Maui was all about fun in the sun, and now now we transitioned to a more active phase of our adventure as we moved to the “Big Island” of Hawaii. The entire state is called Hawaii of course, and so is it’s largest island. But more importantly it was the island’s other designation, the County of Hawaii, that mattered the most to me. I could add it to my County Counting list after I deplaned.
This was the final addition to my Hawaiian counties list because of the Kalawao County debacle. So I hit 80% (four of five counties) upon arrival and called it good.
America 250
This was a particularly interesting day: July 4, 2026 — the 250th anniversary of the United States. Do you remember where you were on that day? I spent part of mine on a fifteen minute flight from Maui to the Big Island.
I spotted this Southwest jet at Maui as we were waiting. No, we took a completely different jet and airline, but I thought it was particularly appropriate given the special date. I looked up the tail number (N8719Q) and Southwest calls this their Liberty One livery. Apparently it spent July 4 hopping between Hawaiian islands. The incoming flight originated in Honolulu, and it was about to turn around and go back to Honolulu.
Big Island Welcome
It felt funny loading onto a full-sized passenger aircraft to get to an island sitting maybe thirty miles (fifty kilometres) away. But no other simple solution exists. Ferries have a complicated history in the archipelago and private plane charters are too expensive. So there we were in Maui dealing with all the usual check-in procedures, queuing, security checks, waiting around, and eventually boarding, just like any other airport experience but for a super-short flight.
Once aboard, someone asked a flight attendant about WiFi. No, they don’t have that for a quarter-hour in the air. The passenger seemed shocked that it was so short. Geography is hard, I guess. But they did have a beverage service! There was just enough time to hand everyone a small, sealed cup of POG juice (passion fruit, orange, and guava, which is pretty ubiquitous on the islands) and collect the empties before our wheels hit the tarmac.
We landed at the “Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keahole” (KOA) near Kailua-Kona. Ellison Onizuka was a mission specialist aboard the Challenger space shuttle when it broke apart during liftoff in 1986. He was born on the Big Island so the airport renaming seemed fitting.
It was an open-air terminal. Notice the gate numbers in the photo. This is actually the airside of the terminal, past security, where people wait to board flights. There aren’t too many other places where this design would work.
Kaloko-Honokohau
We didn’t spend much time in Kailua-Kona, just a single afternoon. We were staying near Hilo on the complete opposite side of the Big Island. But why would we do that? Well, because airlines don’t fly directly between Maui and Hilo on certain days of the week.
So we flew into KOA and knocked-out what we could because I didn’t want to drive all the way across the island again. We departed via Hilo a few days later, not too far from our accommodations. Fortunately the rental car company didn’t charge us a drop-off fee for using different airports.
After landing at KOA we drove straight over to Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park (map), less than ten minutes away. This was the sight of an ancient native Hawaiian settlement on a flat lava field that extended down to the sea.
Shoreline Fishpond
This was the leeward side of the island, hot and sunny, and we certainly experienced both in abundance as we hiked the trails, sweating. Most of the artifacts were concentrated down by the shoreline, including the biggest one of all, the fishpond. Early settlers created an artificial lagoon by hand, building breakwaters that let small fish enter into protected shallows. Those fish grew, and eventually grew too large to exit, providing a sustainable source of nourishment that replenished continuously.
Petroglyphs
People didn’t just stay at the shoreline. They found meaning in every sliver of land leading back into the mountains. Each elevation microclimate served a specific purpose, whether fishing, crops, water, or logging. They had everything they needed to thrive within their strip extending seashore to hillside.
Naturally they left their signature upon a land they inhabited for countless generations. One section of trail featured a boardwalk that circled around a lava field covered with petroglyphs. The original inhabitants carved numerous figures, many depicting people, recorded both before and after European contact.
Kona Brewing – Kailua-Kona
It was starting to get late in the day and we still had a long drive ahead of us so we decided on an early dinner. Thankfully Kona Brewing’s flagship location sat along our path. I went to one of their other locations on an earlier trip but this was my first time at their main facility. We enjoyed a leisurely stop and I added another marker to my brewery map.
Saddle Road
The drive from Kailua-Kona to Hilo takes about an hour and a half (map), and crosses the Big Island from west to east. However, it’s not a straightforward drive because a massive shield volcano, Mauna Kea, sits between them. Saddle Road (Route 200) has to climb part of the Mauna Kea slope during its island traverse, hitting an elevation of 6,632 feet (2,021 metres) along the way.
The road is generally well maintained and the uphill portions often included a passing lane so it moved pretty smoothly. However, next to nobody lives up there and roadside services simply don’t exist. Drivers need to make sure that they have sufficient fuel, aren’t hungry, and can survive without a restroom because those won’t happen until Hilo. Certainly an hour and a half isn’t the end of the world but it could become rather unpleasant for someone underprepared.
Scenery changes pretty quickly after that Saddle Road highpoint. Drivers transition from the leeward side to the windward side of the Big Island. Hot, arid scrubland gives way to rainforest, and the windshield wipers came on for the first time that day. Hilo is one of the wettest cities in the United States, and indeed the world. We got at least some rain every single day.
Our trip was about to get a lot different.
See Also: The Complete Photo Album on Flickr.
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