Big Island beaches

[beatnavy77]

Hi folks - glad I've found this forum, although am a little puzzled why the 'Hawaii' section is rather empty.

I've done some dry land detecting over the years but have never managed to find enough time to devote seriously to the hobby. However, I'll be vacationing on the Big Island in Waikoloa (at a small resort a few miles inland) for 8 days in August and I'm seriously considering buying a beach detector and spending a lot of early mornings MDing during the trip.

Are there any well-populated beaches in that area that are worth detecting? I was looking at aerial pictures (at http://maps.live.com -- be sure to try out the 3D view!) of the area and saw a few sandy beaches but the area doesn't look all that populated (or maybe the aerial photos are old?).

From what I can determine the Hilton has a large complex there but I'm not clear on the local laws on whether the beach is open to the public (although something in the back of my mind recalls something about all beaches in Hawaii being public property). Also, I get the feeling from the aerial view that the most popular beach for the Hilton folks faces a protected cove, so not a lot of wave action to dislodge jewelry, etc.

I'm leaning hard towards a Surfmaster PI Pro, and plan on digging everything. I was a little disappointed to read that the PI Pro isn't good in black sand, but I haven't yet figured out whether there are any black sand beaches on that side of the island. I realize I can get some even better detectors for around $1000, but all I can justify for now is $600 or so.

[daleinhawaii]

Aloha--I'm the local metal detector dealer here in Hawaii and can give you the scoop on where to detect and detector performance. email me mtldet@aol.com or call me (808) 371-6316--Dale