Kapa’a Beach Park in Hawai’i
As I mentioned in my previous post, we went to the Big Island in Hawai’i last summer and spent four days exploring the island in a van. Since we had a toddler with us, we opted to rent a van that had a toilet and a shower, but unfortunately, when we picked it up, we were told the toilet wasn’t working, so we had to get creative.
At first, we just stopped at gas stations and grocery stores when one of us had to go, but eventually, we just gave in and used the toilet anyway, since we were doing so much driving and oftentimes were in the middle of nowhere without a bathroom in sight. Adam had the fun job of emptying the tank every day to minimize the stink inside the van, haha.
I’m sitting on the couch next to Lily, working on this post, and she looked over and saw the photo above and said, “Remember when we went to the beach, but there were too many bees?” Such a good memory! This trip felt like it happened so long ago, but she’s absolutely right.
We stayed at Kapa’a Beach Park overnight since it was literally the last place on the island to accept a last-minute reservation after we had a mini disaster at one of the Hip Camp spots we booked…
Long story short - we booked an overnight spot on someone’s property using Hip Camp, but when we arrived, there were three large dogs who followed the van in through the gates, barking, and surrounded us even after we parked. When we opened the door, they tried coming inside the van. I have a lil fear of dogs, and so does Lily, so it made me really uncomfortable. It was pretty annoying since the listing didn’t mention dogs at all. But this was a place we chose purposely for the pool and views, and we had planned to just hang out on the property all day, but when we realized we’d be sharing it with these dogs the entire time, we decided to leave.
It was a bummer because we had to scramble to find somewhere new to stay. We had to drive all the way to the other side of the island, where Kapa’a Beach Park is. I think it was almost a three-hour drive.
But anywho, in the morning at Kapa’a Beach Park, we hung around so we could snorkel a bit, but there were so many bees by the water that Lily and I just hung out near the van while Adam snorkeled for a bit. The plan was to take turns snorkeling, but I was too scared to get in the water near the bees, haha.
This was our view in the morning from the van. There were other people camping outside nearby, and lots of cars with sleeping surfers inside.
Adam and I slept in the bed upstairs in the van, and Lily’s floor bed was down near the kitchen. It worked out pretty well!
The other part of the kitchen area in the van had this table where we ate all of our meals. We got in so late that night because of the extra drive time. If I’m remembering correctly, Lily had a pretty rough time calming down and was extra fussy after the long day. I don’t blame her!
I don’t know if I would recommend this park. People say it’s a nice spot for picnics and to watch the sunset, but I’d argue there are better places on the island to do this. I’m grateful at least that we were able to find this spot in a pinch and park there overnight in the van! So if you’re also traveling via van around the island, it’s a good last-minute camping spot.
More to come…