Some of the best snorkelling on the Big Island of Hawai ' i is right here in Honaunau . Last time I was there , we were surrounded by hundreds of spinner dolphins that weren ' t to nervous to come right up to us within touching distance . .. Aloha ! The Polulu Waterfall on the Big Island of Hawai ' i . It ' s a good hike from the main road in northern Kohala if you know your way , but tour guides can get you closer for a price . This picture doesn ' t really do this waterfall justice ; it extends another 200 feet down from where the photo cuts off . Amazing waterfall . .. Hapuna beach is a concrete resort in the waikoloa desert NW of Big I . It has one of the only white sand beaches of the island and if you can forget about the massive resort at the end of the beach , it ' s quite nice ! ( the sand is not actually sand , but " digested coral " if you understand what is meant by that . ..) There was a couple a sea turtles hanging around , some rocks , fish and coral for snorkling . The lone green sand beach on the south point of the Big Island of Hawaii . Beautiful green sand located on a very isolated beach . Be prepared for a moderate 4 x 4 drive , or a long , hot 1 hour hike . Somewhat difficult to find but worth every second . The landscape of the big island of Hawaii is full of black lava fields – some old and cover with flowers and burned trees and some are just plain black crawling stream of stones made mostly of iron . Between eruptions in the big island of Hawaii the craters look so peaceful See also the note on my last post of Kilauea : This shot was taken on our second walk from Volcano House ; we walked part on the way round the crater and then across on the Halema ' uma ' u Trail . We had seen the steam from our hotel ( Again see Kilauea post ) , but nothing prepared us for this sight ; we actually walked right past the steam vents and through the steam . The sun coming through the trees added to the whole atmosphere , but unfortunately created spots on the photo . I ' ve tried unsuccessfully to clone them out so left them as they were . If any one out there is better at cloning feel free to have a go Walking along the beach , we found a low lying tree which offered some much need shade from the blistering sun . While cooling off underneath it ' s canopy , I noticed how the sunlight reflected off the sand and illuminated the branches from below . I took this picture in sepia inorder to better capture the contrast between light and shadows . With 4205 m above the sea level , Mauna Kea constitutes a formidable barrier against the moist winds coming from the east , which end up shedding most of their water on the east slopes of the mountains . That ' s why the eastern shore of the Big Island sees rain pretty much every day and the coast is covered by lush , tropical vegetation . Most tourists avoid this side of the island because of the weather and consequently mass tourism has changed the traditional Hawaiian way of life somewhat less than in other parts . This picture was taken on the Saddle Road , which traverses the island at high elevation between the two largest volcanoes , Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea . At this elevation , probably around 2000 - 2500 m , the forest yields ground to short vegetation , maybe 50 - 60 cm tall and very dense . It is rather difficult to walk through , because the foot doesn ' t sink all the way to the ground through the compact green layer . With 4205 m , Mauna Kea is not only the highest point in Hawaii , but also the highest volcano in the world if measured from the bottom of the ocean floor that lies 5000 m deep . It is a dormant volcano , with its last eruption estimated to have occurred a few thousand years ago and the next one expected sometime in the future . As with most volcanoes , it is a boring mountain , a large and rather featureless pile of lava and cinder ( volcanic ash ) , covered with lush vegetation at lower elevation but barren towards the top . It does receive variable amounts of snow in the winter , and skiing on Mauna Kea in not unheard of . I took this picture on the last day of our vacation . There is something melancolic with this picture : the sail boat leaving in the sunset , the lava rocks from the volcano nearby , the window created by the palms . .. remind me of the wonderful time we had in Hawaii . There is always something so beautiful and dramatic when it comes to hawaiian sunsets . Whatever you are doing : whether it is strolling along the beach ; playing in the water ; or enjoying a nice dinner outdoors ; you are compelled to stop what you are doing and watch the sun light up the sky with it ' s fiery departure . If you take a peek around you , you will see that everybody else has also stopped what they are doing to join you in this mass homage . This picture was taken at Hawai ' i Volcanoes National Park . There is only SLIGHT adjustments to the levels in PS ( yes it really looks like this ) . It was really amazing to see the lava and this pitch black landscape . http : / / www . trekearth . com / gallery / North _ America / United _ States / West / Hawaii /