E komo mai (welcome to) The Big Island
Hilo and Puna

By Natasha Derrick
Natasha@TheColumbiaStar.com

Photo by John Derrick The area around this new black sand beach used to be the small town of Kalapana which was destroyed by lava flows in 1990.

For three weeks in May-June, 2006, The Columbia Star managing editor, Natasha Derrick, and her husband, John, explored the Big Island of Hawaii in order to create a comprehensive road guide. Here are some highlights.

On April 1, 1960, the bay town of Hilo was slammed with six to seven tsunami waves, some measuring 8 meters tall. The waves rushed in and obliterated the town's water front homes. When the ocean finally calmed, 159 people were left dead. All the homes on the bay front were lifted off their foundations and crushed into the buildings across the street.

The tsunami was triggered by a massive earthquake off the coast of Chile which reached Hawaii in less than five hours. At the time the tsunami warning system had not been established and all of Hilo's residents were unaware of the deadly wave headed for their bay.

Photo by Natasha Derrick This clock in downtown Hilo has remained stopped at 1:04 am in honor of those who died in the 1960 tsunami which destroyed Hilo.

Today, tranquil parks replace the small neighborhoods that used to line Hilo Bay. Hilo, located on the east coast of the Big Island, is the second largest city in the state with a population of a little over 40,000. It is also the wettest city in the U.S. with an average of 100 inches of rainfall per year.

Just outside of the city there are a series of waterfalls and pools along the Wailuku River. The 80-foot Rainbow Falls is so named because of the rainbow that forms across the mist in the morning hours. Further upstream is a succession of pools which are fed by the stream. As the waters surge in and out of the pools, they spin and bubble as if they were boiling.

South of Hilo is the district of Puna, an area known for its beauty and for attracting an interesting mix of residents. Many rogue farmers have their crops of pokalolo (marijuana) in the area. The land here is fairly new, geologically speaking and has extensive reefs on its coast.

Photo by John Derrick At certain times of the morning and when the flow is right, a rainbow can be seen across the bottom of Rainbow Falls in Hilo.

The main road in the Puna district swings along the southern edge of the island until it is abruptly cut off by a sea of lava. In 1990, the small fishing village of Kalapana and several surrounding subdivisions were buried under 10 meters of lava which flowed from the crater of Kilauea. Now, at the end of a path across the lava a small black sand beach is forming. As the sea crashes relentlessly against the new land, it breaks down the lava which creates the rough black sand.

Now, the former residents of this area are reclaiming this small strip of sand by planting hundreds of coconut trees. Most of them are only a few feet tall, but it is a vivid reminder of the resolve of the people to rebuild the life they knew, even though this land is destined to face the flows of Kilauea many more times in the future.

Photo by Natasha Derrick Queen Liliuokalani Park is one of several parks on the bay front in Hilo.

Such is life in this unique place. The people of the Big Island accept their role as merely pawns in the ever- changing and often unpredictable force of nature that has the power to both create and simultaneously destroy the aina (land) they love so dearly.

For more information on the Big Island and the other islands of Hawaii, visit www.HawaiianStyleTravel.com.