This page covers the second half of our trip to Hawaii, which we spent on the west coast of the island in the lovely Marriott on Waikoloa Beach. There are several pools at the hotel, a grassy area where they host luaus, the semi-restored remnants of a traditional fish trap pond and then a narrow but pretty strip of beach. The Waikoloa area has a lot of large resort hotels and golf courses, but also a number of shopping and dining areas that are independent from those resorts.

A little to the north of Waikoloa is Pu'ukohola historic site. The site has scenic oceanside views (like everything in this area) and views to Maui on a clear day. The primary draw here are the ruins of ancient Hawaiian temples (the stone walls seen here). There's also a lot in the visitor center devoted to local shark species.

This is Puako, which has several public beaches immediately north of Waikoloa. Why drive to a public beach a few minutes from the one you're already at? Mostly just because it's different. The beach here is not sandy, it has a protective barrier of rocks which shelter tide pools so it's a good place to wander and look for sealife.

Another thing we did in Puako was a night snorkelling session aimed specifically at seeing manta rays. If you can't figure out what this picture might be, that's understandable. Night snorkelling involves wet suits (the water is fairly cool even during the day but being out there at night gets quite cold) and basically just holding on to a raft while looking down in the water at (hopefully) manta rays. The raft has spotlights to illuminate the ocean at night, so all you really have to do is hold on, float, and not lose your nerve and panic if a manta comes close.

So we did see a manta female (according to our guide). It swam by numerous times but didn't come particularly close, this one is about 20 feet (6m) below us. That's a wild guess. It was clearer than this in person but not the easiest thing to photograph. Some trips involve no mantas, some involve very close up encounters, we were sort of in between here but it's a worthwhile experience (how many places can you do this?)

Next stop was south of Kona at Pu'uhona o Honaunau Historic Park. This was perhaps our favorite place on the west coast. It is an absolutely beautiful walk from the parking area out to the site. In Hawaiian culture, there were certain taboo laws (kapu) that if broken, could lead to a death sentence. The only alternative was to flee here to Pu'uhonua and take refuge until you could be absolved of your sin.

The carved statues spread across the site are called Kii. Most of the site is enclosed by a wooden fence and it's a pretty small area that doesn't take long to see. The surrounding palm fringed beach is just as scenic.

The central triangular buildings are historic recreations called 'hale'. It's about a five minute walk from the visitor center. The ocean water here is so clear that you can easily see the reef fish swimming around.

This bay is actually a good snorkelling area, probably the best visibility we experienced on the island. There's a shallow protected area near the boat ramp for less experienced snorkellers. You won't see as much variety but it's out of the waves. On the outside of the bay, the area called Two Step, you have crashing waves but amazing reefs and sealife variety. Exiting the water here requires patience and care, we saw multiple people end up bloodied on the rocks. Also note that you cannot snorkel in the protected cultural area.