Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Miloliʻi residents highly prize the traditional lifestyle of their modest fishing village, and
they are very protective of it. Compared with Hoʻokena, Miloliʻi feels quite prosperous:
new homes blanket the hillsides (along with the remains of a 1926 lava flow), shiny pick-
up trucks sit in driveways, fishermen zip around in motorized boats - all alongside make-
shift shacks and older mariners patiently fixing their nets by the water. Miloliʻi means
'fine twist,' and historically the village was known for its skilled sennit twisters, who
used bark from the
olona
(a native shrub) to make fine cord and highly valued fishnets.
But Miloliʻi is also known for its resistance to, and lack of, tourism. Villagers prefer
their isolation and are not enthusiastic about visitors. At the end of the steep, winding
5-mile road to the village is a small county
beach park
with bathrooms, a covered pavil-
ion and unremarkable camping (with a county permit). It's a pretty spot with lots of tide
pools, but it's also insular and intimate, and especially on weekends, you'll feel like a
stranger crashing a family reunion. Do
not
do things like pee on the side of the road; we
talked with a French tourist who was almost beat up by locals for doing so. Just act with
respect and avoid violating people's privacy and you'll be treated with the same esteem.
NORTH KONA COAST
If you thought the Big Island was all jungle mountains and white sand beaches, the
severe North Kona Coast will come as a shock. This is more a landscape that crosses the
Martian desert with Tolkien's Mordor, a place of beige deserts and black-and-rust lava
fields. Yet always, at the edge of your eyesight, is the bright blue Pacific, while bits of
green are sprinkled like jade flecks amid the dry. Penetrate those lava fields and you can
snorkel with turtles, walk on black sand and experience an iconic Kona sunset. Turn in-
land and you'll see Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa (both snowcapped in winter) and, between
the two, Mt Hualalai.
North Kona technically runs 33 miles along Queen Ka'ahumanu Hwy (Hwy 19), from
Kailua-Kona up the Kona Coast to Kawaihae. Honokohau Harbor is an easy 2-mile drive
from downtown Kailua.