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Premium #30374

Uka Farm-Hawaii-Big Island-Family Home on Secluded 3 Acre Farm-15 minutes from Hilo Town

House • Hilo HI United States

    8 Guests   
    3 Bedrooms   
    5 Beds   
    2 Bathrooms   
    5 Car spaces  
    2 Cars available   
  Primary home

Exchange types accepted

  Simultaneous  
  Non-Simultaneous  
  Non-Reciprocal  

Statistics

Listed  May 2024
Views  3842

General Overview

Aloha! E komo mai! (Welcome in Hawaiian) Come experience the Hawaiian tropical rain forest! Our home has a large covered lanai (patio) where you can dine outside year-round. Our home has big windows in the living room and dining room so you can view nature out the windows. Our home lies next to a vast state owned land area so there is nature as far as you can see from our home which is very rare for being within the city of Hilo limits. Our home is located on 3 acres of agricultural land at 1,500 ft elevation so it will be cooler than down in Hilo town during the summer and air conditioning is not necessary. Just open all the windows and turn on the ceiling fans. The temperature is usually a pleasant 75 F (24 C) and it cools down somewhat at night. Our home was custom designed by us and includes native 'ohia tree poles holding up the roof structure. 'Ohia are the first trees to grow on new lava fields. The lava rock on the base of the pillars were hand laid by a local Hawaiian stone mason and were blessed in the traditional fashion before being brought to our home site. We have planted many native plant species on our property such as the 'ohia tree, kukui tree (candlenut tree) that the Hawaiians use the nut to make traditional lei, hala trees that the Hawaiian use for traditional weaving, and several varieties of ferns such as the hapu'u (Hawaiian tree fern), 'uluhe fern and warabi (a local edible fern) and other native plant varieties. We also grow papayas, bananas, avocado, sugar cane, taro and many other tropical varieties of fruit trees and plants. Due to the native plants and there being no road noise at our home, many native birds come to our property so you will see many different varieties of birds out the window and around the property. We have two hair sheep (not wool sheep) that look similar to goats. They will live in a fenced in paddock during your stay. They are shy but possibly may eat alfalfa pellets out of your hand. The sheep graze so they do not require any work from guests. We plan on having chickens by the winter of 2025 so you would be able to collect fresh eggs daily. Our property is next to rangeland so you will see cows occasionally wandering by grazing just over our fence. You will have lots of privacy at our home. We have one neighbor but the trees block the view between the houses. If you have kids they will enjoy seeing the variety of animals on our neighbor's properties. Most people have 3 acre lots in our area so you will spot sheep, cows, goats, horses and, of course, chickens and dogs on our neighbors' properties if you take a walk up our street. Our kitchen is fully equipped with a dishwasher, oven, electric stove, microwave, full size refrigerator and freezer and a variety of small kitchen appliances like a soda machine and rice cooker / automatic pressure cooker. If you have kids, we have plenty of toys and games. When comparing homes in Hawaii, the higher elevation homes such as ours are actually considered more desirable than those directly in town because higher elevation is not as hot. AC is not needed any time of the year at our home because the elevation keeps it cooler. We have beach gear for guest use including 2 paddleboards (regular king, not inflatable), 2 adult bodyboards, 1 little bodyboard, a variety of children and adult snorkeling gear, a beach wagon and a sun tent. And of course, beach towels too.

The Space

Our home has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The master bedroom has a new king size eco certified latex foam mattress and has an en suite bathroom with shower separate from the large bathtub and toilet. There is a bathroom with a shower with bathtub and toilet in the hallway. One child's room has a new twin size latex foam mattress with a twin size trundle underneath. This trundle frame can pop up to make a king size width bed (see photos of what this looks like before and after). There are also plenty of books on the bookshelf and adolescent games and toys in the closet. The second child's bedroom has a twin size bed with a new eco latex mattress, a kid's size desk and an adult size desk with an office chair. There is also a twin sized inflatable mattress but it will only fit in the master bedroom or living room. There is a futon in the living room also equipped with a eco latex mattress that is queen size (sleeps 2 adults) and very comfortable for sleeping. See photos of the beds for exact dimensions. You will feel immersed in tropical paradise as the coqui frogs sing you to sleep on warm nights. We completed a remodel in 2022 with new flooring and kitchen countertops. The carport area at our home and the dog area are covered as well as the deck (lanai). You will have access to all the rooms in our home except the master bedroom walk-in closet and a storage room off of the laundry room. The living quarters are 1,536 sq ft. The footprint of the entire single story home is 3,592 sq ft when the covered carport, lanai (deck) and covered dog areas are included. We also have baby and toddler gear such as 2 high chairs and booster seats, toilet seat reducers and stools, 2 portable cribs, and magnetic cupboard locks.

