Hawaii Island: Kalapana - Kapoho Beach Rd Scenic Drive to Pohoiki

Another one of our favorite Big Island super scenic rides. This is an absolutely beautiful route that winds along the southeast shoreline through lush tropical rainforest jungles and over bare and craggy lava flow devastation zones. This road was even better before Kīlauea's 2018 flank eruption, when the lower east rift zone broke open and spewed out lava that smothered 13 square miles of vegetation, roads, famous tidepools and thermal heated hot ponds and springs, historic cultural sites, surf breaks, resorts, and hundreds and hundreds of homes and farms with lava as thick as 80 feet.
This video ends at the Isaac Hale beach park, named in honor of a native son who was killed in action in Korea. The park was mostly spared from lava destruction but the one and only boat ramp unfortunately became landlocked when new black sand completely surrounded it. The sand was created when hot lava fragments hit the ocean and exploded into small chunks; non-stop pounding surf continues to efficiently reduce it all to smoother and ever-smaller pieces. This video only captures part of the essence here; missing are the smells of the jungle plants and flowers and the ocean spray, the warm winds, the waves crashing on the beaches, the pakalolo, and the ever present Aloha spirit.
Highlights of this video include:
2:00 my first favorite scenic part
3:40 Uncle Robert's Awa Bar and Farmers Market in Kalapana
13:13 parking at the clothing-optional Kehena black sand beach
15:21 the Seaview community's ocean view. Isn’t this beautiful?
31:40 a new road on top of part of the 2018 lower east rift zone lava flow, 9 km from the source
If you want another video like this, lemme know by leaving a comment or hitting a like button or hitting a subscribe button.
Some of the music is by...ISTHMUSIA.

[@danlayman2194]

Prefect timing!
Let’s watch! Mahalo 🤙🐗🦎🌺☕️

[@annyee4927]

Thank you sincerely for your videos. I just returned to the mainland after my seventh trip to the Big Island, and I miss it already. Your videos are so soothing.

[@NHX610]

Mahalos Ann!

[@gracecalifea6786]

I lived in Kapoho in the ‘90’s and loved that ride on my scooter.
Now it’s paved, however, one still has to ride faster than the mosquitoes can fly!
😂

[@areenakju]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