From Hilo, we went South, passing by the Volcanoes National Park, and heading towards the southern most tip of the island. This is also the southern most tip of the USA.
Our first stop was Punalu'u Black Sand Beach. Lava rocks spilled out into the sea, and the sand was black and coarse. The water is cold due to the large amounts of fresh water percolating from the floor just offshore. Ancient Hawaiians at Punalu'u (which means spring dived for) obtained their fresh water here by diving down with an upside-down,dried, hollow gourd, fill it with fresh water, put their thumbs over it, and come to the surface.
We could see Green turtles trying to have a rest in the rock pools.
We sat with our backs to the sea, looking out at a lovely fishpond, full of water lilies.
There is a volcano 20 miles offshore here which is still 3,200 feet underwater and won't surface for another 100,000 years, this will be the Big Island's next volcano attraction.
Following the coast on around we headed for South Point. There is a small one track road which takes you right down to the cliff edge. It is very windy along this road, and very open and flat.
The trees grow sideways, and there are a number of wind farms with huge windmills taking advantage of the free energy.
The water is a lovely colour at the point. Very deep water and strong winds made it difficult for ancient Hawaiians to fish in this area, so they tied their boats to the cliffs to keep themselves safe. These holes in the cliffs are still visible.
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