Contact:
Anthology Marketing Group
Cheyenne Maltezo
Account Executive
(808) 539-3409
[email protected]

Island of Hawaiʻi (October 7, 2019) – Travelers may initially be inspired to visit the island of Hawaiʻi for its cerulean waters, verdant rainforests and valleys, and striking black sand beaches, but there is so much more to explore! With an abundance of culture and history to share, the island is full of unique experiences and intriguing facts inspiring first-time and returning visitors.  

INTRIGUING FACTS AND HISTORICAL TIDBITS

Birthplace of King Kamehameha I
The island of Hawaiʻi is believed to be the first island discovered and settled by Polynesians as far back as the fifth century A.D. The island was the birthplace and home of the Hawaiian Islands’ first monarch, King Kamehameha I, who united all of the islands under his rule in 1810. As initial ruler of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, he named Kailua-Kona the first capital of the Islands. (Honolulu became Hawaiʻi’s capital in 1850.) For more information on Kamehameha I – also known as Kamehameha the Great – visit www.gohawaii.com/culture/history/king-kamehameha.

Home to 10 of the World’s 14 Climate Zones
The Hawaiian Islands are home to 10 of the world’s 14 climate zones. Want to know an even cooler fact? The island of Hawaiʻi is the only island in the Hawaiian archipelago where visitors can experience all 10! The largest and youngest island in the Hawaiian chain – just 4,028 square-miles in total and first breaching the ocean surface more than  500,000 years ago – the island of Hawaiʻi is the one of the few places in the world where visitors can experience climates ranging from humid tropical and arid dessert zones to a periglacial zone in a single day. For more information, visit www.gohawaii.com/island-of-hawaii.

Cowboy Country
Situated in a natural land saddle between two – Kohala and Maunakea – of the island’s five mountains, Waimea is a town of breathtaking scenery and diverse landscapes. The history of the still-bustling ranch town is one of cattle ranches, cattle raising and paniolo (Hawaiian cowboys and cowgirls). Spanish-Mexican cowboys (vaqueros) were first brought to the island by Kamehameha III in the 1830s to assist the community in learning how to break in horses for work, as well as rope and corral an overpopulation of cattle. The paniolo born of the vaqueros’ teachings founded the small town’s now deep-rooted paniolo culture. Visitors are invited to explore modern Waimea, its farmers markets, historic Anna Ranch, and the humbly quaint Paniolo Preservation Society office. For more information, click here.  

ACCOMMODATIONS

The all-new luxury lifestyle resort Mauna Lani, Auberge Resorts Collection is set to debut in January 2020 on the island of Hawaiʻi following a resort-wide reimagination and renovation. The resort will open with contemporary guest rooms and suites, five private bungalow residences, five restaurants and lounges, three distinct pools, and a signature spa and wellness haven, as well as the property’s Kainalu active-pursuits program, Living Culture program and interactive Holoholo Kids Circle, all complemented by Auberge’s intuitive and gracious service. For more information, call (808) 885-6622, or visit www.aubergeresorts.com/maunalani. 

TOURS AND ACTIVITIES

Destination Residences Hawaiʻi is offering travelers an opportunity to embark on an epicurean adventure only possible on the island of Hawaiʻi. Its Destination Delicacies package allows up to six guests to discover a selection of the island’s delicacies in one day, starting with a private helicopter ride and waterfall landing with a champagne toast. Following the helicopter ride, island tour operator Hawaiʻi Forest & Trail takes guests on a private land tour, which includes stops at Waimea Farmers Market, Honokaʻa Chocolate Co.’s Kahi Ola Mau Farm, Mauna Kea Tea’s fields, Honopua Farm and dinner at Pueo’s Osteria. For more information, call (808) 885-5022, or visit www.destinationhotels.com/destination-residences-hawaii.

You can explore the upper slopes of Kona’s very own backyard volcano Hualālai with Hawaiʻi Forest & Trail. Guests venture up the volcano and access private acreage aboard the tour company’s Hidden Craters Hike, trekking native cloud forests with incredible vista views of the Kailua-Kona Coast, standing on the edge of precipitous volcanic craters, and climbing through a segment of a lava tube. After lunch on the mountain, the tour heads back down to Historic Kailua Village for a tour of Kona’s newest brewery Ola Brew, sampling local beers and ciders made with harvested fruits and produce from local farmers. For more information, visit www.hawaii-forest.com.

On November 28, KapohoKine Adventures’ Thanksgiving Volcano Tour will take guests to a dramatically different Kīlauea volcano caldera, showcasing the now 1,000-plus-foot-deep Halemaʻumaʻu crater that up until summer 2018 was home to a lava lake. Guests on the tour will also hike throughout Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, checking out new cracks in the paved road heading out to Keanakāko‘i Crater, and stopping by the park’s Kīlauea Visitor Center, Steaming Bluff overlook, Volcano House hotel and more. Following a vineyard tour and wine tasting, a traditional Thanksgiving dinner will be served at Volcano Winery, with a glass of wine and a champagne toast. For more information, call (808) 964-1000, or visit www.kapohokine.com. 

The island of Hawaiʻi produces one of the rarest honey varieties in the world: kiawe wood honey, which naturally crystalizes into a creamy white honey with a delicate tropical taste. Fairmont Orchid is home to four beehives populated with more than 80,000 honeybees producing kiawe honey. Guests of the resort can view the beehives on a complimentary Botanical Garden and Bee Tour, every Tuesday from 9:30-10:30 a.m. The tour includes an in-depth exploration of several tropical plant species, a visit to the beehives and a tour of the chef’s garden, where many of the fruits, vegetables and herbs served at the resort are sourced. For more information, visit www.fairmont.com/orchid-hawaii.

