I woke up at 5:30am to drive the coast from Kona to the southernmost point on the Big Island (and in the US), since I had a full day of adventures scoped out.
My rental wasn’t 4 wheel drive so I parked about 2 blocks from the rugged coastline, as the potholes were deeper than the car itself. Then began the 2.4 mi journey to find the rare green sands beach. And I should mention that I saw 2 SUVS but never saw any form of life for 2 hours. I felt like I had landed on Mars with the massive gulleys carved into the crisp green landscape. (This is ironic because the day prior NASA had landed a rover on the red planet)
Luckily my phone GPS still worked and I could see my progress along the trail and knew I was getting close to this elusive beach. And suddenly along a dramatic cliffside, I got my first look at the green sands. The sharp lava rocks are no joke to traverse so I took my time climbing down. The access point is via a mini slot canyon and adds to the excitement. And sure enough, the sand had a green tint tucked into a beautiful bay between towering cliffs.
Worth the extra effort? Absolutely! How many people can say they have had grainy, green sand between their toes?
FearlessAdventures 