'Big Island' fit for king

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HILO, Hawaii -- The volcanic landscape that greets visitors landing at the Kona International Airport looks more like a crater of the moon than the lush palm trees and profusion of tropical flowers that visitors expect on their first visit to Hawaii, the Big Island. Not to worry, the anticipated beauty is at hand; the lava is just a stark reminder of the island's birth and its continuing growth.

Hawaii lives up to the Big Island nickname, for it is the largest in the chain that forms the 50th state. It is as big as, well, Delaware, and it could hold the rest of the islands and then some. Its growth spurts whenever the Kilauea volcano erupts -- which it has been doing continuously since 1983.

Not only is the weather picture perfect -- at least here on the drier, leeward side -- but the scenic beauty, sports activities, and history draw visitors from all over the world. We make our headquarters at the luxurious Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel on the northwest or Kohala Coast. The hotel shares the site with another superb hotel, the Mauna Kea.

Many visitors spend their entire vacation here without ever leaving the premises. Both hotels have beaches that have been named among the best in the world, spectacular golf, tennis, fitness and spa facilities and a wide variety of restaurants.

Never ones to spend our entire vacation lying on a beach, however magnificent it may be, we arranged for a rental car to see as much of the Big Island as we can. At the rental counter, we are offered a "fun" car at no additional cost. It turned out to be a 4-wheel-drive vehicle, which, although the rental agreement forbids driving it to certain areas of the island, did make our sightseeing easier in other areas.

After breakfast at the Ocean Terrace restaurant overlooking the magnificent Hapuna Beach, we hop in the sport utility vehicle and head into the countryside. We drive north and east along scenic Hawaii Route 270 to the area where King Kamehameha the Great was born about 1758.

The road abruptly ends at an overlook at Pololu Valley with a dramatic view of a black-sand beach 400 feet below. As we peer down, we imagine the life of the young Kamehameha, whose greatness, it is said, was predicted by a comet at his birth. His exploits as a young man would further mark him as special. In time, he would unify the Hawaiian islands.

In the town of Kapaau, the original statue of Kamehameha rises in front of the civic center. A famous copy stands in front of the Judiciary Building in Honolulu, because the original was lost in a shipwreck near the Falkland Islands. Years later it was recovered and brought here and placed under huge mimosa trees, where it stands proudly in full feather cloak, helmet, loincloth and sash.

Nearby Hawi evokes a bygone era. It is lunchtime, so we stop at the Bamboo restaurant to try the slightly sweet and hot pot stickers, kalua (baked in an underground oven) pork and cabbage, and passion fruit iced tea.