Hawaiian Legacy Reforestation Initiative (HLRI) is partnering with Jet-Set Offset, an online platform helping raise awareness of the environmental impact of air travel, to offer travelers and businesses the opportunity to offset the carbon footprint of their commercial air travel while also helping reforest the island of Hawaiʻi. Visitors can donate one cent per mile flown, which is the average estimate of the cost to offset carbon emissions from air travel. Each donation will go toward the purchase of Gold Standard-certified carbon credits for offsetting the carbon footprint of traveler flights while they plant endemic Legacy Trees in Hawaiʻi with HLRI. For more information visit,  www.legacytrees.org.

Kainalu Mauka to Makai Sports is Mauna Lani, Auberge Resorts Collection’s innovative approach to resort activities. It’s a recreation program guided by world-class athletes where resort guests can learn a new language for adventure and embark on immersive journeys of self-discovery. The Kainalu program is inspired by an awareness of one’s hā (breath), the foundation of life and the key to healthy routines. Activities are progression-based and include mainstream and alternative options suitable for all ages. Among these are a heli-bike tour and a night dive with manta rays. For more information, call (808) 885-6622, or visit www.maunalani.com/auberge.

EVENTS

Celebrating its 59th year this December as one of Hawaiʻi’s longest-running parades, the Waimea Christmas Twilight Parade has chosen “Our Community… Our Kuleana at Christmas and Always” as its 2019 theme. Folks along the parade route on December 7 can expect to see a brigade of festively lit trucks with Waimea residents – ranging from keiki (kids) to kūpuna (elders) – onboard representing area churches, schools, community organizations, ranches and businesses. For more information, visit www.waimeatown.org.

The Hawaiʻi Island Steel Guitar Festival is a free, open-to-the-public, family-friendly festival featuring performances by masters of Hawaiian steel guitar, alongside private workshops and jam sessions where festival guests can play steel guitar alongside the masters. The third annual edition is set for December 13-15 at Mauna Lani, Auberge Resorts Collection. For more information, visit www.hawaiisteelguitarfestival.com.

TASTY TIDBITS

Fairmont Orchid is excited to announce the opening date of Binchotan: Bar & Grill, set for October 17. It will be a place where handcrafted sushi, artisan cocktails and wagyu beef grilled to perfection blend together in an exciting social dining experience. A communal eatery, Binchotan features curated sushi, skewered delicacies and a craft cocktail bar offering signature creations alongside classics. Diners are invited to experience the restaurant’s locally sourced menu and Kohala Coast sunset views. For more information visit, www.fairmont.com/orchid-hawaii.

KUDOS AND ACCOLADES

Likao Kula Farm, Kokoleka Lani Farm and Paani Farms were the only Hawaiʻi finalists recently named to the Cocoa of Excellence Programme’s 2019 listing of Best 50 producers. The Cocoa of Excellence Programme is the entry point for cocoa producers’ participation in the International Cocoa Awards (ICA), an annual global competition recognizing the work of cocoa farmers and celebrating the diversity of cocoa flavors. The program recognizes and rewards cocoa with exceptional and unique flavors, and also brings know-how, cocoa evaluation tools, market opportunities and incentives for safeguarding cocoa diversity to farming communities and national organizations globally. For more information, visit www.cocoaofexcellence.org.

This year marks Huggo’s 50^th anniversary and the Kona restaurant is celebrating the milestone. Shirley and Hugo Van Platen Luder opened Huggo’s in 1969. Fifty years later, the iconic Kona restaurant is known for its fresh seafood, oceanfront views and nightly live music. Huggo’s opened as a steakhouse and evolved over the years into a Hawaiʻi-inspired dining experience, on the way earning praise from Bon Appetit, Coastal Living and Hemispheres magazines. For more information, visit www.huggos.com.

Coffee growers and industry leaders gathered on Oʻahu in July for the Hawaiʻi Coffee Association’s annual conference and statewide coffee cupping competition. The cupping competition saw 93 entries from coffee-growing districts across Hawaiʻi competing for top honors. Greenwell Farms earned top-scoring coffee honors in both the Kona and statewide divisions, with its washed Geisha variety receiving the competition’s top score of 85.28. Geisha is Greenwell Farms’ newest 100% Kona coffee, featuring notes of cherry, jasmine, caramel and citrus. Grown just below the 3,000-feet elevation, the newly award-winning coffee is available in limited quantities. For more information visit, www.greenwellfarms.com.

About the Island of Hawaiʻi Visitors Bureau

The Island of Hawaiʻi Visitors Bureau is an Island Chapter of the Hawaiʻi Visitors and Convention Bureau (HVCB). HVCB is contracted by the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority (HTA) for marketing management services in the continental U.S. The Island of Hawaiʻi Visitors Bureau also supports HTA’s international marketing partners in Canada, China, Europe, Japan, Korea, Oceania, Southeast Asia and Taiwan. The state of Hawaiʻi’s tourism agency, HTA was established in 1998 to ensure a successful visitor industry well into the future. Its mission is to strategically manage Hawaiʻi tourism in a sustainable manner consistent with the state of Hawaiʻi’s economic goals, cultural values, preservation of natural resources, community desires and visitor industry needs. For more information about the island of Hawaiʻi, visit www.gohawaii.com/Island-of-Hawaii.