topsy
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2007
On the way back to the marina we took a detour to a well-known area for dolphin activity. As promised, there were tonnes of spinner dolphins swimming around, jumping out of the water and, as their name would suggest, spinning mid-jump.
I highly recommend this tour, Captain Dan and his team are really knowledgeable and obviously care about the whales and their environment. Throughout the tour they were sharing all sorts of stories, experiences and the science behind whales’ biology, history and habits.
After the tour we drove back to Kona and were very hungry. So I pulled on my Disboards knowledge, remembering one of the recommendations from Captain Oblivious’ report….we went to the Kona Brewing Co. for lunch. DH had a huge sandwich and I had two appetizers as a main – pepperoni rolls and pretzel bites with a cheese-beer sauce. Both were awesome but the pepperoni rolls won hands down! I took what I couldn’t eat to go and had them later. I really wanted to pick up some bottles of beer for family but they only seemed to sell kegs or large containers which we didn’t have room for. So alas no beer gifts!
The plan for the rest of the day was to drive to the other side of the island before it got dark as we would be relocating to Hilo for the next 5 nights. We decided on Hilo over Kona as it was closer to the many places we wanted to visit such as Volcanoes National Park, Waipi’o Valley, Akaka Falls and much more. We picked up our bags from the hotel and headed off on the approximate 1 hour and 45 minute drive to Hilo via Saddle road. The journey was pretty easy and uneventful. The views along the way were beautiful as we looked out across the land onto the ocean from the hills high above. We attempted to take photos along the way but none of them captured the scenery well enough to do it justice. We hit some pretty miserable weather as we drove between Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea but as soon as we emerged on the Hilo side of the island, the weather dissipated.
If anyone in interested in how to drive between both sides of the island, we took the 190 out of Kona and stayed on it until we took a right onto the 200 (aka. Saddle Road).
Once in Hilo, we navigated our way to the front of the downtown area and slightly out of town to our home for the next few days; The Orchid Tree B&B. I cannot say enough good things about this place! It is a two bedroom B&B run by Steve and his wife (whom we didn’t meet). Steve is definitely the host and was so friendly and insightful. We had booked the Koi Suite which is set in its own building (kind of like a big garage to the side of the house). It had a king size bed, living area, amazing walk in shower and private balcony. Just a few steps out of the front door was a huge covered lanai which is available for guests of both rooms to use. Breakfast is served out here every day at 8.00am with coffee served from 7.00am. The lanai and garden are equipped with a hot tub, swimming pool (not heated which meant it was surprisingly cold!), telescopes, view of the sea (we watched whales every day) comfy outdoor furniture and books galore.
After taking a little time to settle in, we took a short stroll to the beach which Steve had told us about, just around the corner. It wasn’t white sand, instead it was a black sand beach and a haven for local surfers. In fact when we arrived, several locals were sitting in their cars along the cliff edge, playing music and eating dinner. We stayed at the top of the cliff watching the surfers and the sunset and also managed to spot a group of three whales playing in the shallow waters offshore! The pictures are pretty blurry due to the poor light and zoom but you can see their fins and tails splashing out of the water.
I don’t recall us going anywhere for dinner that night; I think we just snacked on the treats we bought at Walmart, a very healthy meal of chocolate and crisps. Once the sun had set, we took advantage of the hot tub and swimming pool. The hot tub was amazing and very relaxing after a busy few days. We took ourselves to bed reasonably early, excited for the breakfast offerings the next morning (I’d read on trip advisor that Steve served up some amazing fruit platters and they did not disappoint!).
I highly recommend this tour, Captain Dan and his team are really knowledgeable and obviously care about the whales and their environment. Throughout the tour they were sharing all sorts of stories, experiences and the science behind whales’ biology, history and habits.
After the tour we drove back to Kona and were very hungry. So I pulled on my Disboards knowledge, remembering one of the recommendations from Captain Oblivious’ report….we went to the Kona Brewing Co. for lunch. DH had a huge sandwich and I had two appetizers as a main – pepperoni rolls and pretzel bites with a cheese-beer sauce. Both were awesome but the pepperoni rolls won hands down! I took what I couldn’t eat to go and had them later. I really wanted to pick up some bottles of beer for family but they only seemed to sell kegs or large containers which we didn’t have room for. So alas no beer gifts!
The plan for the rest of the day was to drive to the other side of the island before it got dark as we would be relocating to Hilo for the next 5 nights. We decided on Hilo over Kona as it was closer to the many places we wanted to visit such as Volcanoes National Park, Waipi’o Valley, Akaka Falls and much more. We picked up our bags from the hotel and headed off on the approximate 1 hour and 45 minute drive to Hilo via Saddle road. The journey was pretty easy and uneventful. The views along the way were beautiful as we looked out across the land onto the ocean from the hills high above. We attempted to take photos along the way but none of them captured the scenery well enough to do it justice. We hit some pretty miserable weather as we drove between Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea but as soon as we emerged on the Hilo side of the island, the weather dissipated.
If anyone in interested in how to drive between both sides of the island, we took the 190 out of Kona and stayed on it until we took a right onto the 200 (aka. Saddle Road).
Once in Hilo, we navigated our way to the front of the downtown area and slightly out of town to our home for the next few days; The Orchid Tree B&B. I cannot say enough good things about this place! It is a two bedroom B&B run by Steve and his wife (whom we didn’t meet). Steve is definitely the host and was so friendly and insightful. We had booked the Koi Suite which is set in its own building (kind of like a big garage to the side of the house). It had a king size bed, living area, amazing walk in shower and private balcony. Just a few steps out of the front door was a huge covered lanai which is available for guests of both rooms to use. Breakfast is served out here every day at 8.00am with coffee served from 7.00am. The lanai and garden are equipped with a hot tub, swimming pool (not heated which meant it was surprisingly cold!), telescopes, view of the sea (we watched whales every day) comfy outdoor furniture and books galore.
After taking a little time to settle in, we took a short stroll to the beach which Steve had told us about, just around the corner. It wasn’t white sand, instead it was a black sand beach and a haven for local surfers. In fact when we arrived, several locals were sitting in their cars along the cliff edge, playing music and eating dinner. We stayed at the top of the cliff watching the surfers and the sunset and also managed to spot a group of three whales playing in the shallow waters offshore! The pictures are pretty blurry due to the poor light and zoom but you can see their fins and tails splashing out of the water.
I don’t recall us going anywhere for dinner that night; I think we just snacked on the treats we bought at Walmart, a very healthy meal of chocolate and crisps. Once the sun had set, we took advantage of the hot tub and swimming pool. The hot tub was amazing and very relaxing after a busy few days. We took ourselves to bed reasonably early, excited for the breakfast offerings the next morning (I’d read on trip advisor that Steve served up some amazing fruit platters and they did not disappoint!).
Thanks for sharing!
