Kona., Hawaii (Big Island)

Everywhere you go, travel agents approach you to sit through there offer for a time share. You make an appointment to sit through there presentation (about 2-3 hrs). They give free gifts for listening to there demo. They offer free dinner cruises, power sailing, snorkeling etc. About a value of $100.00, it's worth it, and there time shares are a good deal also.

Ka’upulehu, only a few miles from the Kona Airport, lies near the northern border of the Kona district, which most visitors recognize for its superb fishing and robust coffee. Kona’s most valuable asset, however, still goes largely unnoticed; unbeknown to many, it harbors one of the richest troves of archaeological treasures in the Hawaiian archipelago. Within its boundaries can be found the remnants of ancient villages and battlegrounds, lava-tube burial caves, fishponds, petroglyphs, and temples.

So, my dear VT’er, there is an unusual activity available for the more adventurous tourist on the Big Island and it's called petroglyph hunting. On such a hunt, bring water, good shoes, and sunscreen. Leave all ideas behind about wanting to reproduce, alter, or "improve" any of the petroglyphs. They are treasures – leave them alone! Also leave all pre-set thoughts about Hawaiian history behind. Using your own imagination, the stones will talk to you, telling you ancient stories if only you will listen.

Petroglyphs date as far back as the first settlers on the Hawaiian Islands, in the 4th century AD. They were the earliest written forms of communication with the gods, the spirits, and with fellow travelers and viewers.

The figures were most frequently carved on the smooth pahoehoe lava. Other stone sources were large boulders and the walls of lava tubes.

No one knows for sure what all the different symbols and figures mean. No one knows for sure the exact date of each petroglyph, or why there are so many on the Big Island.

One thing we do know: They are never randomly located. Isolated petroglyphs might mark a burial site, or an important trail junction. Groups of petroglyphs often accentuate a powerful place on the land. The early Hawaiians believed that mana , the cosmic force, was concentrated and available in specific locations, which became places of prayer and respect.