Three couples shared this lovely home located in a truly special place. We all felt like we were living in our own private garden. You are surrounded by lush greenery and flowering plants. And yes, you do have your own lava pond. We didn't really take advantage of this, but it certainly added to the beauty of the home. We did take advantage of the lovely seating area by the pond for many of our meals. Just a gorgeous setting. Another wonderful advantage of staying here is that you can walk directly to the tidal pools--only about 5 minutes. And the tidal pools provide an exceptional opportunity for snorkeling. We saw so many varieties of colorful fish and even various colors of coral which the Univ of Hawaii has seeded. So nice to see living coral. The location of the home is a bit isolated but that is also a part of the charm. We met very nice people in the area--many of whom gather in the morning to watch the sunrise. The town of Pahoa is small but has a wonderful vibe with several restaurants and opportunities for shopping. There is a wonderful farmers' market outside the town with reasonably priced fruits and veggies, prepared foods and interesting crafts/art. Besides the tidal pools, our favorite activities were touring at the Volcanoes National Park including taking a 4 mile bike trip to the site of the current lava flow and watching it descend down the cliff into the water below and touring the Hawaiian Botanical Gardens, north of Hilo. I would have liked to take a day to take advantage of all Hilo had to offer, but we ran out of time. You will definitely enjoy the Big Island, the Puna district and this very special home in Kapoho.