All things bright and beautiful: (2019) 9 days in Hawaii --- Day 5 (Friday) From Hilo to Waikoloa Village, Big Island

On Day 5, with only half a day to spend in Hilo and surroundings, we were faced with the difficult task of deciding what places to visit before leaving the east coast of the Big Island. There were no shortage of choices of interesting places in this area. Naturally, we wanted to select some places (time allowing) that were unique to Hawaii and representative of its natural habitat and culture. In the end we settled for two places --- the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden a short distance to the north of Hilo, and the Imiloa Astronomy Center right in central Hilo.

The delightful Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden has a remarkable history. It was a creation by the vision and hard work of Mr Dan J. Lutenhouse, who purchased the site in the Onomea Valley in the late 1970's. Starting as an overgrown jungle, the site was cleared by hand and a multitude of tropical and subtropical plants were brought in. The Garden was open to the public in the 1980s and donated to a non-profit trust in the mid-1990s.

Once through the entrance, the visitor is greeted by a fairly steep boardwalk that goes down to the Garden and towards the ocean. One has the option of walking down (and up) the boardwalk or taking the complimentary golf cart. The diversity of flowers and tropical plant species in the garden is impressive. There are Bird of Paradise, Hibiscus, Anthurium, and the native Ohia Lehua, to name but a few. I particularly liked the colourful chandelier tree (or Medinilla cummingii, see photo below).

Plaque commemorating the founder of the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden

Boardwalk in the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden

Lychees at the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden

Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden

Orchids at the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden

Onomea Bay

Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden

Chandelier tree at the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden

Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden

Coleus at the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden

Apart from the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden, the only other place in Hilo we had time for a short visit was the Imiloa Astronomy Center. We chose to visit this place because its concept sounded unique --- a museum that integrates astronomy with Hawaiian culture. The architecture of the Center features three distinctive large titanium-clad cones, representing the volcanoes Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa and Hualalai on the Big Island.

Imiloa Astronomy Center, Hilo

"Voyage of the Navigator" floor mosaic in the foyer of the Imiloa Astronomy Center, Hilo

Closeup of "Voyage of the Navigator"

A description of the "Voyage of the Navigator" mosaic, Imiloa Astronomy Center, Hilo

After lunch at the Sky Garden Restaurant in the Imiloa Astronomy Center, we set off towards the west coast of the Big Island. Instead of going on the reverse of the way by which we came to Hilo, we took the more direct Saddle Road (or Hawaii Route 200). Apparently in the past, the Saddle Road had been considered one of the most dangerous roads in Hawaii. However, much of Saddle Road has been repaved in recent years. At the time of our travel, we found the road to be in very good condition and easy to drive.

We chose to stay at the Hilton Waikoloa Village resort on the north-western coast of the Big Island, mostly because it was about half an hour's drive to the Kona Airport, which was handy as we had an early flight in the next morning. Moreover, we saw it mentioned in a fair number of blogs written by Taiwanese travelers, showing that it was quite a popular place to stay. The resort itself was very impressive, in terms of its size, landscape and facilities. It was big enough to warrant its own transportation system, with a choice of land or water services. It was a pity we only stayed on the resort for hardly over half a day in all, so we only had time to briskly walk around the ground just about once, and to hop on the resort train for one stop out of curiosity, and then on the small boat as well for the same reason. Nonetheless, the view of sunset at the resort was absolutely stunning, and made our brief stay there all the more worthwhile.