By:Marcia Abramson
As an Easterner, I had heard about Honolulu and Maui, but Hawaii's Big Island was virgin territory for me. However, I learned that it is the largest of the Hawaiian Islands encompassing an area of 4,038 square miles, large enough to include all the islands within its boundaries. Although its history goes back 800,000 years, it is also the youngest or the baby of the islands. The Big Island was actually built by five massive volcanoes and was formed by the "fires of creation," the burning lava. Actually, the lava eventually became three different colored sands: white; black, formed from lava crystals cooled down by the ocean and broken down by the waves; and an unusual green, named for its emerald hue color caused by tiny volcanic olivine crystals.
On my visit I was able to get to see the dramatic Kilauea volcano at the Hawaiian Volcanoes National Park, at a safe and unforgettable viewing area, set up by the park service. Having reread James Michener's remarkable book, "Hawaii," before leaving for Hawaii, I learned that Hawai' iloa was the first to settle on the island and that the early Polynesians started to inhabit this land by the 5th century. Accordingly, by 1000 A.D. coastal areas were populated. Liloa was known to be one of the first rulers of the Big Island during the 1400s, and individual chiefs governed designated districts. Waipio Valley was the royal residence and capital of Hawaii. A peaceful calm existed until 1527 when a Spanish ship's captain and his sister were shipwrecked off the coast of Hawaii. They intermarried with the natives and started a new line of chiefs. Other Spaniards under Juan Gaetano came in 1555 and charted the island with Spanish names. All seemed to be serene until the arrival of Captain James Cook in 1778. He was killed after a battle with some of the natives. Captain Cook, contrary to being a hero in the eyes of many Hawaiians, is a figure much hated by a good number of the people.
All of Hawaii was united by Kamehameha in 1810 when he vanquished his cousin in battle.
He died in 1819 at Kamahahoru Bay ( now the site of the King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel. Incidentally, I went to a magnificent luau, staged with all the majesty of the King's arrival by boat to the bay.) The following years, the Christian missionaries arrived in the Big Island and established the first stone Christian church in Hawaii in 1823. Other significant events during the early 19th century history of the Big Island was the introduction of what is now the famous Kona coffee, the establishment of the country's largest 250,000-acre privately owned Parker Ranch after a grant of two acres to John Palmer Parker by Kamehameha III. Hawaii's world-famous macadamia nuts became commercially available to other countries in the 1920s, and 1959 marked Hawaii's becoming the 50th state.
This state is regarded by many geologists as pristinely new born -- still steaming in some places -- raw with energy and new life. The geological story of the Big Island is phenomenal with an altitude rising almost 30,000 feet from the ocean floor to its peak on the top of snowy Mauna Kea, 13,796 feet above sea level. This gradual steady ascent provides the diver and snorkeler a most extraordinary underwater environment. I spent a wonderful day aboard the Fair Wind, an open-air catamaran, snorkeling. Even toddlers and those who do not swim, can snorkel in the buoyant salt water with an inflatable snorkel vest or body board with a peek-a-boo window, fins and mask. The Fair Wind also offers "snuba," which is in between scuba and snorkeling, where the diver tows a 15-foot hose attached to a floating air tank. All the equipment is available on the catamaran. Besides the underwater show of nosy playful porpoises, the most colorful and unusual fish and an occasional hump back whale, I enjoyed a tasty meal and a choice of a sunny or shady seating area. If you are as fortunate as I was, your captain will be a native Hawaiian who will provide you with additional stories about the history of Hawaii and will point out the Cook Memorial from the ship and advise you again that Cook "was no hero."
For the horticulturist, this island produces more than half the state's cut flowers and foliage. Hilo is known to be the orchid capital of the U.S. with the most rainfall to nourish the outstanding flower production of Hawaii. The long-lasting tropical flowers are called exotics with names like anthurium, ginger, heliconia and bird of paradise. Even though they have no fragrance, they have wonderful brilliant colors and unusual appearances and can be shipped all over the United States. Even though this Island Paradise seemed like another world, there are no custom prohibitions on bringing home an orchid lei or two.
For additional information on the Fair Wind, the National Parks, flower shipments, etc., you can call 808 961-5797.
Copyright by Marcia Abramson. E-mail her at mascribe@aol.com
