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Published: January 11th 2019
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Lekeleke burial grounds
At the end of our road there is a huge lava field that is a sacred Hawaiian historical sight. It marks the location of a huge battle in 1819.
In the 1819 Battle of Kuamo‘o, Hawaiian forces clashed over the traditional kapu religious system. The dispute pitted the forces of Kekuaokalani, nephew of Kamehameha I, who sought to preserve the traditional system, against his cousin, Liholiho (Kamehameha II), who had abandoned the kapu system. Liholiho was victorious, but many warriors from both sides perished in battle and were buried on the property, including Kekuaokalani and his wife, Chiefess Manono. With her dying breath, Chiefess Manono is said to have uttered “Mālama kō aloha”‐ “keep your love”‐ a plea to both sides that no matter what obstacles come to Hawai‘i, keep your love of one another. You can wander through the area but you cannot walk in the burial field itself. If you sit and listen you can hear the bleats of black goats that roam the area.
Swim with manta rays
As a Christmas present for our son in law, we gave him an experience to go swimming
with Manta Rays. He took Talia and the two of them headed off last night. They had a great experience but sadly forgot to put the memory card in the go pro camera! They were taken by boat offshore where the manta rays are known to gather. They had wetsuits and their snorkel masks and overboard they went. They were able to hang on to a float as lights were turned on underwater. The area was flooded with plankton and soon the manta rays came to feed. Some were as large as 18 feet across and as they came up from the bottom with huge mouths open to eat the plankton, they did barrel rolls over and over again. They came so close that one brushed up against Talia. She was thrilled! They found out that manta rays have no natural enemies and can live to be over 100 years old. They didn’t have video to share but when the operators found out they sent us a link to a YouTube video the company had taken recently. Here is the link. It is pretty amazing!
the Parker Ranch area in Waimea today. About 30 minutes beyond Waimea we came to the Waipao Valley lookout. Located on the
, the sacred Waipio Valley was the boyhood home of King Kamehameha I, and an important center for political and religious life in Hawaii. Not only is "The Valley of the Kings" an important site for Hawaiian history and culture, it's also a place of dramatic tropical beauty.
This fertile valley is about one mile across and over five-miles deep, and surrounded by cliffs up to 2000-feet high. Waipio Valley was once the home of thousands of Native Hawaiians. Today, there are less than 100 residents living amongst the waterfalls, taro fields and rivers permeating the valley. The island of Hawaii's tallest waterfall, Hiilawe Falls cascades down 1,300 feet in the back of Waipio.
You can view the valley from the coastal Waipio Valley Overlook at the end of the Hamakua Heritage Corridor drive, or you can take a guided van tour, hike, or horseback ride to explore the hidden wonders within. Tour guides will happily share the stories and legends of this special place. The road into the valley is extremely steep and requires a 4-wheel drive vehicle so We just enjoyed the view from the lookout.