Our Adventure to South Point – Black Sand Beach (Punalu’u)

Hawaii continues to amaze me. From the hot lava fields to the windy grasslands to the lush forests, the beauty of this place is never ending. We decided to make the long trek to the south point, which is about an hour and half from Kailua-Kona on a one lane road through small towns. 

We wanted to experience a black sand beach and Punalu’u Beach was the perfect spot. No hiking needed. You drive straight up to the beach, which has a concession type stand, a lifeguard on duty, a few houses/buildings and some local campers. There is a freshwater pond right behind the beach that is covered in beautiful plants and lilypads. The sand was hot, but bearable. Keep in mind that the back sand is lava rocks that have been pounded down over many years into black sand, so the sand is not exactly soft to walk on.

We brought lunch and our snorkel gear and boy were we glad we did. There are not many food options out here, so make sure and research where you are going to stop and maybe bring snacks with you. We have heard from multiple sources that the Punalu’u Bakery is terrific, but it was busy when we passed by. Again, there is a concession stand, so you can buy some overpriced chips or some woven palm tree hats made right there in front of you if you so desire.  

The water is a little rough, but they have buoys that are a gentle reminder to stay in between them and the shore. We paired up. Zach took Brixton and I took Knoxton. We went out and saw a good amount of fish and turtles! This was the first sighting of turtles the kids had. You are supposed to stay 20 feet away from them, but by the time we spotted one, it was 5 feet away. The kids loved it! The snorkel mask we got for the kids is unavailable, but here is something very similar.

Another really cool thing is that at Punalu’u near the rocks, which are in the middle of the beach, there are spots with gurgling fresh water. We had read that Hawaiians would bring dried out gourds here and dive down for fresh water at this beach, but we didn’t know how easy it was to find. You can see the water coming up from the ground in a few spots in the tide pools. We all drank from the tide pools and it was the freshest water. Just be cautious of drinking fresh water from the ground here, because we also read about the use of cesspools on the island and how they leach into the freshwater on the island. Luckily, they are outlawed and any new developments need to have a proper septic tank, but existing cesspools don’t need to be changed until 2050.

Overall, this beach was fun and worth the drive for us and a must see if you enjoy going for a drive. We also hit up a green sand beach on South Point that was over an hour hike! Look for that in our next article, Our Adventure to South Point – Green Sand Beach (Papakolea). 

Have any questions for us? We would love to hear from you!

Follow us @conquer.the.thrill on Instagram and Facebook.

Mahalo,

The Fabulous Life of an RV Wife

Make sure and subscribe on our home page for updates when we post more articles like this one!