Traveling South from Kailua-Kona, into the South Kona and Ka'u Districts toward South Point, (the Southernmost point in the United States) the first landmark to be seen is Kealakekua Bay, where Captain Cook met his unfortunate end at the hands of the Hawaiians. A monument dedicated to his memory stands there today.

This bay is also famous for snorkeling and diving and is a well-known habitat of the Pacific "spinner" dolphin. The climate here is much the same as Kailua-Kona, but the shoreline tends toward rocky lava outcroppings, and pebbled beaches.

Many of Kona's commercial diveboat tours use Kealakekua Bay as a staging area for accompanied scuba-dives and snorkeling expeditions, displaying the colorful and exotic ocean fauna for visitors.

Continuing South, the long highway intermittently crosses barren lava flows, and passes through coffee and banana farms, which eventually give way to orchards of Macadamia Nut trees covering acres and acres of rolling land sloping toward the sea.

Finally, rounding South Point, a glimpse of pink sunset is seen, and turning east then northeast the road begins to climb up toward the sleepy little town of Na'alehu.

Situated almost halfway between Hilo and Kailua-Kona in the middle of the Ka'u District, Na'alehu is picturesque, with old style plantation architecture, and it's most famous house, the "Mark Twain" house, was actually inhabited by the famous writer while he was visiting the "Sandwich Islands" in the late 1800's.

Continuing beyond Na'alehu, the highway passes through broad pastures of long, lush green grass, watered by the misty rain as it is carried in on the Easterly Trades. The pastures are dotted with black and white dairy cows, for this is the home of Na'alehu Dairy Products, a staple of Big Island tables.

The highway then passes Punalu'u, where a beautiful and private resort complex rests on a black sand beach.

Thank you for taking our South Point/Ka`u tour and be sure to visit the other areas of the Big Island of Hawaii - click on the link below to return to the Big Island Image map. Aloha! and Mahalo!!

Waimea | Hilo | Kilauea Volcano | South Point | Kona - Keauhou | Kohala Coast
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