Hamakua or bust

Waipio Valley, the Hawaiian Valley of Kings. It was from here that the rulers of the Big Island came for generations, and today it is the last place to find the traditions of the island... assuming you can get to it.

Karissa and I took the ride along the Hamakua coast until the end of the road. Only 12 miles (as the crow flies) separate the end of 240 to the dirt road that leads up into Hawi, however those miles don't take into account the rise and fall of the 10 valleys from Waipio to Kupenau, each one a climb from near sea level to between 2 and 3 thousand feet. The only ways down into the valley are by foot or ATV, with the ATVs being strictly controlled by the local populace and county officials... needless to say, we weren't on the short list of people approved for their use. A group of people staying at the Hostel did however take the 4 day trek into the valley (1 day to the river, one day to the far end of the valley, and then returning), with two of them continuing along the Z-trail up and into the next valley.

Just to the left of the picture on the right is a waterfall, the largest on the island at 1400 feet, Hi'ilawe Falls, whose pools at the base are considered to be the only "clean" water in the valley, where irrigation runs from, and to where hikers need to head in order to resupply on water for the day (ofcourse, boiling or other treatment is required).

On the west side of Waipio Valley, the Z-trail climbs you up the 2000+ foot cliffside to the entrance of Waimanu Valley. The climb is apparently a trip-killer, considered by the Sierra club to be the hardest hike on the Big Island. Because Waipio is still populated (although by a native populace that is less then happy to have hikers coming through) there're some possibilities of food and water there, once across into Waimanu though, the traveler is on his own. Our friends who continued the hike, Kenny and Paul, were by this point foraging for as much of their daily nourishment as possible, and the Valleys were quick to deliver, however before they could complete their climb into the next valley, a medical emergency (a wicked slice to Kenny's knee while he was dropping coconuts from the top of a palm) ended with them being airlifted to Kona. A point I may have missed, Kenny is quite literally a professional, an eco-tourism guide who, should he be fully rehabbed, will be leading a group through the central pacific islands this summer. There's a reason Karissa and I didn't attempt that trail.

On the drive up the coast we took our time doing the sightseeing routine, and in our travels ended up on one of the peninsulas stretched out into the pacific. A few years ago the entire peninsula, then entirely jungle and scrub plain, was bought by a developer, now carved (quite literally, we got to see some of the dynamite split roadways) into parcels, the land is being sold by the developer for agriculture (who says Happy Cows come from California), resorts, McMansion lots and other goods... price of the largest lot (86 acres running along the entire eastern facing shoreline) is a cool $2.1 million. I give it a few months before Hilton, Marriot or some other buys it up... the views from the private (whoops, I mean unmarked) road were of the pacific leading all the way to just catching the tip of Hilo. If only I had that sort of cash lying around... anyone care to finance an eco/creative resort?