What to do on a rainy day in Hawaii

Although Kona is the dry side of the island, it still rains here.  That’s why it’s so green and lush and lovely.  Now that it’s spring and the drought appears to have ended, our normal wet-season weather has returned.  For the Kona side of the island, this generally means a soft rain shower in the afternoon or evening, with sun the rest of the time.  Some days we get a little shower in the morning, some days it’s clear and sunny all day long.   The rain, when it does come, is normally soft and warm and quite pleasant.  If it’s raining, try not to be bummed out.  Here are some things to do:

• Get in the water.  Unless it’s windy or the sky is very dark, visibility should still be good.  You’ll get wet anyway, so why not?
• Go to Volcano, it’s usually wet anyway. 
• Go to Pu’uhonua o Honaunua.  It is normally very hot and dry at this park, and it feels good to be down there when it’s a little overcast.  It’s always gorgeous, so it doesn’t matter when you go.
• Go coffee-tasting.  There are lots of farms in our South Kona neighborhood, so drive around and sample a few coffees.
• Go book-browsing: there are two nice bookstores in South Kona.  The Reading Garden is just south of us and has a vast inventory of used books, and there's a small new bookstore tucked into Mango Court next to the health food store just north of us.
• Sit in the hot tub.  There’s nothing like sitting in the hot tub on a drizzly day (especially after an ocean swim or dip in the pool). 
• Have a massage.  It’s pretty fantastic to have a luxurious in-room massage on a cool afternoon, and then go slip into the hot tub to watch the sun set.
• Visit botanical gardens: we have the Ethnobotanical Garden and Paleaku Peace Gardens close by which are both fantastically beautiful swathed in mist.
• Rest on the lanai with a book: because it's never cold, sitting outside on the covered portion of the lanai while watching the rain drops splash onto the surface of the pool is wonderfully pleasant.  From our lanai you have a massive view of both sky and ocean, and it is fascinating to watch a storm system pass overhead.

The Drought is done, Kona Snow has come

Last year the island suffered a drought that left many trees and plants dead.  Normally there is a wet season that spans late spring to early fall. This manifests differently across the island.  For us here down by the water, this means sunny days followed by a late afternoon or evening shower – perfect irrigation.  Last year we had month after month of dry sunny weather which was great as far as our guests were concerned, but very difficult for island plants and trees.  Each time the sky darkened and seemed to threaten rain residents would get excited and hopeful.  One afternoon while I was in Choice Mart it began to rain and the excitement in the air in the store was palpable.  A buzz of happy voices surrounded me and I overheard “it’s a blessing” echoed excitedly and with relief multiple times.  This is a farming island, after all, and adequate rainfall is critical.
I’ve been taking long walks out Painted Church Road and have been watching the coffee plants.  Many have looked brown and skeletal, with cherries that have gone from ripe-red to shriveled black on the tree.  However, over the last few weeks we have begun to receive soft evening showers, and the plant life has suddenly swung back to life.  So far this spring we have been experiencing a more normal weather pattern, and the land is become green again.  Last week as I walked I smelled the familiar, seductive jasmine-scent of coffee blossoms on the soft air, and was happy to see that the coffee plants are in bloom.  Spring has come, and with it, the soft, warm, nurturing island rains.

A visit to the windward side

We just returned from a two-day mini break on the Hilo-side of the island. The green and damp, mist and rain, fragrant ginger and coqui frogs make for a relaxing change of scene for us.  

The first day, we went to Queen Liliuokalani Park and Coconut Island. It was a sunny clear day and both were gorgeous. Queen L Park is a great place to relax with a book and Coconut Island is a wonderful place for children (safe areas to get into the water, soft short grass and shade). We also visited the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Gardens on this trip and were quite impressed. The gardens span a huge piece of property that unfolds down to the ocean’s edge, so it feels like you’re wandering through lush natural rainforest, rather than a manicured garden. We saw some extremely exotic plants including our new favorite, the white bat plant. We also made a visit to Akaka and Kahuna falls, both lovely (although almost overwhelmingly touristy and crowded) and marveled at the huge old mossy bamboo and all the different kinds of ginger. (We also like Rainbow Falls, which is less crowded and in a park with some huge old banyan trees.)

We didn’t stop at Kalopa Park this time, which is our favorite place on that side of the island. It is way up a winding farm road off the highway, about twenty minutes south of Honokaa. It has a park area with native hibiscus growing and a nature trail, as well as a longer hike through beautiful dense forest to misty cattle pasture, then back along a deep ravine through dripping damp eucalyptus and ginger. Kalopa is an off-the-beaten path sort of place, a beautiful hidden forest treasure.  

Although we wouldn't want to live on the east side, we do enjoy a visit now and then.  The rain does make for some outstandingly lush scenery. There’s something haunting and special about a dark, misty forest scented with yellow ginger flowers and damp earth.