mlchad147
- Feb 20
- 4 min read

February 18, 2024–Kailua-Kona (Part 2)

Greetings, blogistas. When we left off on part one of our day in Kailua-Kona I was sampling coffee that would cost about $50 a pound if you bought that much, which I did not. I did buy a little two ounce packet to take home with me, and have locked it in the safe in our stateroom. Just kidding, it’s in my suitcase under the bed, but you get the point. It’s great coffee.

However, today’s post is about what we did after we left Oka Family Farms and their wonderful coffee behind, for we had one more stop on the day’s excursion. Returning to our van, we continued up the slopes of Hualālai (big active volcano, remember?) until we were approximately four thousand feet above sea level, where we reached a fifty acre paradise known as the Kona Cloud Forest Sanctuary.

Cloud forests are rare, much rarer than rainforests, and to be honest I had never even heard of them before we signed up for the excursion. Whereas rainforests (obviously) get most of their moisture from rain, cloud forests are usually higher up and obtain their moisture from frequent cloud cover, with the moisture dripping down from the canopy to the growth below. A narrow band of the island that lies between 3000 and 5000 feet above sea level fits the bill, and the Cloud Forest Sanctuary is a special fifty acre parcel that has to be experienced to believe.

The owner, Norman Bezona, has spent the last 42 years restoring an old cattle ranch and has turned it into a tropical paradise so lush that scenes from the Avatar movies have been shot here. The vegetation is incredibly diverse, with towering trees, several species of bamboo, giant ferns and a host of tropical flowers. Access is provided by a narrow, winding trail that is steep in parts, root covered in others, and damp from all the moisture dripping from the canopy of trees that largely obscures the sun. There were places along the trail that felt so primeval that I half expected a velociraptor to burst out of the undergrowth.

I’m not sure how long the trail is, but with frequent stops for our guide to point things out I’d say it took us about an hour to walk it from start to finish. The Cloud Forest Sanctuary is only about a fifteen minute drive up the mountain from Kailua-Kona, so it’s easy to get to, and I’d recommend putting it on your must-see list if you’re ever here.

From the Sanctuary it was a quick trip back to the pier and the finish to a fantastic excursion, but our day in Kailua-Kona was just getting started. The first order of business was a late lunch at Aloha Vibes, a small waterfront restaurant several blocks from the pier. Restored by smashburgers and dynamite fries (I also had a local porter) we were ready to venture out into a street fair underway all along the waterfront. We didn’t buy much but we had a great time checking out the local crafts, jewelry and food.

By this time we had hiked down to the shore to see the sea turtles at the National Historical Park, visited a coffee farm, explored the Cloud Forest Sanctuary, grabbed a nice lunch, and taken in a busy street fair, which was enough for me. It was time to head back to the ship, get cleaned up, have dinner and plan tomorrow’s day in Honolulu. I hope you enjoy the photos from the Cloud Forest Sanctuary. Several of them don’t have captions, especially the flowers, as I have no idea what many of them were. They were pretty though.

Next post will be from Honolulu, and until then, Aloha.

On our way into the Cloud Forest Sanctuary. Check out those roots. The volcanic soil is only a few inches thick, with lava rock underneath, so tree roots spread out horizontally to get as much nutrients from the shallow soil as possible.