The remarkable Green Sand Beach (Papakolea) near South Point on Big Island, is well worth the trek to its unique shore but it is quite an adventure! On my recent visit to the island, having already visited Kilauea Volcano on a previous trip, I decided to make Papakolea the main attraction for the drive south between Hilo and Kona.
Once I turned off the Mamalahoa Highway and onto South Point Road, I was relieved to have left behind the desolate expanses of black volcanic rock scenery on the south-western slope of Kilauea Volcano, between the town of Volcano and Na’alehu. I was soon travelling along a quiet country road with rolling green hills and expansive ocean vistas. Primarily used for pastureland, dozens of grazing cows lazily looked up as I cruised past, whilst the wind blew across the virtually treeless grassy fields. As I turned a corner, the rock-wall-lined road crossed an old lava flow that extended all the way to the ocean.
It is a really beautiful drive and worthwhile even just to journey to South Point (Ka Lae) – which is the southernmost point of the USA. In the afternoon light, the effervescent bright green of the grass contrasted against the stormy sky as the sun streamed through the clouds, bathing the whole scene with a golden glow. As I headed further south, a row of about a dozen wind turbines stood like elegantly moving statues, their blades turning gracefully in the breeze.
The road forked and I took the left turn towards the Green Sand Beach parking lot. The road continued to the right to South Point, just a mile or so on. I soon discovered that the parking spot for the trail to Green Sand Beach was just a patch of dirt beside a potholed road. I located the dusty, rocky, rutted ‘lot’ where a bunch of other vehicles were parked. Noticing a couple of Hawaiian locals approaching the tourists who were looking a little disorientated, I thought to myself ‘the adventure begins!’
I had read online about people trying to charge for parking here. These folks were not doing that, but were kindly offering a ‘shuttle’ service to the famous olivine beach. You see, Papakolea is located a further two miles from that first parking lot, but it is on a 4WD–only road. The ‘road’ is so deeply rutted and gouged out by water and wind as well as the barrage of vehicles being roughly driven – that there is a ‘warning’ sign in scrawled handwriting advising tourists not to attempt to drive their cars there. Hiking is the only other option, and it takes about an hour each way. There are myriad of trails gouged into the windswept coastal plain, but it is just a matter of following the coastline and the other hikers.
I decided to gratefully accept the offer of a ‘shuttle’ for at least one way, thinking that the hike back would be pleasant enough, despite being very exposed and rough. The local people offering the rides were just about to retire for the day and it was only about 3pm. However when I returned to the parking lot about 6pm, they were still ‘shuttling’ so it seemed that this service might be available almost all day, for approximately $10 one way or $15 return (this varies according to each driver and the number of passengers). It felt great to support the locals and I really appreciated the service, albeit a little rough!
What a wild ride! Riding in the back of a dusty, beat-up old pickup truck was a great deal more rugged than I imagined it might be. Our friendly driver was quite the speed demon and enjoyed ripping over the rutted road like a racing car driver. Hair flying and holding tightly onto my belongings, I eventually surrendered to the roller-coaster-style ride and enjoyed it. Truly an unforgettable experience for those who can handle the bumpy ride!
