RTW - week 33 (on top of the world)

After New Zealand, we were desperate to keep the great hikes coming, and we thought that Hawai'i would be a great follow up. Our first adventure was to find one of the only white sand beaches on the Hilo side of the island. Since this side of the island is regularily under the flow of an erruption, it mainly comprises of black sand beaches and volcanic rock. Bryan thought he had found the perfect hike, 1 hour through the jungle with a hidden white sand beach on the other side. What more could you ask for?

What we didn't realize is that this side of the island also rains. It rains a lot. Like every day rains (maybe this is why the other side is more popular!)

We packed our bag and started off through the jungle. Due to the torrential rain we had been getting, the path was covered in thick, slippery mud. And I am not talking just a little bit of mud, it was up to our ankles. We pushed through the best we could, even having to Tarzan swing over a pool of mud we couldn't tread through, but the millions of mosquitos biting us didn't help moral. The seemingly neverending trail continued for hours, and by this point we are all cursing Bryan for bringing us into this cesspool.

Finally, FINALLY, we emerged from the thickage covered in mud and bites to find our piece of paradise a good 2.5 hours later.

Within a second we spotted 8 giant turtles basking on the rocks and we immediatly forgave Bryan for sending us down the passage to hell.

I have a small obsession with collecting unique beach sand, and here on Big Island, they have one of the only two green sand beaches. The only caveat is that it is a grueling hour and a half hike down. I mean, you can take a shuttle for $100, but what's the fun in that?

The walk down was in the dead heat with the wind and sand whipping around pelting us on any and every piece of skin exposed. It was another brutal walk, and this time everyone is cursing me for bringing us down this awful hike.

When we finally made it, it was so unpleasant, we immediatly turned around and walked back. Another winner hike in the books! Barf.

We had so many people tell us to get up to Mauna Loa for sunset. Muana Loa is one of the only places where you can drive from sea level all the way up to the summit. It takes approximately 2 hours and the temperature drops about 30 degrees. We wore basically everything we owned to try to keep warm, but even with the blankets, as soon as that sun dipped it became frigid.

There above the clouds, with views of the entire island and ocean, we paused and soaked it all up. It was a stunning sunset and so peaceful up there on top of the world.

We planned our trip on the night of the free star gazing program. Once a month they bring out these massive telescopes and put on a educational show for you. I have never seen so many stars in my entire life, it was absolutely incredible.