Enjoy a walk through the sacred grounds along the sea.

Visit the Painted Church down the road.

Enjoy an afternoon kayaking and snorkling at Kealakekua Bay.

Lava and sea on the trail at the Place of Refuge.

The house is in Honaunau, near Captain Cook, at an elevation of 900 feet, nestled on the southwestern slopes of Mt. Mauna Loa on 1.2 beautifully landscaped acres, close to many historic sites, great snorkeling and diving sites, and beaches. (See map.)

A few miles away, at sea level, is the Place of Refuge, Pu'uhonua O Honaunau. On one side of the harbor is the famous "Two Step" swimming, snorkeling and diving area. Enjoy the coral reefs, the many colorful fish, abundant sea turtles, and wave hello to the resident spinner dolphins. Both beginners and experienced snorklers and divers love it, and it's a favorite with the locals, especially on the weekends. With parking and portable toilets.

On the other side of the harbor a trail takes you through the former royal grounds and past archeological sites including temple sites (heiau), sledding tracks (holua), and old house sites (kahua). During the winter months you'll probably see some humpback whales. It's a nice place to walk early in the morning or around sunset. Walking tour.

On the way down to the sea you'll pass the Paleaku Peace Gardens on Painted Church Road. The beautiful gardens are dotted with sacred monuments. They offer yoga classes and other events. Check their website. And stop by the Painted Church, it's beautiful.

Within walking distance, just up the hill from the house is a macadamia nut shop where you can buy fresh nuts and delectable chocolates direct from the plantation. Much better from the source than in the packages you'll get at the airport, so don't forget!

You can also walk to a coffee/bakery/gift shop, seafood market, and local favorite, the Bong Brothers grocery, where you'll find groceries, organic produce, take-out vegetarian food, snacks, and souviners. Farther south down the road is a produce stand with exotic fruits and local organic produce. "Try everything" is our motto.

Drive a little way north to find a large grocery store, video store, shops and restaurants nearby in Captain Cook. If you're interested in plants, be sure to stop by the nearby Ethnobotanical Garden, which is a center for the study of Hawaiian people and their plants.

By the way, you don't need a wetsuit, but some people like to wear a light suit to stay warm for long periods in the water and also to avoid sunburn. Ecologically it's preferable to sunscreens, because the chemicals in sunscreen are harmful to the turtles, fishes, corals, and plants.

Many people come to the Kona area to dive with the giant manta rays.They can grow to 16-feet wide and 2000 pounds. You dive at night, and operators use lights to attract the mantas while you sit on the sandy bottom of the sea to watch these huge, graceful (harmless) creatures up close.

Kona-side beaches are consistently voted amongst the best beaches in the world. Many of these beaches are off-the-beaten-path, especially in South Kona. There are lots of rocky beaches where you can find good snorkling, and gray (or salt and pepper) beaches. Hawaii also has one of the rare green sand beaches in the world, and some black sand beaches, too.

Hookena Beach Park is only about ten minutes away from the house. It has a white sand beach, picnic tables, showers. It's a great sunning, swimming and body-surfing beach, and the snorkling isn't bad, either!

The historic town of Kailua-Kona is only 14 miles away.