Go with the flow on Hawaii's volcanic 'Big Island'

From Gail O'Neill

KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii (CNN) -- The toughest part about visiting Hawaii's 'Big Island' is choosing what to do when you get there.

There's plenty of ground to cover on Hawaii, proper, which is twice as large as all the other Hawaiian islands combined. It features diversions including kayaking, helicopter rides and golfing.

This southernmost and youngest of the eight-island chain is believed to have been inhabited first by Polynesians in the fifth century. Now it's a popular destination where tourism coexists with farming and cattle ranching.

Bird's eye view

One of the most breathtaking ways to get an overview of it all is from above, in what some locals refer to as the state bird. Most helicopter tours take off from the Kona side, where nearly all the island's major resorts are located.

VIDEO Come take a helicopter tour of Hawaii (May 10) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) Watch a group experience Flum'in da Ditch in Kohala, Hawaii (May 10) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)     RESOURCES Click for more information on: Helicopter tours Flum'in da Ditch Forest & Trail tours

The ride gives you an ideal view of volcanoes, including three active ones in the central and southern areas of the island. When a volcano's erupting, "It's one of the most awe-inspiring things most people will ever see in their entire lives," says David Griffin of Blue Hawaiian Helicopters.

You'll also see land cultivated by the agriculture industry on the eastern side of the island, and -- as your tour moves north -- dozens of rivers and waterfalls that punctuate the coastline.

"If you want to come and you want to really see what Hawaii is about and understand its nature and get out, this is the island to do it. ... What really makes the Big Island different is just its diversity," said Rob Pacheco, owner of the Hawaii Forest & Trail tour business.

Flum'in fun

For another adventure, head to the northern part of the island and climb into a kayak for a guided ride call "Flum'in da Ditch."

For three-and-a-half miles, visitors cruise down the central part of a 22-mile irrigation network, an engineering feat built in the early 1900s for the once-thriving sugar cane industry.

"We go through a series of 10 tunnels, six open ditches and five flumes," says Darroll Naungayan of Flum'in da Ditch. "There were 600 Japanese workers who were brought here to help create this irrigation system. They were paid about a dollar a day."

The leisurely 90-minute tour is relaxing, historic, even inspiring.

Visitors cruise down an early 20th-century irrigation network on a guided tour called "Flum'in da Ditch"

As one rider comments, "It's wet. The trees are beautiful; going through the rainforest is amazing."

Golfing mecca

Although the Big Island's blue water and black lava are striking, it's green that draws the duffers. With near-perfect weather conditions year-'round, the western or Kona side of the island has become a golfing mecca.

But what started as an adult playground has evolved over the past decade, and you don't have to be a golfer to enjoy yourself.

"I would say they're catering more to families," says Steven Hookano, head golf professional at Mauna Lani Resort. "They can come out and golf and do their things and at the same time their families can do other things."