Treasures of the Kohala Coast

KOHALA, Hawaii — The Hawaiian Islands are ingrained in our consciousness in images of tropical perfection,paradise belonging to an idyllic past. The reality ofHawaiiis everything we imagined it to beand more, as connected to that unspoiled paradise as we imagined.

So, we go in search of the real Hawaii and explore the contradictions of modern life coexisting in material form with a spiritual paradise. Hawaii, known as the Big Island because it is the largest, is a perfect example.

Many people think of the Big Island as little more than a cluster of resorts strung out along the lava fields, but it is one of the most amazing and fascinating of all the Hawaiian Islands. It has a diversity of climates and terrain that is all the more astounding for their beauty and availability within short distances of each other.

The terrain varies from barren lava fields to sumptuous ranch land, from verdant tropical valleys to rolling highlands of translucent green, and snowcapped mountain peaks to boiling lava pits.

The island also has half a dozen or so of the finest resort hotels in the state, luxurious and distinct from each other, along its coastline. Each is a perfect base for finding the greater Hawaii that lies within, and all around you.

In the north of the Big Island, the Kohala Coast is sublime, a box of treasures that encapsulates much of what we will explore from Waimea to Honokaa, Hawi to Waipio Valley, and into the sky itself in search of something real and untrammeled.

We arrive at Kona International Airport and head north along the Queen Kaahumanu Highway through 35 miles of lava fields left from eruptions during the past 200 years.

Our first base of operations is one of the undisputed jewels in the crown of locations and traditions, one of the original resort experiences on the Big Island and in many ways the most treasured: the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel. Built by David Rockefeller in 1965, it remains a classy architectural landmark, set prominently and beautifully over what is perhaps the most astonishing picture-perfect crescent bay beach on the Big Island, maybe on the planet.

On days when the surf is up, it is a special place for awesome bodysurfing; otherwise, it is the most tranquil white-sand beach this paradise has to offer, stretching softly around the stunning sea in a wide arc.

Our rooms are in a beachfront villa, a sprawling suite just yards from the ocean. The looming structure of the main hotel towers above us. A large koi pond fills much of the first-floor area of the hotel, while an atrium stretches skyward to symmetrical layers of rooms that form a pagodalike environment. It is beautiful.

Large sweeping terraces flow along the hillside on the ground floor, opening up onto gardens and vistas of the bay and ocean. This all is surrounded by a championship golf course that creates an otherworldly barrier that convincingly says we have stepped into a distinctive time and space. The restaurants fit perfectly in a tropical resort that has been an amazing place to stay since it opened 41 years ago.

Just up the road is Waimea, famous for the Parker Ranch but just as noteworthy for its upland area of rolling hills, cooler temperatures, distinctive character and fine restaurants. Waimea is one of the most beautiful locations in the islands, with a feeling that exists nowhere else in Hawaii. It is also the way to Hawi, the end point of the fabled Kohala Mountain Road, a magic garden passage almost in the sky that redefines the meaning of scenic route. Locally it is known as the High Road.

Twelve miles up the highway from the Mauna Kea, just before Waimea, a turnoff leads up into the mountains. For the next 13 miles, we are treated to a cotton-candy fairy tale of what open pastures and glistening grassy hilltops are about.

Grasslands in a shade of green that usually exists only in movies jump out of the landscape; miles of open farmland with large herds of cattle and horses fill the farthest reaches of the towering hills on both sides.

Every time I come to the Big Island I am compelled to drive the High Road to Hawi, primarily because I am assured of driving back on this American highway treasure.

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