Guest Access

Our home is a single story home. There are three steps to enter the main part of the house and four steps to access the covered lanai (deck) from outside but no steps from the inside of the home.

Notes

We request a $150 cleaning fee for Globe / Pluto exchanges. We have a professional cleaner that comes before and after exchanges because we do many consecutive exchanges. This is exempted for reciprocal exchanges (simultaneous or non-simultaneous). We are limited in our travel schedule to our son's school vacation schedule. Our calendar reflects the only dates that our home is available for exchange. We have two dogs but we have them stay in a boarding kennel elsewhere while we are traveling. They live outside our home exclusively so there is no dog hair inside the house. If you love dogs and want to care for our dogs please let us know and we can discuss. If you want to then we may be able to offer you use of our vehicles in exchange.

Features


Fridge
Fridge
WiFi
WiFi
Bed sheets
Bed sheets
Oven
Oven
Towels
Towels
Washer
Washer
TV
TV
Heating
Heating
Hair dryer
Hair dryer
Microwave
Microwave
Iron
Iron
Dishwasher
Dishwasher
Smoke alarms
Smoke alarms
Workspace
Workspace
Clothes dryer
Clothes dryer
High Speed Internet
High Speed Internet
Garden / yard
Garden / yard
Bathtub
Bathtub
BBQ
BBQ
First aid kit
First aid kit
Fire extinguisher
Fire extinguisher
Toys
Toys
Covered porch / verandah
Covered porch / verandah
Bikes
Bikes
Standup paddleboard
Standup paddleboard
Kayak
Kayak

Travel Styles

    Weekend
    Adventure
    Family
    Sport and leisure
    Foodie
    Relaxing
    Eco
    Village
    Mountains
    Beach
    Tropical
    Culture
    Hiking

Accessibility

Single level 
Accessible door handles 
Accessible parking space 

House Rules

    Suitable for infants under 2
    Suitable for children ages 2-12
    Pets not allowed
    No smoking

Allergens

    Cat free
    Carpet free
    Smoke free
    Fragrance free
    Low allergen
    Hypoallergenic

Dates of Availability

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Neighbourhood

We live in a rural area of Hilo. Historic Downtown Hilo along the Hilo Bayfront is just a short 20 min drive away. University of Hawaii-Hilo is 13 minutes away and the commercial district with all the grocery stores and shops is 15 minutes away. So you will have the best of country living within the city of Hilo. There are many family friendly beaches in Hilo. Some of our favorites are Onekahakaha Beach and Carlsmith Beach where you almost always see sea turtles. For those who surf Honoli'i is a popular surfing beach as well as Richardson's Beach. Paddle boarding is best at Hilo Bay. We like to launch from Reed's Bay, a smaller bay attached to Hilo Bay. Hilo has two gorgeous parks along the bay: Wailoa River State Park and Liliuokalani Garden which connects to Coconut Island (Mokuola - the Hawaiian name). Such large park areas along the shoreline are rare in Hawaii due to the pressure to develop land near the ocean but the parkland is a result of two large tsunamis which destroyed Hilo during the last century. Redevelopment was banned along the bayfront afterwards and the beautiful parks were formed instead. There are restaurants in Hilo for dining and where you can get take-out food. Downtown Hilo has an open market where you can purchase fresh tropical produce. One of our favorite shops for local Hawaiian produce, meats and gifts is the Locavore Store where all the products are from the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is the most popular destination on Hawaii Island (The Big Island). Kilauea Volcano can be viewed at the national park which is a 50 min drive (32 miles) from our home. Kilauea Volcano is currently erupting lava geysers on a weekly basis in the crater. This can be easily viewed from various lookouts from a safe distance without any hiking involved. There is plenty of recent volcanic activity to see in the national park if the volcano is not erupting when you come to visit. The tradewinds blow the volcanic gas from the volcano in the direction of Kona and on to the other Hawaiian Islands so Hilo typically has the lowest vog (volcanic gas) levels in the state. Our home is not in any danger from the Kilauea Volcano eruption. Attractions close to our home: Rainbow Falls in Hilo - 9 miles - 24 min Hilo Downtown Farmers Market - 9 miles - 20 min Akaka Falls State Park - 16 miles - 27 min Liliuokalani Park on Hilo Bay - 9 miles - 20 min Carlsmith Beach in Hilo - 12 miles - 27 min Onekahakaha Beach in Hilo - 12 miles - 26 min Richardson Beach in Hilo - 13 miles - 30 min Honoli'i Beach in Hilo for surfing or watching surfers - 11 miles - 25 min Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden and Reserve - 15 miles - 34 min Hawaii Volcanoes National Park - 32 miles - 49 mi Mauna Kea Visitor Center (for stargazing) - 39 miles - 52 min Kazumura Cave - 20 miles - 42 min Waipio Valley Overlook - 58 miles - 1 hr 20 min Ziplining over a waterfall (there's a couple places to go) - 23 miles - 38 min Scenic helicopter tours departing HIlo Airport - 12 miles - 27 min Various hiking on Saddle Road (the low part between the Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea - two huge volcanoes) - Trail names such as Kaumana Trail, Pu'u O'o Trail, Kaulana Manu Nature Trail - Approx 25 miles - 35 min Hilo has a population of 45,000 and is the 4th largest city in the state of Hawaii. It is known for its friendly and small town charm. It is also one of the most authentically Hawaiian towns in Hawaii with a large native Hawaiian population and it hosts annually the largest hula festival in the world. You also won't find crowded beaches and traffic jams like on the islands of Oahu, Maui and Kauai. Hawai'i Island (most commonly referred to as the Big Island) is big! So there's plenty of space to spread out here. So if you want to experience authentic Hawaii, come to Hilo! Hilo is on the windward side of the island so it is known for its tropical rain that keeps everything green and lush and for its warm, comfortable temperature year-round so no AC or even heaters are needed. Average temperatures year-round in Hilo are between 70°F and 75°F (21 and 24°C). Here's an article describing the vibe of Hilo town: https://www.hawaiimagazine.com/why-hilo-should-be-on-your-hawaii-travel-bucket-list/?fbclid=IwAR2b0_eNXYjN_K-xIxjfQSLNsSvyVBQspSJNk6fpWQKjB-Sl_7G4Q12Xqfk

