Ask Hawaii-Lisa a Hawaii Question

I will try to answer most questions related to travel, visiting, or vacations in the Islands. I also sometimes can answer cultural questions but I am not Hawaiian. I don't normally do translations, and I don't normally answer anything that is obviously a homework question. To ask me a question, email me at

some site changes

Making some site changes here, so these two pages:   Reviews and
  Best Deals will be disappearing from my navigation. Make a note of them. :)

Captain Cook monument Kealakekua Bay

question
My wife and I plan to spend a few days on the big island after completing a cruise from Papeete, Tahiti to Honolulu. We plan to go on a birding tour with Hawaii Forest & Trail one day, but would also like to visit the Kealakekua Bay area to see the Captain Cook monument. I am a long time student of Capt. Cook’s voyages, and I have visited the locals of many of his explorations, including Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti and the Canadian Pacific Northwest.

I am told that the only way to see the monument is by boat or by a very rough trail. We are in our late seventies, so it sounds like the trail would be out of the question for us. Do you know of any place and company on Kealakekua Bay where we might rent or charter a small boat to go across the bay to see the monument? I am afraid kayaking also would be out of the question for us and our snorkeling days are over. Any information you can provide would be much appreciated.

answer
Most of the boats that go to Kealakekua Bay in the area of the monument leave from Keauhou Bay or Honokohau Boat Harbor, and there are several that do rafting or charters to Kealakekua for the purpose of snorkeling or scuba diving there. I can't personally recommend one that would do what you want, but I can point you in a general direction of these boats and you can contact them and see if they will do it for you.

You won't be able to leave from the other side of Kealakekua Bay because all that is there is a residential area and a concrete piling about 8 feet above the water. People can throw kayaks in and climb down, but that's about it.

These people seem to have small or private charters to the bay
Big Island Kayak - leaves from keauhou
Captain Zodiac - honokohau
Sea Quest Hawaii - honokohau
Sea Paradise - keauhou I think

Best of luck - let me know what you find out and email me again if you need more help. If you can't get to one of them via email, for example, I could call them for you as it would be a local call for me. Also, I only did an internet search here - if none of these pan out email me again and I'll pull out my island publications and see what I can find offline.

I want to send back lava stones

question
Hi I just saw your item on lava and Pele's curse. I took two small round rocks in 1990 and I have had appalling misery since. Recently I gave the two rocks to a friend's daughter as a gift, and then read your info. was looking for legends etc re Pele; I didn't like what I read. I decided to send the rocks back and then I learned the girl is suddenly and unexpectedly in rehab.
So where can I send the rocks to? Please - Thank you

answer
Check out this page http://www.volcanogallery.com/lavarock.htm.These people offer to return the lava rock near Pele's current home with a small ceremonial offering. They ask for a donation for the act.

They also say that if you send them to the National Park the rocks will be thrown 'out back in a pile' -- I can't attest that the rocks are or aren't thrown behind the visitor's center in a pile, but I've seen the boxes and boxes of rocks and sand the park gets every day so I wouldn't be surprised.

Personally, I'd just mail them to the park at:
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
PO Box 52
Hawaii National Park
HI, 96718-0052

... but then, I'm not really superstitious.

Kona Wedding Question

question
We found your site using Google. We are getting married in Kona in April 2006. Do you know if there is any way to make arrangements for a fireworks display in Kona and who we would contact for such a thing?

Thank you for your time.

answer
Wow, that's a hard one ... My initial guess would be no, you won't be able to do this, as fireworks are only legal in Hawaii on the fourth of July and New Years. However, some hotels and cruise ships do blow fireworks at other times - so maybe there's hope. What hotel will you be staying at? Will you be hiring a wedding coordinator? Lisa

followup question
Thanks for your response. We will actually be staying at a private home on Alii Drive. We haven't yet decided about hiring a wedding coordinator. We are still discussing that. We weren't sure what the laws in the state were regarding fireworks. We were on Oahu earlier this year and the Hilton Hawaiian Village had fireworks most of the nights during our 2 week stay, so it hadn't occurred to us that there might be laws. Would you suggest that we hire a coordinator? Do you think they would have connections to such things?

Thanks again for your response. Have a wonderful Christmas!

followup answer
Yes, there are laws regarding fireworks here, and it's actually been quite a bone of contention in recent years with a new law geared at reducing the amount and firepower of fireworks fired by individuals even on those two days when they are allowed. However, the Hilton and their weekly fireworks were exactly what I was thinking of when I wrote there may be hope. As far as I know they are only supposed to fire them on Fridays, but if you saw them more than that maybe they have special permits for anytime, and if they can get permits, maybe any hotel can. Plus, I always see the cruise ships firing them off as they go past the coast near where I live. They are way out at sea, so maybe Hawaii laws don't apply out there.

The reason I asked about the wedding coordinator was if you weren't staying at a hotel then maybe a coordinator would be able to find out how to get a permit (if its possible). I would actually suggest emailing a few wedding coordinators and asking the question, and if any of them seem like they can help you then you can think about hiring them. I can't suggest one unfortunately, the coordinator I used almost 10 years ago is no longer in business. Here's some I found with a search though:

http://www.paradiseweddingshawaii.com/
http://www.hawaiisunsetweddings.com/
http://www.getmarriedinhawaii.com/
http://www.konaweddings.com/faqs.php

Best of luck! and congratulations. Lisa

Hawaiian Islands which one to visit?

question
Hi
I need advice. We are from Australia and have 2 teenagers - 19 yr old boy and 17 yr girl. wWe are visiting Hawaii in December and are spending 5 nights in Waikiki and want to spend 4 nights on either Maui or Kauai. Both teenagers love to surf and watch surfing . My husband and I want to relax. What do you suggest?
Thanks for your help

answer
Well, both islands offer plenty of relaxing and surfing opportunities, so either would be good in that regard. However, the two islands are fundamentally different in a way that may make the decision for you. Maui is similar to Oahu in that it is a heavily-populated, heavily-visited (though not as populated or visited as Oahu) island with some nightlife and plenty of things going on. Kauai, on the other hand, is still very small-town. It's slower pace with little nightlife to be found, and also a bit of a smaller island, so anything you want to do is not very far from anything else. Also, Kauai is older than Maui, so as you drive down any coastal roads you'll see miles and miles and miles of beaches. Personally, I would go to Kauai after a week in Waikiki, but that's me. Maui would be just as good and you could actually have the best of both worlds if you stayed in a quiet place like Wailea or anywhere above Kaanapali and then you could just drive to Kihei or Lahaina if you wanted to.

Either way, have fun! We leave for Waikiki for a week on Friday ourselves (from the Big Island) and I'm getting excited :). I have only a 2 year old, so I don't have the same issues you do. :)

p.s. December is big wave season on the north shores of all Hawaiian islands. I'm sure your kids are experienced, but still keep an eye on them so they don't get into something they can't handle. Listen to the radio (in case there are civil defense warnings) and stay in areas with lifeguards to be safest.