Hawaiian Restaurants, Beaches and Wildlife

We had some wonderful meals in Hawaii.  There are so many restaurants to chose from, and we were lucky to make some good choices.
Happy Hour.  We absolutely loved Huggos on the Rocks in Kailua-Kona.  Sitting with sand at your feet, watching the sunset, listening to some really good music with a Mai Tai...doesn't get much better.
They have Mai Tai's for $4.00 and other drink specials, their appetizers were (we had a quesadilla) good size, but we did not ever eat a full meal here.  Music starts around 5:15.

 

Restaurants:
Bite Me   Honokohau Harbor Marina.  Casual setting, outside picnic tables, great seafood.

Island Hopper Steak and Seafood.  Across from Kailua pier.  Open air.  Scott felt this place had the best shrimp cocktail of all the places we ate.  There was a Hawaiian singer (singing Hawaiian classics).

Bubba Gumps  Kailua Kona, on Alii drive, on the water.  Very nice atmosphere, with average food and it's family friendly.

Kona Canoe Club  in the Kona Inn shopping village.  Average food, open air seating along ocean.  They also have a happy hour from 2-5 pm.

Kona Inn Restaurant  in the Kona Inn shopping village.  Outdoor tables, good food, view of ocean.

Pancho & Lefty's Cantina.  Mexican restaurant.  We were here early so I had Macadamia pancakes which were very good and Scott had a variety platter.  A nice view of all the activity along Alii drive.

Jolenes  In Honoka'a, corner restaurant on main street that we stopped at after viewing Waipi'a valley.  There aren't many restaurants to choose from, but this one turned out to be quite good.  I had a teriyake burger, and Scott had a Okazu Platter as we watched locals walk by.  This restaurant advertised that Honoka'a was the site of an episode of Hawaii 5-0.

 Sam Choys           By the name I was thinking Chinese, but this was mainly a seafood restaurant.  Open air, some outdoor seating.  All meals between $20 and $30.  Fresh bread was placed on the table, which was very good but what was really interesting was everyone got a small salad and a cup of soup as we waited for our orders.  Everything was very good!

Courtyard King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel Restaurant.  They advertised a seafood buffet on Fridays so Scott and I checked it out.  A large selection of food, the king crab legs were excellent, but overall a good but not superior seafood buffet.  

BEACHES in Kailua-Kona

(my underwater camera got sand in the lens so the pictures are grainy)

Magic Sands Beach Park:  Really nice sand beach.  Reef along one side with snorkeling good when the waves are overpowering.  

I saw a Trumpet fish along with some colorful pools of fish

Kahalu'u Beach Park   further south on Alii Drive.  The beach has an offshore reef and has better snorkeling since its in a protected bay, but the beach is somewhat rocky.  Here I saw a Helmut Gurnard fish.  (the Helmut Gurnard fish actually grunts when it feels threatened and the name Gurnard is french for grunt).  Also a large turtle swam by me so fast that I only could capture part of it, but it was so cool!

Helmut Gurnard

Turtle swims by

The best area for snorkeling is about 22 miles south of Kailua-Kona.  It is across from the Pu'u Honua O Honaunau (City of Refuge) National Historical Park which we didn't visit.  It was a place of sanctuary in the early 15th century either for those who broke the law against the gods or for women and children and defeated warriors.  Visitor center open daily.

This beach is located in Honaunau Bay and has a small shallow section that allows easy access into the water but you have to swim deeper out or around the rocks to get to the coral reef.  You can also enter the water from the rocks since the water is pretty deep but I suggest wearing water shoes because of the slippery rock surface and the coral reef.  Also the water current can be strong so if you are not a good swimmer wearing a life jacket or vest is recommended.

Shallow beach area

Rocky area overlooking bay

The best snorkeling is at the northeastern section of the bay, Ka awaloa Cove.  This is where the water ranges from 5 to 120 feet deep with a huge diversity of technicolor fish and coral.  This is also the area the spinner dolphins frequent mid afternoons.  I have never snorkeled in such deep water before and it was exceptional.  When the dolphins made their appearance, I was too far away but just knowing they were in the same cove made it really cool.  

Cornet Fish

Kekaha Kai State Park Beach   Manini Owali section.  North of Kona International airport.  Nice sand beach but you must climb down about 4 feet of lava rock to get to the beach.  Nice waves made body surfing very popular here.

Then off in the ocean I noticed people pointing, and there was a water spout, a few minutes later another another spout.  A whale was making its way north.  I climbed up the side to where people were taking pictures, unfortunately I took pictures of the same area but could not capture the whale spouting water.

Lava Tube in Mike and Lynn's backyard.

Mike's Banana Trees

a smaller lava tube

 Makalei Golf Club

Breakfast view

In the Wild:

Feral Cats at the Old Kona Airport State Recreational Center

Wild Goats

Wild Kalij Pheasants

Mongoose found all over Hawaii.

I hope these blogs were informative but mostly entertaining.  There is so much to see and do in Hawaii where the weather is always wonderful.  We want to thank Mike and Lynn for allowing us to crash at their wonderful home, and also to do a little lava rock landscaping.   Volcano National Park and Mauna Kea Summit are a must for visitors.  Waipio'o Valley is breathtaking and exhausting if you choose to walk down into the valley.  The beaches were great!  This is a land of diverse topography, from desert to tropical rainforest and everything in between, Hawaii is truly paradise!

Let's end with a sister/brother picture!