ONO GRINDS
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Coffee Shack is a must when spending time in South Kona. They have arguably the best view of any resaraunt on the Big Island, perched 1000′ above Kealakekua Bay. They are know for their breakfasts and fresh baked breads. We are fortunate to have them as a partner providing all of the snacks and lunches for our Kealakekua Bay guided kayak tours. If your are in South Kona, don’t miss this stop.
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Our favorite place in town for authentic Japanese dining. This place is the real deal, and has been for nearly 100 years.
808.322.9140 – In Honalo next to Shell
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Magic’s Beach Grill…this is a Kona town staple, located right on the ocean next to La’aloa Beach Park (Magic Sands) Magic’s Beach Grill is a great location for lunch or dinner with amazing views, great grinds and bespoke cocktails/mocktails
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Aloha Vibes…Another Kona Boys favorite, located at the Kona Inn shopping center on Ali’i Drive. Aloha vibes boasts great ocean views and has an island style menu and fresh, modern vibes. Just a short walk from the Kona Boys Beach Shack, spend some time on the water with us and then enjoy a refreshing cocktail and some great food Aloha Vibes style.
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Walua Social Club…a newer restaurant on the Kona coast, the Walua Social club is a great addition to the dining options in Kailua Kona and offers Italian cuisine and great ambiance…Insider tip, we prefer the upstairs dining area.
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The Theatery: One of the best restaurants in South Kona, the Theatry shares a building with the legendary Aloha Theater and offers pairing for theater events. The Theatry has a lounge style bar, a back deck with amazing mauka views and a wonderful menu presented from an award winning chef. The owners also have a cacao farm and often present chocolate themed additions to their menu.
PLACES TO STAY
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The recently renovated King Kamehameha Kona Beach Hotel is conveniently located in downtown Kona. Our own beach shack is located directly in front of this beautiful spot on Kamakahonu Bay.
The hotel has easy access to the main downtown area restaurants and shops, the bay, and shuttle services. It is well-known for being central to the World Ironman Championships and the International Billfishing Tournament.
They have consistently scored excellent ratings and reviews from Trip Advisor and others.
Website: www.konabeachhotel.com
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The Manago Hotel is located in Captain Cook Town on the slopes of Mauna Loa at an elevation of 1,350 ft. It overlooks the beautiful Kealakekua Bay, and the ancient Hawaiian Place of Refuge in Honaunau.
P.O. Box 145, Captain Cook, HI 96704
Phone: (808) 323-2642, Fax: (808) 323-3451
BIG ISLAND ACTIVITIES
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If you’re here, you should check it out.
On the Big Island we’re blessed with one of the most active volcanoes in the world. In fact, the volcanoes on the side of Mauna Loa has been actively spewing lava for the last 30+ years.
You can check the current status of where to see the flows here: http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hvo/activity/kilaueastatus.php.
For the most recent images, maps, webcams, and more start at: http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/update/images.html.
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You may have already visited Kahalu’u Bay in Kona near mile marker 5 on Alii Drive. But you might not know that it is one of Kona’s premier beach parks.
Originally the spot of several heiaus (temples) and sacred fish ponds, Kahalu’u has the Big Island’s only surf heiau — that’s right, a temple where ancient Hawaiian cheifs used pray for good surf. Kahalu’u is also unique because of its barrier rock wall that was built, as the story goes, by the ancient Hawaiians known as the menehune.
Today Kahalu’u is known for its great Kona snorkeling, Hawaiian sea turtles, and surf. You’ll find lots of food and shopping nearby, setting you up for the perfect evening of sharing a mix plate while watching the sun disappear into the sea.
ISLAND SPOTS
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Home of the Ahuena Heiau, this beautiful beach located just behind King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel is also where you’ll find our Beach Shack.
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La’aloa means “very sacred” in Hawaiian. Often called “White Sands,” “Magic Sands,” or “Disappearing Sands,” this small, fun beach on the main drag in Kona is one of our favorites. So-named for the fact that the beach’s sand comes and goes seemingly overnight when big storms come, when the sand is in, it is a great place to relax and play in the shore break.
La’aloa was an ahupua’a–an historic land division–which still has some retained Hawaiian rights today. You can find the remains of Haukalua Heiau near the parking lot. The Haukalua Heiau is around 800 years old. Much of the temple was taken apart to build the parking lot and then placed into the current stone platform. No one is certain for sure how the heiau was used and what its particular origins were, but locals and ancestors of the land have strong opinions. The heiau is open, so please be respectful of what is left of this sacred place.