Getting to my home

You will need a car for your stay at our home. We can offer our automatic four wheel drive truck (seats 5 and has a camper top to keep luggage dry) for a vehicle exchange as part of a simultaneous exchange or possibly in exchange for caring for our animals during a non-simultaneous exchange. Please inquire about these options. We may possibly be able to leave our vehicle at either the Kona or Hilo airport for you.

Nearest airport

Hilo Airport is 10 miles (16 km) away (23 minute drive) The Kona airport is 1.5 hours away and a rental car would be needed unless we do a reciprocal exchange and leave our car at the Kona airport. There is no shuttle bus between the two sides of the island. When flying from outside of the state of Hawaii there are only nonstop flights to the Kona airport. If you fly to the Hilo airport you will need to change planes at the Honolulu International Airport or on Maui. There are flights every hour during the day from the Honolulu airport (HNL) to the Hilo airport (ITO) so island hopping is very easy.

Getting Around

You will need a car to stay at our home. Taxis are available to our home but it is not cheap (about $50 plus tip one way) and is only recommended for traveling to and from the Hilo airport.

Map of Approximate Location

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Feedback

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Premium


Melissa

Aloha! We are a family of four with two children, ages 12 and 5, who love to travel. You do too? Then we already have something in common! 😊All of our home exchanges have taken place since our daughter was born, so both children are experienced travelers who know how to behave respectfuly in other people’s homes. We have completed more than 75 exchanges and have traveled as a family to more than 7 countries. Mom, Melissa, is currently home full time with our daughter. Previously, she worked as an academic researcher in Germany, focusing on organic farming and the organic food industry. After that, she worked as a public school science teacher. Melissa lived in Germany for about five years and speaks fluent German. She also enjoys language learning as a hobby and speaks some French and Spanish, along with having a basic understanding of Hawaiian. Our son attends a Hawaiian immersion school where all instruction is in the Hawaiian language, so he speaks Hawaiian fluently. (For more information about the revival of the Hawaiian language—which nearly died out—you can listen to this NPR podcast: https://www.npr.org/transcripts/731868951) Dad, Grant, is a retired optometrist who now hopes to pursue his passion for native Hawaiian plants and farming. He grew up on Oʻahu. Grant’s true passion is Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He is a brown belt and enjoys visiting local jiu-jitsu academies to train whenever possible while traveling. Melissa, Grant, and our 12-year-old son are all active members of a Hawaiian outrigger canoe club. During the spring and summer, outrigger canoe paddling takes over much of our free time, with practices and races 3–4 days per week. As a family, we love the outdoors and frequently spend time at the beach, hiking, and exploring around Hilo. Our 12-year-old son enjoys robotics and playing the ʻukulele. He loves being part of the Hawaiian immersion community. Our 5-year-old daughter enjoys horseback riding, cats and swimming.
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