Hawaii Big Island
The island of Hawaii is otherwise known as the Big Island because it comprises more than 60% of the total area of the in the Hawaiian chain making it the largest island by a long way. It is also the youngest island, so young that it has three active volcanoes and lava flows are gradually increasing the size of the island. The Kilauea volcano has been erupting continuously since 1983. The Mauna Loa volcano, which last erupted in 1984, reaches a height of 4,207 metres (13,803 feet). One day, in tens of thousands of years time, the Big Island will cease to be the most south easterly island in the chain as there is an undersea volcano known as Loihi erupting about 35 km (22 miles) off shore that will eventually form a new island. The Big Island is not renowned for golden beaches, instead the volcanoes, particularly Kilauea, are the stars, but the island also has a lot of history including the place where Captain Cook met his end.
Henjoji Mission, Honomu
The village of Honomu was once was a bustling community that catered to the sugar industry. The sugar industry went into decline long ago and now Honomu is best known as the gateway to Akaka Falls. Much of Homomu is now rather run down but Henjoji Mission is a Koyasan Shingon Buddhist Temple founded by Japanese labourers that continues to flourish. In contrast, the nearby the Honomu Theatre dating back to 1931 stands boarded up and derelict. Click Tab 2 to see Honomu Theatre.
Star of the Sea Painted Church, Kaimu
In 1990 we saw the Star of the Sea Painted Church standing forlornly by the side of a road after it had been plucked from the path of a lava flow that destroyed most of the town of Kalapana. When we returned to the Big Island in 2011 we found the church looking good at its new location beside Route 130 above the site of Kaimu, a town that was also destroyed by lava in 1990. This small Catholic church dates back to 1928 when Belgian missionary Father Everist Gielen began constructing it. Interior paintings tell the story of Father Damien Devester, a Belgian priest who helped patients suffering from leprosy on the Hawaiian island of Molokai and subsequently succumbed to the disease himself. Click Tab 2 to see the interior of the church.
Captain Cook Monument, Kealakekua Bay
James Cook was born in Yorkshire in England in 1728. In 1755 he enlisted in the Royal Navy where he developed skills in surveying and charting local waters off the coast of North America. In 1769 he was sent to the southern hemisphere as Captain of the Endeavour to observe the transit of Venus across the sun. Thus began his career as a nautical explorer which took him to New Zealand, Australia, Antarctica and around the Pacific. On his third voyage in HMS Resolution, Cook became the first European to make contact with Hawaii, landing on Kauai in January 1778 and naming the island chain the Sandwich Islands. He left to explore the coast of North America but returned later in the year. After spending eight weeks sailing around the islands, he landed at Kealakekua Bay on the Big Island. His arrival coincided with a Hawaiian festival in honour of the god Lono. Cook was given a warm welcome by the Hawaiians, possibly because they saw him as an incarnation of Lono. After a month the Resolution set sail to continue exploring the Pacific, but a broken foremast forced a return to Kealakekua Bay. This time the Hawaiians seemed less welcoming, and one of the Resolution’s boats was stolen. Cook tried to kidnap the Hawaiian King to secure the return of the boat but he was killed by villagers while attempting to launch boats to return to the Resolution. The place where Captain Cook died is marked with a monument in Kealakekua Bay State Historical Park.
Statue of King Kamehameha I, Kapaau
Although the 13 original US states were once colonies of the British Crown, Hawaii is the only US state that was once a country ruled by its own monarch. King Kamehameha I was born in Kohala on Hawaii (the Big Island) some time around 1758. In early adulthood he became chief of the north of the Big Island. He embarked on a mission to conquer the other islands and by 1810 through a series of hard fought battles he had unified all of the inhabited islands of Hawaii. He unified the legal system and promoted trade with Europe and the United States. He also banned non-Hawaiians from owning land, a move that for a time protected the independence of the islands. Because of his contribution to Hawaii he is also known as Kamehameha the Great. He died in May 1819.
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Hilo from Route 19 overlook
The Big Island has volcanoes, waterfalls and historic places, but it does not have a big city. Less than 45,000 people live in the largest settlement and county seat of the island. People have lived in this area from the early days of Polynesian settlement, but it was King Kamehameha I who gave the settlement its name in 1794 after he had gained control of the whole island. Kamehameha used Hilo as his base for the conquest of the other Hawaiian islands and after unification it became his seat of government. In the late 19th century, Hilo became a trading centre for the sugar plantations on the island. In the late 20th century the sugar plantations closed and Hilo went into decline, but in recent years it has been growing again. Hilo has a university, an astronomy centre and is the home of one of the largest producers of macadamia nuts in the world. This picture taken across Hilo Bay from Route 19 gives an idea of the small size of the largest settlement on the Big Island.
Lava Tree State Park
This was area was heavily forested until in 1790 a lava flow swept through. The lava coated the trunks of Ohia trees, leaving in its wake tall, hollow lava molds of the tree trunks. A trail 1.1 km (0.7 miles) long takes you through the old forest, frozen in time. Lava Tree State Park lies close to Pahoa, a settlement that at the time of writing was threatened by a lava flow from Kilauea.
Click the arrows above to continue on the Hawaii Trail. We have other pages on the Big Island. To see them click below or on the Minimap:
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© Mike Elsden 1981 - 2025
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