An interesting tidbit: St. Peter’s Church, currently sitting on Kahalu’u Beach next to the Ku’emanu Heiau was originally here. It was decided to move the blue church from La’aloa to Kahalu’u in 1912. How’d the do it? The church was placed on poles and carried/dragged by hand (with donkeys also)…and this was before pavement.
When the waves are down, we enjoy snorkeling a few hundred yards out and to the right. There are nice corals, a bit deeper waters, and a few larger fish. When the waves are up, boogie boarding is killer–just be careful.
Because of the amount of activity at this beach, its archaeological importance, and the often powerful shore break, this is one of the few beaches on the Big Island that posts a full-time lifeguard station.
You can find La’aloa immediately off Ali’i Drive just north (toward town) of mile marker 4.
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Officially called Manini’owali Beach, most locals and books still refer to this gorgeous beach as Kua Bay.
This is one of our highly recommended beaches north of Kona. Part of Kekaha Kai (lit. “the shore line”) State Park, it is a perfect beach for sunset watching, boogie-boarding, hiking, and just having a relaxed time with your family.
If you’re looking for a hike, 4.5 miles of Ala Kahakai (“shore line path”) passes through Manini’owali on its way south. Ala Kahakai is a 175-mile National Historic Trail full of cultural and historical significance. The trail ultimately passes through hundreds of historic Hawaiian settlements and over 200 ahupua’a (historic land divisions).
When the conditions are prime, you can see Maui to the north. In the winter, Kua Bay is a great place to whale-watch as humpback whales swim by and occasionally breach.
The sand at Kua Bay is fine and soft. Along with a paved road to the entrance, nice sand, and fun ocean means that Kua Bay is typically busy, so plan to share the beach.
We still remember the days of four-wheeling in to the beach, before paved roads and bathrooms made Manini’owali more accessible. Today, a nicely paved road leads all the way from the main highway (HWY 19, between mile markers 88 and 89) across from the West Hawaii Veterans Cemetery to the beach.
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You may have already visited Kahalu’u Bay in Kona near mile marker 5 on Alii Drive. But you might not know that it is one of Kona’s premier beach parks.
Originally the spot of several heiaus (temples) and sacred fish ponds, Kahalu’u has the Big Island’s only surf heiau — that’s right, a temple where ancient Hawaiian cheifs used pray for good surf. Kahalu’u is also unique because of its barrier rock wall that was built, as the story goes, by the ancient Hawaiians known as the menehune.
Today Kahalu’u is known for its great Kona snorkeling, Hawaiian sea turtles, and surf. You’ll find lots of food and shopping nearby, setting you up for the perfect evening of sharing a mix plate while watching the sun disappear into the sea.
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Kealakekua Bay is a sacred and beautiful place. We are privileged to enjoy it and share it with others. Frankly, it’s one of the main reasons we choose to live in the South Kona, Captain Cook area.
This sweet pocket of historical importance, unmatched snorkeling, and onshore adventure is the most protected deep water bay in all of Hawaii. The rugged pahoehoe lava and land surrounding Kealakekua Bay include the old Hawaiian royal village Ka’awaloa where Captain Cook met his end, the Hikiau Heiau that was dedicated to the god Lono, and the Pali-kapu-o-Keoua (“pali” = cliffs) that contain several visible lava tubes that were once used as burial caves.
Kealakekua (Hawaiian for “path of the gods”) was home to several Hawaiian ali’i (kings) including Kalani’opu’u, the last ruling chief of Hawaii island. Kalani’opu’u was uncle to Kamehameha the Great. Kamehameha returned to Ka’awaloa for a short stay at Kealakekua Bay afer uniting the Hawaiian Islands and before moving his kingdom and court to Kamakahonu in Kona.The Bay’s marine life sanctuary is one of the world’s top snorkeling spots. Its pristine waters and underwater diversity including fish and coral make it a breath-taking experience. A local pod of Hawaiian spinner dolphins is often found resting and playing in the bay. It’s not uncommon to see whales, manta rays, spotted eagle rays, sea turtles, and more.
We recommend exploring Kealakekua Bay by kayak or stand up paddle board to soak in the turquoise waters, sea life and unique history!
PEOPLE SPOTLIGHTS
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Jenny is a Kona local and accomplished stand up paddler who knows how to dream big and make it happen.
As of this writing, Jenny has competed in over 40 stand up paddling events, placing well throughout, and killing it in the long-distance races.
Jenny helped create the Destination 3 Degrees adventure where she and two friends paddled across Hawaii’s 9 open-ocean channels to raise awareness and funds to help benefit Algalita Marine Research Foundation in their efforts to understand and protect the oceans from the impacts of plastics contamination.
