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'Curved Water'
Waipi'o Valley from aboveFlying from O'ahu to the Big Island of Hawai'i on a monday morning (29th April), I wasn't the slightest bit surprised to see the entire island buried under a blanket of clouds - except for the tops of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, both of which are over 4000 metres above sea level - as the town we were landing in, Hilo, is officially the wettest town in the whole of the United States! And though I was content to save myself an unnecessary cab fare by walking from the airport to my hostel, I had only made it five minutes down the road when I was offered a ride by a friendly local!
Having checked into my hostel - housed in a beautifully restored old wooden building right in the centre of Hilo - I then set out to explore my new surroundings. And while the town itself could be best described as 'sleepy', the vast open spaces fronting Hilo Bay would prove to be the perfect place for a leisurely wonder, having been set aside as parklands in order to establish a 'buffer zone' between the city and the sea, in response to the two catastrophic tsunamis that
Mirror Still
Reflections in Queen Lili'uokalani Gardnes devastated Hilo in 1946 and 1960.
From the ubiquitous Kamehameha the Great statue that looks out over the sea, to the vast Waiakea Fishpond stocked with awa (milkfish) and ama'ama (mullet), the whole waterfront area is a joy to explore, with gently swaying palm trees perfectly reflected in the mirror still waters of the pond. Following the Wailoa River from the fishpond to Hilo Bay (ironically Wailoa means 'long water', yet the river is less than a mile long!) I then came to the Queen Lili'uokolani Gardens, which would have to rank as one the most beautiful parks I have come across on my travels.
Initially shaded by large banyan trees that are in turn completely overshadowed by some truly enormous fig trees, the park then opens out into a magnificent Japanese garden dotted with various pagodas, statues and torii (Japanese gates); all of which are beautifully reflected in the shallow waters of a sprawling fishpond and linked by a network of walking paths joined by quaint little wooden footbridges. Meanwhile, only a short distance away (and linked to the mainland by a footbridge) is a small island named Moku Ola (meaning 'Healing Island'😉, which is also known
Picture Perfect
The natural amphitheatre of Rainbow Falls as Coconut Island for it's abundance of coconut palms. And while the clouds managed to completely obscure both the sunset and the view of Mauna Kea rising up behind Hilo, the sweeping views of Hilo Bay provided a fitting end to a most relaxing afternoon.
It is a testament to Hilo's enviable location on the lush eastern side of Hawai'i that on tuesday a short walk of about three miles straight up the road from my hostel took me to three wonderful waterfalls. The first, Waianuenue Falls (which literally translates to 'Rainbow seen in water', and is otherwise known simply as Rainbow Falls) was perhaps the most beautiful of all, with the Wailuku (Destroying Water) River plunging eighty feet into a circular pool surrounded by lush tropical vegetation - creating a perfect natural amphitheater - while a small and seemingly inaccessible cave (where a young Kamehameha the Great is said to have buried his father's bones) lies directly behind the waterfall.
After clambering along the river above the waterfall to reach the lip of the falls - and passing another massive fig tree along the way - I continued another mile up the road to Pe'epe'e Falls and
Twin Cascades
The upper and lower falls of Wai'ale Falls the Boiling Pots, where the river first drops eighty feet into a serene plunge pool, and then continues it's journey downstream through a succession of bowl-shaped depressions in the stream bed, with the turbulent water in times of heavy rainfall creating the impression of a series of boiling pots as it heaves and tumbles it's way through the ever-narrowing valley.
Another mile further upstream lies Wai'ale Falls, which is actually a pair of waterfalls separated by a wide, languid stretch of river with an island of vegetation growing in the middle. Having by now worked up quite a sweat in the tropical heat, it was with great relief that after following a trail to the top of the falls I found a young couple cooling off in one of the many small pools above the upper falls. Needless to say I didn't need any invitation to join them, and before long I too was soaking my troubles away in the cool, fresh water; whilst discovering in the process that the smooth, water-worn rock through which the water flows from pool to pool has been sculpted into a perfect natural waterslide in a number of places!
