From now on nothing is organised for us and we're on our own, though strictly speaking this isn't true because first call of the day is Alamo (car rental, not fort) to pick up the car we'd arranged in the UK.
Like all car hire in the US, regardless of what you think you've paid for, they always find a way to charge you more and today was no exception.
Where the fault lay (Alamo or Explorers Tours) is a bit debatable - both deny it is them, but the long and the short of it is if we dont pay the $100+ dollars we don't get the car. We pay up.
We hit the road and head south and the first stop is Pahoe and stop for coffee at Godmothers.
The place is a one street town with wooden buildings and raised wooden sidewalks (pavements to me!). The town also plays host to the Oldest Theatre in Hawaii.
Whilst having coffee we overhear someone asking where to eat which has characters and locals. He suggests somewhere and tells him the local "characters" are head lice - Hmm, nice.
Can't stop long here - things to do and places to go....
Lava Tree State Monument - what a nice little park this is and quite tranquil with birds (mainly Northern Cardinals) flying about.
The monuments are "lava trees" formed by quick flowing lava "splashing" up trees and solidifying around it forming 6 to 12 ft "lava trees"
The next thought was to go to a lighthouse tucked well away at the bottom right hand corner of the island, but the unpaved road, and hence invalidity of car insurance, prevented us from going there, so we take the south coast road instead (Highway 137). This road was uneaven, narrow, very bendy and extremely bumpy but at least it was paved.
Stopped at a leisure park with pool area, briefly, as the place was littered with sign intended on preventing visitors having fun at leisure - No this, No that, Don't do the other, such and such prohibited, the list seemed endless. Passing Isaac Hale beach we ploughed on down roads which are flooded at high tide to an area of black sand beaches - a trade mark of volcanic islands.
These beaches were down a cliff face and reasonably well hidden, which is why they are favorites with naturists or is it naturalists - whichever it it there were people romping about with floppy bits bouncing.
Continued down the road 'till we could continue no more at the point where the lava flows of previous years have covered the road. Here all traffic has to stop and here is the ubiquitous souvenir gift shop and cafe.
Parking up we take a walk out over the lava field for the half mile or so trek to the newly formed black sand beach (at or around Waipuku Pt), where sprouting coconuts have been pushed into the "sand" in an effort to an Hawaiian paradise.
Seeking "the painted church" we discovered how a bus load of tourists made it down the long and winding road - they didn't go that way. There is a short link road (not on our map) which connects with the fully tarmaced very wide highway 130 just about at this end point.
Still the coast road was more picturesque if a bit uncomfortable to drive.
The painted church, by the way, was closed but we could see through the window to the rear of the building which has been painted to create the image that it it continues beyond - overall very nice.
Back the easy way and a short diversion to Wal-Mart for provisions, except they don't sell fresh fruit and veg, for which the assistant I asked looked at me as though I was utterly stupid to suggest that a large hypermarket would sell fresh food.
There was a deli on the same shopping complex that did sell fresh stuff so that was fortunate.
Dinner at Ken's House of Pancakes - which sell a lot more than pancakes I hasten to add - before going back to the hotel.
We discover that the hotel has a self service laundry and since we now have no clean clothes it was a mad dash down there with a couple of loads.
Bed later than originally intended.
Goto Day 13: East Coast Hawaii
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