In September of 2011, Jenny was voted Female Stand Up Paddler of the Year by SUP Magazine readers. You can read her fantastic play-by-play of the award ceremony in her own words here.
You can check out our Kona Boys Interview with Jenny where she was kind enough to answer a few of our questions about SUP and the Big Island.
You can follow Jenny’s Blog here.
All pictures on this page are copyright Jennifer Kalmbach, unless otherwise noted.
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Kona Boys is lucky enough to carry some of Gary’s boards, and we’re glad to call him a friend of the shop.
For over 30 years Gary has worked independently in Natural Fiber Composites Product Development using mostly wood/epoxy and bamboo/epoxy laminates Young is most known for unique products like formed wood-veneer skinned surfboards and sailboards – receiving awards for his work. He has also built race-winning canoes, paddles, and foam-core Alaia boards.
In 1976, using veneer, epoxy resin, and a patented vacuum bagging process, he successfully made his first surfboard. He had created a light, durable and responsive board that didn’t use fiberglass and required less than half the amount of resin needed for a glassed board – something, at the time, the surf industry had neither seen nor heard of.
Recently, due to the scarcity of Bamboo veneer, Gary has been using Albizia, a relative to Koa known to most Hawai’i residents as a “rubbish tree”. Albizia is a logical substitution for bamboo because it has enough fiber that you don’t need to cover it with glass. It grows fast, is found all over the island, and shares many of the ecologically friendly qualities of bamboo. Instead of sourcing the material from across the planet, he can find it in his backyard.
He’s shaped boards for the greats, from Sunny Garcia to Nat Young, but his passion has reached a new level because “for the first time I’ve been able to use a natural fiber and make a strong, light surfboard that is the same price as a middle of the road fiberglass board. I really feel that I’m doing the best work of my whole life.”
Gary continues to shape and innovate at his home near Hilo, Hawaii.
You can check out some of his work, history, and theory at http://bamboosurfboardshawaii.com.
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Bryce is a friend of the shop, an outstanding underwater wildlife photographer, and director at Living Ocean Productions on the Big Island.
His award-winning work has been featured in magazines, newspapers, numerous domestic and international television networks as well as a myriad of International Film Festivals, Aquariums and Museums around the world.
Kona Boys is pumped to have some of his shots on our website. We love his work and thought you might too.
All images here are copyright Bryce Groark, and images on the Kona Boys site, unless otherwise noted, are copyright Kona Boys, Inc.
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The Shouse house is place with adventure in every corner, think feng shui meets action sports. This couple is serious about having fun and enjoying life.
Together Donica and Abraham Shouse have created Big Island’s own ‘FantaSea Factory’ where dreams become reality. Starting their own business together in 2009, Paddle Hawaii is a company full of innovations and focused on ecological production every step of the way. You can often find them out ‘testing’ new and old paddles in the surf along Kona’s westside; which just means they like to surf A LOT! Paddle Hawaii is creating a wave of enthusiasm and they plan on riding that wave around the world. Last December they joined the Imagine Surf team, an ecological SUP company, and are now riding the most high performance SUP boards.
When they’re not surfing Donica loves preparing fresh foods and teaches fitness. Check out her paddleboard yoga class, Floyo, at the Fairmont Orchid Hawaii. No matter where he is, Abraham is constantly thinking about paddles and is definitely the foundation of Paddle Hawaii. He does all the hard work while Donica is there taking pictures helping with the marketing aspects. They make a great team, each with strong visions that beautifully overlap.
As Ocean Ambassadors for Organik Hawaii, Odina Surf, and Kona Boys these two are always up to something fun and so super stylie along the way. All their sponsors are environmentally aware and creating high function/ fashionable goods at the same time.
“The companies mentioned above are seriously the best of the best and it’s definitely worth heading down to check out all the latest in stock at Kona Boys.” – Donica Shouse
Paddle Hawai’i is based in Kailua-Kona, HI. You can check out their work at www.PaddleHi.com or connect with them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PaddleHi.
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Kona Boys was stoked to get an interview with bikini-clad world adventurer, surfer, and Odina swimwear girl Alison Teal.
We love supporting locals and their work. Alison has been particularly fun to journey with through Alison’s Adventures and her work with Donica Shouse on Odina swimwear. We’re proud to carry their line of bikinis at our Kealakekua shop, and blessed to occasionally hang out with Alison when she’s not on the road doing amazing things.What was your latest journey?
