Holoholo Hawaii - A Six-Day Drive Around the Big Island

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Outside Traveler 2004

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Out There: Hawaiian Road Trip
Holoholo Hawaii
You'll hit more surf than pavement on this 250-mile pleasure drive around the Big Island

By Bonnie Tsui


	Tropical Bliss: Hawaii’s Big Island (Courtesy, Hawaii Visitors Bureau)

The biggest of the Hawaiian islands—all 4,000-plus square miles of it—gets bigger all the time, thanks to Kilauea's regular spouts of volcanic activity. The ever-increasing real estate means there's more room to roam on the ultimate multisport Big Island road trip: a six-day, 250-mile route that starts and ends on the west coast in the surfer town of Kailua-Kona and circles the island counterclockwise. Get ready for a lush new location—and a matching adventure—each day. With eight of the world's 13 climate zones here in one place, you'll do it all: surf 75-degree ocean swells, hike to rainforest waterfalls, and scramble up snowcapped alpine terrain. Warning: Once you start this circumnavigation, you may not want to stop circling.

DAY ONE: Holoholo (the islander term meaning to ramble for pleasure) to Kahalu'u Beach, just south of Kailua-Kona and a leisurely 20-minute drive south of the Kona airport on Route 11, for a two-hour lesson with the Hawaii Lifeguard Surf Instructors. With three breaks, there are enough waves here for everyone from beginners to pros. I paddle out with a

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natural-born surfer: a huge, old green sea turtle the size of my coffee table back home. My instructor, Sandy Kamaka, a veteran surfer girl with 28 years of experience, shouts approvingly, "He looks like a real ali'i!"—a Hawaiian chief. Kahalu'u's waters teem with other undersea life—parrot fish, eels, sea urchins, wrasses—making it an ideal snorkeling spot, too. The breakwater shelters the southern part of the bay, allowing easy access to calm waters, warm tide pools, and a thriving coral reef, while also creating the five-foot waves on the park's north side.

Tonight, live the high life on 32 acres of lush Kohala Coast oceanfront at the Fairmont Orchid Hawaii, about an hour north of Kahalu'u Beach on Route 11. The 540-room resort wins points for location, location, location—plus its unique one- to three-day outrigger canoe program. Learn to paddle traditional Hawaiian watercraft and experience the culture of the state sport with some of the island's most accomplished paddlers.

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