
It was drizzling at the start of our hike at the Pu'u o'o Volcano Trail. That did not stop us though, and it probably made the experience even more cool (literally too!) because it was just us there. The trail was easy, mostly flat, and we didn't have to worry about having to do a lot of uphill hiking. It's also a great spot for birders, especially with the mini rain forest in the middle of the trail. Larry went all nerdy listening to birds. As for me, the trail felt like we were underwater. The plants, the mistiness, the rock formation made it feel like a long time ago, everything was submerged in the ocean. It was great.
After our hike, we went for a short stop at the Wailuku River State Park, and then we also checked the Pacific Tsunami Museum downtown. The humble museum serves as a living memorial where people can learn from the past, particularly on what to do when a tsunami strikes.
For our eighth day, we visited the La’akea community to learn more about intentional permaculture living. We had a great time picking fruits and veggies from their organic farm, and even helped cook the community dinner for the night. After dinner, we joined in a session on tribal technology at Lolia, and learned more about building trust-based, non-violent communities.
I won’t talk about it much as Larry had written more about it below (Permaculture on Hawaii's Big Island). It was truly beautiful, and is my most favorite experience in Hawaii.
As we were set to spend our last day in Hawaii with another of our couple friend, we took a quick stop to the black sand beach at Panalu’u and then at the nearby Whittington Beach Park. It was beautiful and quiet there, it seemed empty compared with the other beaches. This is quite understandable as the waves seem bigger there. I guess it is better admired from the shore, for safety reasons. There is a picnic area too, if you want a quiet space to just admire the ocean.
Around this time, we did not really have anymore plans. We originally wanted to check the green sand beach, but we no longer have enough time. So our last day was a quiet night spent at our friends’ cabin at the top of a mountain at South Point.
La'akea is an intentional permaculture community near Pahoa, on the Big Island of Hawai'i. On our trip, we had the chance to visit La'akea and spend a night in their compound learning about some of the farming techniques they use, as well as how they structure their community.
The climate is subtropical and there is ample rainfall to grow just about anything (about 150 inches per year). We were amazed at how many different types of food-bearing plants could be grown there, many of which we recognized from farms in other tropical and subtropical climates, such as in the Philippines. With so much sun and rainfall available, the possibilities for experimenting with farming techniques are virtually limitless.
We spent the morning picking oranges in the orchard of a few dozen trees. There were mostly orange and lemon trees, guavas, and a few Suriname Cherry trees.
Many of the basic concepts in permaculture are circular or cyclical rather than linear, and this is just one example. This approach lets the sheep do the work that they are good at rather than using a lawnmower and buying fertilizer. Their bodies even turn the grass they eat into milk.
La’akea also grows plenty of vegetables, raises chickens and rabbits, and uses a system of composting toilets. All of these “systems” are integrated in with the rest of the farm. For example, rabbits and chickens can eat leftover food scraps from your meals. The chickens can produce eggs and manure, and the rabbits produce meat and manure, all very quickly. The animals provide both an excellent source of protein for the people, and an excellent source of nitrogen and phosphorous for the other plants.
La’akea even goes as far as to use composting toilets to use “humanure” for fertilizer. They call them “garden pooper”. The compost bins, when full, are allowed to sit long enough for the poop to break down and for all pathogens to be killed. The “humanure” can then be used to fertilize non-food plants on the farm. This illustrates again the cyclical nature of permaculture, looking at things that we would normally just throw out or flush away as a valuable resource. Urine is collected separately because it is sterile and an excellent source of nitrogen and can be used to fertilize bananas!
La’akea takes a “communitarian” approach to structuring their lives together in which all the individuals are celebrated for the skills that they bring to the group.
This approach might be contrasted with a “collectivist” model in which all the individuals conform to achieve a single common goal. The communitarian approach allows for indiviuals to more fully express and realize their individual needs. The community is now at 10 members plus their children and uses consensus process to make important, long-term decisions that affect the group.
We were able to help prepare a communal meal with many of the La’akea members and got to know more about how they live together.
Many of the members have their own houses that they have built on the land, so they do have a chance for some privacy and time with their families, but one communal meal at the end of the day is an important ritual that helps build lasting relationships between members. That feeling of community becomes even stronger when you know that you have grown the food that you are eating together.
Acceptance and respect for each other is key to building lasting community.
There is no substitute for real, human, face-to-face interaction. You can’t go it alone.
Sharing what you have builds mutual love, trust, and respect.
You should value what you might want to throw away.
Always be open to learn new things. Always be open and patient enough to accept questions from others.
Permaculture sometimes seems like a word that is very difficult to define. All it really is about is living simply, seeing value in the margins or marginalized, and taking time to foster loving and supportive relationships with other human beings.
Permaculture is really a revival of some older, tried and true ideas, that people have been using to survive on this planet for many thousands of years.
It’s amazing to see permaculture’s potential to heal a society that often leaves people behind and forgets what really makes people happy.
From Pahoa, Hawai'i, head south on Highway 130 for approximately two miles, then trun right on Ala'lli Road. Drive about one mile on Ala'lli Road until you see the entrance to the farm on the right. La'akea welcomes visitors to their farm. You can contact them by visiting their website: www.permaculture-hawaii.com.
The closest I’ve come to permaculture is my ex-boyfriend’s farming concepts. But you’re right, we have to get back to the way things were long ago, living simply and taking care of our planet. It will lead us back to the right path eventually. And I do hope I’ll get to visit the La’akea COmmunity one day.
This is incredibly enlightening, I’ve been dying to read more about permaculture for a while. Also it’s awesome to not only learn so much from your article but also from your blog – I love that you’re from the Philippines. I lived there for a while and it was pretty crazy how many people didn’t really have the hugest ecological conscience – not that it’s anyone’s fault, I guess the nation just needs more people like you spreading the word about such an essential cause Keep up the incredible work.
Very interesting post! I have heard a lot about permaculture but have never visited any of the farms. So I found it quite fascinating that the concept, in fact, extends beyond farming into how we live together.
Thank you for sharing & happy continued travels!
How Not To Travel Like A Basic Bitch
So I was born and raised on the Big Island and did not know that Hilo was the rainiest city in the US! Haha! Now it all makes sense! Also started crying at your explanation of Aloha. There’s so much meaning in every Hawaiian word and the culture it’s attached to. This was a beautiful post.
Oh my goodness, something about being in the water in the dark gives me the heebie jeebies. The Manta ray night snorkel seems like such a cool idea but I probably would need to be rescued too!
Hawaii is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been to. I just love their outlook on life and this post sums that up nicely! This might seem weird but I love the idea of the ‘Garden Pooper’…sitting there knowing you’re helping to grow bananas…