It’s a beautiful, sunny day in Volcano. The birds are singing loudly in the ohia trees, the flowers are blooming. I think it’s safe to say that it’s spring. Spring in Volcano is a short, transition season into summer. It rains less, is more sunny, and the days are longer.

Flowers Near Reception

However, summer will be here shortly. With summer comes warm, sunny days and more traffic to Volcano. With school being pau (done) for the year, our little town of Volcano becomes more congested. However, Volcano Village Lodge is located off the beaten path, but still very close to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. After a fun filled day of exploring Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, come back to the tranquil sounds of the rain forest. Rest, relax, and recharge. You’ll probably want to escape back to the luxury of our rooms after seeing lots of people in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

Hale Manaluna Lodge

“Volcano Village Lodge is a great place to stay to experience the active lava and the beauty of Hawaii’s rain forest. We wish we would have stayed longer.”- Recent Guest

Volcano Village Lodge

Make sure to plan your vacation soon. Our rooms for summer tend to book quickly. We look forward to meeting all of our guests.

Over the past summers Emma and Spencer have been visiting our sister property, La Casa Colibri in Guatemala. However, they never went empty handed. What started as a fund raiser with their schools, Emma and Spencer started collecting donated school supplies and books to bring with them to Guatemala.

Spencer Handing Out Books in Guatemala

However, for this summer Emma and Spencer wanted to try something new. Their new goal is to involve all of the Emma Spencer Living properties and The Staak Report followers and engage them in a fund raiser. For every new Facebook like any Emma Spencer Living facebook pages get or for every new follower on The Staak Report, we will donate money to purchase school supplies in local Guatemalan villages to distribute to many schools.

Guatemala School Sign

A simple task that only takes 30 seconds can change the lives of many children, furthering their education. Please take the time to like ALL of our facebook pages and follow The Staak Report. Many Mahalo’s in advance!

Emma with a Class in Guatemala

A little village just north of Volcano or down the hill towards Hilo, Kalapana offers people a unique experience. I say unique, but really I should say a real Hawaiian cultural experience. You can learn more about Hawaii and our people by visiting Kalapana.

The best time to visit Kalapana are Wednesday evenings. Every Wednesday the local community holds an evening farmers market at Uncle Roberts Awa Bar or at “the end of the road”. And there’s only one requirement… Enter with Aloha! Honestly, this is a must stop. Enjoy an evening of great prepared food, fresh produce, amazing arts and crafts, awa (a local drink made from a plant root), and the main attraction of live music.

The Scene at Kalapana Market, Wednesday Evenings

If anything, go for the music. The Kanaka Band are all native to Kalapana and are big Hawaiian’s with soft hearts. So musically talented, I wish they sold CD’s. They provide hours of entertainment and encourage people to dance the night away. In fact, some people will even perform hula!

The Kanaka Band Performing on a Wednesday in Kalapana

Kalapana may be hard to find and sometimes doesn’t show up on a map, but it will leave you with an everlasting love for the people of Hawaii.

The water world has always fascinated me. My love for water has been with me since birth. I find it only appropriate that I live on an island, in a rain forest surrounded by some of the world’s most beautiful water scenes. Whether it’s waves crashing on molten lava, snorkeling with sea turtles, body surfing at green sands beach, swimming under waterfalls, or even picking shells off the beach, Hawaii has it all.

Some of the best places to get a “real” Hawaii experience is the Volcano side of the island. Sure, we may not have the white sand beaches, but we have the lava, culture, waterfalls, and rain forests. While staying at Volcano Village Lodge, explore outside of the Volcano region. Take a day trip to the southern part of the island, see a black sand AND green sand beach within 20 miles of each other. Stop at South Point and stand on the edge of a 40 ft cliff and see the crystal clear waters that face due south to our ancestral lands of Polynesia (side note: South Point was the first colonized location in Hawaii).

Green Sands Beach near South Point

Maybe the southern part of the island is not in your itinerary…In that case while visiting Hawaii Volcanoes National Park make sure to drive Chain of Craters Road. Take the road to the end and watch the power of the ocean crashing on fairly new lava. Holei Sea Arch is a great place to witness this. While down on the coast you can walk the rest of Chain of Craters Road to where a lava eruption took over the road.

Holei Sea Arch in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

How about driving just north of Hilo up the Hamakua Coast to the large waterfalls, gulches, and fantastic botanical gardens?

Akaka Falls, North of Hilo on the Hamakau Coast

However, the most powerful, once in a life time opportunity, is seeing the molten lava flow into the ocean. A battle between sister goddesses, Pele and Nā-maka-o-Kahaʻi put on a fierce spectacle that will leave you breathless. A scene engraved in your memory for life.

Lava Entering the Ocean: Photo USGS

Here on the Big Island, we love water period. Whether you love the forest or the ocean, you will find your place in Hawaii.

While driving up from Hilo or even the southern part of the island, you will notice how quickly the temperature and vegetation changes. As you move from the beautiful beaches up to Volcano and its’ rain forest, you witness a lush greenery. However, upon closer inspection most of Volcano’s under story plant is invasive.

Native Rain Forest with Kahili Ginger Under Story

Kahili Ginger has a beautiful yellow flower and has numerous flowers per stalk. Fragrant and even tasty nectar, the Kahili Ginger is not the kind you can eat (we wish). Unfortunately, kahili ginger has taken over almost everything in Volcano. Seen along the road sides and even in “protected” area’s, this plant spreads through stump sprouting and even when pulled will still come back.

