It's less than 2 miles via Highway 200 from Hilo Bay to the Rainbow Falls. From 9:00 a.m. the first tourists arrive, as the rainbow is at its most beautiful in the morning sunshine.

We drive another 1.5 miles along Waianuenue Avenue to the Peepee Falls and Boiling Pots. The Boiling Pots are cold, vigorously churning water in the river — they're only called that because of the bubbling appearance. We then follow the coast along Highway 11 (parallel to Highway 19), the Pepeekeo Scenic Road. The road winds through dense forest, offering stunning views of the coastline time and again. A short but very worthwhile detour. It also leads to the Nani Mau Gardens, a botanical garden designed for tourists.

We continue north on Highway 19 to mile marker 13.4, then turn left. After about 3.5 miles we reach the Akaka Falls. There's a beautiful loop trail for which we allow ourselves an hour — you'll need at least half an hour. Along the way you pass the 115-foot Kahuna Falls, bamboo towering over 30 feet high, and other tropical plants, until you finally reach the 420-foot Akaka Falls. Don't miss these!

Tip for photographers: In the morning the waterfall is bathed in sunlight.

Our tour now heads south. From Hilo, the route follows Highway 130 and later Highway 132 through a spectacular tree tunnel into a bizarre forest of black stone pillars — the Lava Tree State Monument. A lava flow from 1790 swept through the forest here. The moisture in the wood caused the lava to solidify, and after the trees decayed, eerie stone tubes were left behind.