Treehouse in Fern Forest, Big Island, Hawaii
I knew that when I decided to come to Hawaii that I wanted to experience it to the fullest - live the island life, be in nature as much as possible. I was dead set on staying in a treehouse. So, I researched "treehouses on the big island," and I found this gem on Airbnb.
What is Airbnb? Basically it is a place where you can find vacation/travel rentals or you can list your own space and be the host. Someone that has a home that they would like to rent or even an extra room - can become a host on Airbnb, and people traveling to a place can "Live There" instead of staying in a hotel. There are a lot of really cool places on Airbnb, so I suggest you try it out!
Back to the treehouse. The coolest part about this treehouse is that the owner, Kristie Wolf, and her mother built this home together, just the two of them. Incredible! Tessa (my best friend) and I are both really close to our mothers, so this was a super cool fact to find out about the house. Not only is the house a treehouse, but it is also a tiny house! It is a little more luxurious than you would expect. Luxurious in appearance, but it was very inexpensive to build and creatively crafted to perfection. It is also off-grid and completely solar-powered.
We drove from Waimea to Fern Forest to stay in the treehouse. Once we had made it to the end of the road that the house was on (which is called "Road 3," and it is painted on a piece of wood on the side of the road), we decided we did not want to try making it back out until the next day. The road had some deep holes and puddles, and we were in a rental.
There is a bamboo framed entrance to the pathway that leads you to the treehouse (above). Fern forest has lots of lush greenery and exotic plants.
To get up to the house there is a ladder-stair. Watch the video at the end of this post to get a better explanation of what this actually is. Once you make it to the top, there is a trapdoor to the wrap-around lanai. The windows are huge. The whole front of the house is the bedroom. The three walls around the bed are windows/sliding glass doors. The shower has glass slits for a view open to nature. So, it does not feel tiny.
Kristie stocks the place with everything you may need. The house had water, snacks, coffee, bug spray, all your showering needs, first aid kit, and so on.
I would only want to stay in this house with three people in the world - a boyfriend, my best friend, and my mother. So, I am happy that I had my best friend there with me. The lighting at night is so magical. There is no TV and it can be scary after the sun goes down, so having Tessa there made it fun. We laugh uncontrollably over the dumbest things sometimes. Definitely one of our best trips together to date.
The morning light at the treehouse was even more magical. The thing that really drew us to the house was the hanging bed in the open area below the house. Of course, being Tessa and I, we had to do a little photoshoot there. I don't normally post photos of myself on here, but these photos turned out great, so I have posted some below. It was so peaceful. Just laying there, closing your eyes and listening to nature. It was the perfect ending to my trip in Hawaii.
If you have any questions about my trip to Hawaii, about the treehouse, or about anything else - please comment!
- Ellie