Ever since visiting the Big Island, we have been in love with Hawaii and now want others to enjoy the place as we do. You can do so in our condo which is in the center of Kona. With its 1BR / 1 pullout couch the place can comfortably host 2 adults and up to 2 children.
The condo is in walking distance to stores (~5 minutes) and the beach (~10-15') and offers stunning evening views from its Lanai.
Find more information here; book your spot on the typical vacation rental platforms including AirBnB - Slice of Paradise in Kona or through our direct booking site at Kona-Rental.
Currently: Summer time in Hawaii - it is the warmest time to head to the beach and we see the island getting busier with visitors again.
In addition to diving we spent some time for family activities that Sydney could enjoy as well. One of them was white water rafting on the Ayung river. We chose the Graha Adventure company. They had a good reputation. Pricing was what I would call adjusted to the Australian visitors (though we ended up getting a bit of a discount.)
(click on individual pictures to get a downloadable, large version of a picture)
A 10 minute truck ride takes the participants from the company's office to the entry point into the adventure. From there we descended through rice fields into the canyon. There were many stairs, which were unevenly spaced. After about 20 minutes we got to the water and our guides instructed us how to paddle. (this was the typical set of instructions, how to hold the paddle, paddle forward, backward, rest the paddle in the boat.)
On request I can provide a higher resolution version of the movie.
Shortly thereafter the trip started, we pushed off the bank and got to enjoy the serenity and beauty of the surrounding forest, the chirping of the birds and sounds of the running water. We had a good time, the current was not too rough and soon we arrived at a waterfall. Picture time for everybody before moving on. A few minutes farther down the river there was a stop to get drinks and snacks before we embarked on the final leg of the ride.
We arrived well and took many flights of stairs back up to the exit point where we were promptly picked up by the truck to head back to the company's office. A Lunch was included and consisted of some simple Indonesian dishes. Pictures taken by crews station along the journey (including some taken with drones) were for sale and we could also pay the bill for drinks / snacks purchased on the way.
All in all a very recommendable, easy but refreshing adventure.
This year seems to be the season of diving. We spend a week in Bali and made the excursion to Gili Trawangan where we took two dives organized and led by Manta Drive. This company is located close to the beach and operates a number of boats for the 3 to 4 dive excursions per day.
(click on individual pictures to get a downloadable, large version of a picture)
Both dives were drift dives. You have to be comfortable to back-roll off the boat boat into the water before you get to experience warm (29C), crystal clear water.
Our first trip took us to Shark Point which is a popular destination about 15 minutes by boat northwest of the island. As the name suggests there is a good chance to see reef sharks in the 18m - 35m deep water. We saw a few of them, however there was only one who decided to serve as a photo model. Exiting the water when we got picked up by the boat turned into a bit of a challenge due to the many jelly fish that also liked the warm water.
Our second dive brought us to Turtle Canyon. This is another popular diving spot where. The water is a bit shallower (~20m) and as the name implies there are turtles. We saw a number of them and enjoyed diving with them.
All in all we can only recommend the diving there. The dives were (relatively) speaking inexpensive, the water was warm and clear and the sea life was plenty.