I recently set off across Australia and New Zealand for some wild adventures for my upcoming Alison’s Adventures webisodes.
In Australia I headed into the Outback with Cockatoo Paul or as I call him “Cockatoo Dun Dee” and learned how to survive in the bush eating rabbits and kangaroo stew and making fire and shelter! Cockatoo Paul is the ultimate Australian bush tucker that knows everything about every plant, spider, kangaroo and every survival tactic in the book and always has his cockatoo named Pickles on his shoulder.Then I headed over to New Zealand and teamed up with pro maori surfer Daniel Kereopa and his family and did an episode with him about the importance of keeping Maori tradition alive and passing on important sustainable secrets to the future generations to ensure their survival and the survival of our earth.
We set off in canoes down the coastline to gather shell fish for dinner and even learned about surfing hand made alia surfboards, which Daniel humbly showed everyone up on by surfing the 5’8 alia with no fins doing 360s through the barrel! Incredible!Now I’m in Fiji and enjoying surfing beautiful waves with the best surfers in the world who are pouring in to compete in the Volcom Pro next week at Tavarua Fiji…..As soon as I get my fill of surfing Could Break I’m off to an outer island to document some of the last fire walkers in the world and really dive into Fiji culture!
What is the one thing you have learned during your adventures that you will never forget?
It is amazing learning the ancient secrets that many cultures around the world have in terms of survival and alternative medicine. Some call it witchcraft, some call in sorcery, some call it shamanism, some call it sustainable living, but I’ve found it to simply be lost solutions to to our everyday problems. I’ve learned how to cure cancer with leaves in Indonesia, cure blindness with guinea pigs in Peru, and predict the future with coca leaves in the Andes. It may seem like ‘magic’ to the uninitiated but to these ancient cultures it is the normal practice of a “doctor” or “councilor.” If the future generations continue to learn these methods I believe they can be extremely beneficial to the future of our planet…and I hope to help spread the magic!When will you be home?
I will be home July 3rd ready for some fireworks!
What are your dreams for the future?
To make the world a smaller place and encourage everyone to live THEIR dream. My favorite thing to do is to visit a new culture or re-visit one from my childhood and get to know the people and how they live and think and what wild and mystical traditions they have and what we can learn from them about their secrets to life, happiness, and survival/sustainable living…and then share it with the rest of the world.Thus I’m currently hosting, producing, and directing my own adventure series called “Alison’s Adventures” which is primarily located online at www.alisonsadventures.com.
I would say its “Samantha Brown meets Bear Grylls” for today’s generation – with an extra touch of magic and eco-love;-)The basic concept is that I travel the world with my backpack and surfboard on wild — usually bikini-clad — adventures, and offer viewers a special passport into my global family and their mind blowing customs in a fun, inspiring, and unique way. I aim to spread cultural preservation, global awareness, eco-lifestyles and, above all, to be a role-model for “living your dreams!”
What is your favorite song and why?
As cheesy as it sounds I must say I love “A Whole New World” from Aladdin because I seem to find myself in a whole new world every day! It’s also the first cassette tape in English that I ever had. I listened to it over and over again trekking through the Himalayas and it was the only thing that kept me going up to Everest Base camp;-).
Describe your favorite surf spot?
I love Cloud Break and Restaurants at Tavarua, Fiji and of course my (secret) home break in Hawaii. But I have to admit one of my favorite things is to come across random nameless breaks on my travels in some remote corner of the world and see the looks on locals faces when they see a chick on a pink surfboard paddle out;-).
How do you pass the time flying on airplanes?
Work on film and photo editing from my adventures, draw, watch movies and make new friends!Scary Travel Experience?
When I was in Morocco I had to kiss a live cobra snake to save my life from a bad surfing accident….also when I was about seven years old I was walked over by an elephant in Thailand for “good luck.”
Who has helped make your journey possible?
My sponsors make my wild adventures possible and I couldn’t be more thankful to them:- Odina Eco Swimwear
- GoPro
- Spy
- Patagonia
- Keen
- Kavu
- E-Tech Surf Boards (Eco Board Works)
- Clif Bar
- Sustainable Surf
- Manfrotto
- LowePro
- Yoga Adventure
- Arts Factory
- Mojo Surf
- Paddle Hawaii
- Fiji Surf
And, Sarah Lee Photography–she is also a Kona girl and has been working her booty off shooting me this adventure.
Want To Know More About Alison?
Bio & Blog: Alison’s Adventures, List of Sponsors
Youtube: AlisonsAdventures
Facebook: “Alison’s Adventures”
Twitter: AlisonAdventure