Having spent my
Ribbon of Sand
The black sand beach at Waipi'o Valley first two days on the Big Island exploring Hilo and it's immediate surroundings, I decided it was time to venture further afield on wednesday - first taking the public bus forty miles north up the Hamakua (Long Corner) Coast; and then hitching a ride another ten miles north to the end of the road at Waipi'o (Curved Water) Valley. To say the stretch of coastline that we passed on the bus was scenic would be an understatement, as the road climbed high above sea level to avoid the steep cliffs that rise straight up out of the water, passing numerous steep-sided valleys along the way - each one filled with lush vegetation and containing a spectacular waterfall at the head of the valley.
Eventually though I reached the most spectacular valley of all on the Hamakua Coast - Waipi'o Valley. Long considered to be sacred by early Hawai'ians, it was nicknamed the 'Valley of Kings' because many chiefs chose to rule from here; while Kamehameha the Great himself was raised in secret here. The valley is also associated with the legend of the 'Night Marchers' - ghosts of Hawai'ian warriors marching in groups on their way to Waipi'o Valley,
V-Shaped Valley
The steep-sided walls of Waipi'o Valley where it was said there was a hidden entrance to the underworld. Indeed the town immediately above the valley goes by the name Kukuihaele, which means 'travelling light' - referring to the burning torches the Night Marchers were said to carry as they passed through the village on their way down into the valley.
Before the arrival of westerners it is believed the fertile valley supported a population of around four thousand people, only for that number to drop significantly in the nineteenth century. The valley was then decimated by the great tsunami of 1946, with great waves slamming far back into the valley and destroying everything in their path. Though no lives were lost in Waipi'o, the valley has been sparsely populated ever since. Nowadays there are only about fifty people living in the valley, most of whom live without electricity or running water and earn a meagre living by working taro patches; though there is also said to be a large amount of pakalolo (marijuana) grown in the valley.
After admiring the tremendous views from the Waipi'o Valley overlook at the end of the regular road, I then had to tackle the steep descent down into
Shiny Shoreline
Waipi'o Valley beach the valley - which meant having to follow a twisting, one-lane road that drops 400 metres in just one mile, at a 25% gradient! Once at the bottom, I first followed Waipi'o Stream about a mile inland - where unfortunately a pair of thousand-foot-plus waterfalls were not flowing due to a lack of recent rainfall - before heading back towards the beautiful black sand beach.
From there I crossed the stream as it flowed into the ocean, before continuing on to the far end of the beach and linking up with a hiking trail that climbs up the near-vertical ridge in a series of sharp switchbacks, providing me with an even better view than that which I had enjoyed from the overlook on the opposite side of the valley - though such was the steepness of the ridge and the proximity of one particular switchback (where I first stopped for lunch before turning back the way I had come) to the sheer cliffs at the end of the ridge, that to take just one step beyond the edge of the trail would mean instant death! I couldn't help but linger in that spot though, as from up there the
Majestic Backdrop
Basking in the beauty of Waipi'o Valley scale and beauty of the valley was almost overwhelming.
With thursday bringing a return to the rainy weather I had been greeted with on monday, I spent most of the day indoors; but thankfully the blue skies had returned by the time I woke up on friday morning, so I this time set off to explore the Puna Coast in the south-eastern corner of the island. Unfortunately though I had neglected to hire a snorkel, as my first port of call was the Kapoho Tide Pools, where a maze of inter-connected tidal pools are home to a vast array of tropical fish, many of which have been incorporated into the front yards of local homes!
From there I continued a couple of miles down the coast to the Ahalanui thermal pool, where a naturally-occurring springwater pool immediately behind the beach and connected to the sea through a narrow channel (which allows cool sea water to enter and flush out the pool twice a day during high tide) is thermally heated by the nearby Kilauea Volcano! I must admit I found myself suffering from a case of the giggles at one point as I lay back in the warm
Madam Pele's Bathtub
Ahalanui Thermal Pool water, basking in the sunshine whilst revelling in the sensory overload of waves crashing against the beach, palm trees swaying gently in the breeze, and tropical fish darting all around me in the water; all the while thinking to myself 'what on earth have I done to deserve all of this?!' It was hard to believe I'd only been on Hawai'i for five days!
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