Historic Hilo Bay and Coconut Island Guided Kayak Adventure

Coconut Island, also known as Moku Ola, which literally means “island of life” in the Hawaiian language, used to be a site of an ancient temple dedicated to healing. During the olden times, the island's spring waters were known to cure all sorts of ailments. The island is also known as a place of refuge for ancient Hawaiians who broke the law. All they have to do was swim to the island without getting caught by the warriors chasing them then they will be pardoned for whatever crime they had committed. (20 mins)

Resting along Banyan Drive, in historic downtown Hilo, you will find the beautiful Lili’uokalani Gardens, the largest, authentic Edo-style ornamental garden outside of Japan. Queen Liliuokalani, donated the original five acres of land to create a public park in 1907. This was increased to seventeen acres by the Legislative Committee concerned with management of public lands in November 1917. Named for Hawaii’s last ruling monarch, Queen Lili’uokalani, the garden opened in 1919 and was styled as a tribute to the first Japanese immigrants to the Big Island who helped build it’s agricultural history starting in 1868.