Fruit, not Flower of Kahili Ginger

So, enough with the negative. While we do have our ginger issues, Volcano is one of the few public places where there is intact, pristine, native rain forest in Hawaii. Even at Volcano Village Lodge, we strive to provide our guests with a “real, authentic” Hawaii experience. We do routine invasive plant removal, and plant mainly native volcano plants. In fact, just the other day I did some exploring around Volcano Village Lodge and found some uncommon native plants. Something that made me so proud.

A Beautiful Volcano Rain Forest

While you step out of car and take in the aesthetics of our landscaping and beauty of the large hapu’u's (giant tree ferns), just remember that this is a native rain forest.

Tea, Flower, and Bee

Most of the Big Island is well known for its coffee. However, there’s a new kid in town. The other caffeinated beverage brewed with hot water…Tea. Over the past 5 years or so, tea has taken off in Hawaii. Which many people who live on island are not aware of. Volcano is home to many things, but while staying at Volcano Village Lodge make sure to explore the world of tea.

Now, I’m not taking about herbal teas, I’m talking about black and white teas. True teas. The tea movement started in Volcano when a resident noticed that her home in Japan was similar to home in Volcano, well at least climate and soil wise. This one individual brought from Japan many different varieties of the tea plant back to Volcano. The tea, like she thought, took off with in our rain forest setting.

A few people have gotten on this tea movement and offer some educational tea tasting’s.

Volcano Art Center, Niaulani: Tea for Tuesdays, Every Tuesday at 2pm. Try various types of teas and history behind them

Tea Hawaii & Company, provides tours of their beautiful property and tea tasting’s of the estate teas in a beautiful Japanese Tea Garden

Volcano Winery, Try their three different types of tea and potentially get invited to view their tea and grape fields on the slopes of Kilauea

Tea Fields at Volcano Winery

***Photo credit Keith Burnett http://kabi.zenfolio.com

Our family at Volcano Village Lodge would like to wish everyone a Happy Easter. Our innkeepers are keeping busy as the weather has turned from sunshine to dense fog and rain. They warmed the place up not only with their Aloha’s but also the wood burning stove. They were even so gracious to leave Easter eggs filled with candies to our guests. We know some people are a long way from home, but that doesn’t mean the Easter Bunny will forget them in Hawaii!!

Hau’oli Pakoa from the Volcano Village Lodge Ohana

Flowers Near Reception

People choose Volcano Village Lodge to escape and unplug from everyday life. While Hawaii offers some amazing sites and adventures, why not just unwind at Volcano Village Lodge? Our reception area has an impressive library of books, cds, dvds, and games! I’m always shocked at how many people get excited over the Scrabble and Uno.

For someone who doesn’t travel much and for the most part is pretty unplugged from normal living, I guess I’m just surprised. I always hear about peoples’ constant attachment to their phones and other devices. I know when guests arrive at Volcano Village Lodge, they love the atmosphere and zen feeling and this immediately puts them in the unwind phase of their vacation.

So it makes perfect sense that after enjoying the peaceful setting of the native rain forest and the isolated, romantic, private lodging, you would reach for a deck of cards instead of checking your work emails.

I invite you to take a break from your break (vacation), stay at Volcano Village Lodge unplug, unwind, and recharge.

Merrie Monarch Festival 50 Years

The weather has been phenomenal during the month of March and us locals are starting to question if this years Merrie Monarch Festival is actually happening. The Merrie Monarch Festival is a hula competition focused on preserving, perpetuating, and promoting the art of hula and the Hawaiian culture through education. Merrie Monarch was first organized in 1963 by the State of Hawaii. Which means that this year marks the 50^th Anniversary. A huge, week long festival that involves art exhibits, craft fairs, a parade, and of course hula performances. Believe it or not, Merrie Monarch brings hundreds of people from all over the world, to Hilo, to compete in the hula competition.

Furthermore, hula is a beautiful dance that incorporates local legends and chants that connects people to the aina (land). Along with learning the dance and the chants, hula performers hand pick every piece of vegetation for their lei’s, making a stronger connection to the land. More so, our vibrant red ohia lehua blossom. This flower is tied to many Hawaiian myths and is said to rain when the flower is picked.

Everyone who lives on the Island of Hawaii knows that March and April tend to be the rainiest months and we all believe it’s from this festival. However, don’t let the weather stop you from enjoying this event. If you are traveling on the big island during March 31- April 6 make sure to stop in Hilo and see what the fuss is about. For more information about the Merrie Monarch Festival and a schedule of events. Merrie Monarch Festival 

Ohia Lehua used in Lei's for Merrie Monarch

The other day I went around Volcano Village Lodge’s property. It was my own photo project. And my conclusions of all of Volcano Village Lodge, romantic, private lodging nestled in the heart of the Volcano rain forest only two miles from Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

Many people are surprised and impressed when they step out of their cars into Volcano Village Lodge’s rain forest retreat. Between the large tree ferns hovering over head, the vibrant anthuriums, and of course a personal greeting from our cat; it’s love at first sight.  Currently our bed and breakfast has five private lodges that are built around and into the rain forest. At night enjoy the sounds of the rain on your private lanai, light a few tea lights, pour a glass of wine and embrace this romantic setting.

Not only does Volcano Village Lodge offer luxury lodging, but we also have the convenience of being only two miles from Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Whether you are planning a romantic getaway or a family vacation, Volcano Village Lodge is located so close to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park that on some nights you can see the glowing of the active Kilauea volcano! Furthermore, our innkeepers have offered their input on Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and now every room has some sight-seeing and hike recommendations. Just another simple measure to ease your troubles.

Lose your thoughts and stresses as you relax your way into complete Zen while staying at Volcano Village Lodge. We know once you get here, it will be hard to leave.