With its
gorgeous beaches and lush and beautiful scenery, Hawaii is well known as
a popular vacation spot. Whether visiting the Big Island, or heading to
the popular islands of Maui, Oahu, Kauai or other small islands, there
is much to be said for the Hawaiian “aloha” experience.
When
it comes to accommodation, the islands offer a range of hotels and resorts,
but there is also a choice of luxury vacation rental villas available from
Time
and Place, giving a chance to be totally self-sufficient, while exploring
everything there is on offer during an island vacation.
While
many of Hawaii’s attractions are well known, the islands also offer more
unusual, sometimes weird and off the beaten track places to visit, including
a couple listed below.
Raëlian
UFO Peace Park
Fans of
science fiction would no doubt be fascinated by the Raëlian UFO Peace
Park, located just outside of Volcano on the Big Island. Back in the 1970s,
a man by the name of Claude Vorilhon founded the religion known as Raëlianism.
According to this religion, life on Earth as we know it was actually introduced
by the Elohim, an alien species. Vorilhon believed that what people think
of as angels, were actually the Elohim themselves, taking human form to
teach us lessons over the ages.
The
Raëlian UFO Peace Park was set up to celebrate the religion and makes
for a fascinating visit. The park features several unusual sculptures,
including a naked woman, a sea turtle, peacocks and other native birds,
with many of the statues featuring symbols relating to the religion. One
particularly fascinating sculpture looks rather like the crop circles that
have, excuse the pun, cropped up all over the world. In fact it is a model
of a planned galactic embassy. Raëlians are hoping one day to build
the real thing in Hawaii, but for the moment there are just a few intriguing
statues to visit, nestled among the dense vegetation of the area. You can
visit this weird and wonderful place at the corner of Highway 11/Volcano
Road and Ali`i Kane Street.
See
images of the Raëlian UFO Peace Park in the video below.
The Seven
Sacred Pools of ‘Ohe’o Gulch
Heading
to Maui and the Haleakala National Park, what is known as ‘Ohe’o Gulch
is a natural playground, consisting of the Seven
Sacred Pools. The pools and surrounding hiking trails are open all
year around, making it a great place to explore, with several historic
sites dotted around in the area.
Photo
Seven Sacred Pools via Wikimedia
by Joe Parks/CC BY-2.0
Of
particular interest to hikers is the Pipiwai Trail above the pools – a
four-mile round trip with several beautiful waterfalls along the way. At
the end of the trail is the stunning Waimoku Falls, a 400-ft waterfall
cascading down a lava rock wall.
Photo
Waimoku Falls via Wikimedia
by Paul Keeler/CC BY-SA 2.0
Take
yourself off the well-worn tourist path on your next visit to Hawaii and
explore some of the wonders of the island.
