BIG ISLAND TRAVELS

THIS IS BY FAR THE LARGEST ISLAND IN HAWAII AND IT'S THE YOUNGEST ISLAND. IT HAS THE TALLEST SEA MOUNTAINS IN THE WORLD AT 33,000 FEET. WE TOURED THE HAWAII VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK. THIS IS AN INTERESTING PARK WHICH HAS SEVERAL ACTIVE VOLCANOES - IF YOU WALK TOO CLOSE THE SULPHUR REALLY STINKS AND THE HEAT IS TOO HOT. THE LAVA FLOWS INTO THE OCEAN AND CREATES A SIZZLE. SINCE 1983 THE LAVA FLOWS OF THE VOLCANO HAS BEEN ACTIVE! THEY HAVE HELICOPTER RIDES OVER THIS ACTIVE VOLCANOE. THEY HAVE A LODGE BESIDE AN INACTIVE VOLCANOE AND WE HIKED A WAYS TO THE BOTTOM - IT LOOKS LIKE A METEOR CRATER. WE HIKED ON SOME WOODEN AND AND LAVA TRAILS THAT INTERPRET THE PETROGLYPHS. THEY HAVE MOSTLY GEOGLYPH DESIGNS WITH SOME HUMAN FORMS. SOME CUPULE LIKE PETROGYPHS ARE WHERE THE ANCIENT PLACED THEIR PLACENTA FOR THE GOOD LUCK OF THE BABY. SOME HAVE HUMAN FORMS OR THEY MAY MARK SIGNIFICANT EVENTS IN THE LIVES OF THE PEOPLE. SOME REPRESENT CANOES, FISH OR TURTLES.

WE FOUND PUOKE PETROGLYPHS BY STUDYING THEM BEFORE THE TRIP. IT IS ONE OF THE MOST EXTENSIVE AND IMPORTANT AREAS IN HAWAII. MANY GLYPHS ARE MAN LIKE WHILE OTHERS HAVE NOT BEEN INTERPRETED. SOME MAY RECORD BIRTHS. THEY HAVE NOT BEEN DATED BUT LOOK VERY OLD AS THEY ARE CARVED ON REDDISH LAVA.

WE LOVED VISITING LAPAKAHI STATE PARK AND IT IS A BEAUTIFUL HISTORIC STATE PARK ON THE NORTHEAST COAST. WE SNORKELED THERE AND FOUND SOME MULTICOLORED FISH THAT WERE BEAUTIFUL. WE WERE THE ONLY ONES THAT WERE BEAUTIFUL. WE WERE THE ONLY ONES THERE AND NOTICED THAT THEY HAD SENT SOME SALT COLLECTING ROCKS AND AN AREA BUILT OF LAVA FOR BALL GAME OF SORTS. THESE WERE MARKED BY THE INTERPRETERS. IT TOOK THEM 1500 YEARS FOR THEM TO REACH HAWAII, THE NORTHERN FRONTIER. THE LANGUAGE SIMILARITIES BETWEEN THE ISLAND GROUPS, NEW ZEALAND AND EASTER ISLAND FORMED WHAT IS NOW CALLED THE POLYNESIAN TRIANGLE.

THEY ARRIVED IN HAWAII ABOUT 1000 A.D. THE ARTIFACTS INDICATE THAT THE HAWAIIANS CAME FROM POLYNESIA ISLAND GROUPS. SOME ORAL HISTORIES INDICATE THAT THE ISLANDERS WERE ORIGINALLY FROM TAHITI. THE SETTLERS BROUGHT TARO , BANANAS. AND BREADFRUIT, COCONUTS, AND OTHER FOODS WE CONSIDER AS NATIVE HERE. POLYNESIANS ALWAYS ADAPTED TO COOPERATION IN ORDER TO SURVIVE BETWEEN FISHERS AND FARMERS. HAWAIIANS INVENTED FISH PONDS FROM WHICH A READY SUPPLY OF FISH COULD BE CAUGHT. GARDENING WAS SOMEWHAT LIMITED BUT TARO PONDS AND DRY LAND. GARDENING WAS SOMEWHAT LIMITED BUT TARO PONDS AND DRY LAND FARMING WAS LIMITED. IN TIME ONCE POPULATIONS GREW, THE TRIBES HAD ACCESS TO MOUNTAIN AREAS AS WELL AS THE OCEANS,

ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE EXAMINED THEIR HOUSE SITES NEXT TO THE OCEAN. PRIOR TO WESTERN INFLUENCE THEY MADE CLUSTERS OF STRUCTURES CALLED KAUHALE VS. A SINGLE HOUSE. A HOUSE CLUSTER WOULD HAVE SEPARATE SLEEPING AND EATING AREAS FOR MEN AND WOMEN. FARMERS HAD SHELTERS IN THE FIELD, SMALL SHELTERS WERE BUILT ALONG TRAILS, AND SOME FOLKS IN FAMILIES ALSO LIVED IN GROUPS ACROSS THE LANDSCAPES.

THE HAWAIIAN SOCIETY OF OLD TIMERS WAS DEPENDENT UPON GENEALOGY AND LEADERSHIP SKILLS. SOME FOLKS WERE ALI I NUT OR HIGH CHIEFS WHO COMMANDED SEVERAL RANKS OF LOWER CHIEFS. THEY ALSO HAD COMMONERS WHO WERE CALLED MAKA' AINANA. ARCHAEOLOGISTS STUDY HOW THESE DIFFERENCES DEVELOPED AND HOW THESE CLASSES AFFECTED EVERYDAY LIFE. HEIAU OR TEMPLES WERE SET ASIDE FROM THEIR LIVING AREAS. AND HAVE NO FOOD OR ARTIFACT ASSOCIATED WITH THEIR HOMES. THE RULING CHIEFS IMPOSED THEIR ORDER ON RECTANGULAR BOUNDARIES OF THE FARMS ON THE BIG ISLAND.

OUR FAMILY USUALLY FOUND VERY REASONABLE BED AND BREAKFAST HOUSES TO STAY IN ON THE ISLANDS.  KILAUEA IS ONE OF THE 5 SHIELD VOLCANOES SPEWING MUCH HAWAIIAN LAVA.  THE WORD MEANS MUCH SPREADING.  THIS PARK WAS AN AMAZING PARK TO VISIT AS THERE IS ACTIVE LAVA FLOWING WHEN MY FAMILY WAS THERE IN THE 1990.

WIKIPEDIA.COM
HAWAIISTATEPARKS.COM
ALTERNATIVE HAWAII