Hamakua Coast and Waipio Valley
Trip Start
May 01, 2008
1
12
13
Trip End
Jan 04, 2009
Hilo,
Hawaii,
United States
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Our first stop was at a little beach just north of Hilo which is apparently home to seals come December and January. From here we stopped at a little fruit market to sample some local produce, including the aptly named Star Fruit...which is a weird semi-sweet fruit shaped like a star.
Our next stop took us to Akaka Falls, a 120m waterfall at the end of a long valley along the coast. It was quite a spectacular drop to see, although nothing compared to the waterfall in Waipio we would see later in the day.
We continued on up the road, stopping at numerous scenic lookouts before reaching Honoka'a for lunch, where we sampled some Malasadas, which are pastries coated in sugar and then fried...and absolutely delicious. After lunch we traveled the final few kilometers to Waipio lookout. The lookout provides views of the magnificent and almost pre-historic Waipio Valley, which was once a sugar farm area before a tsunami wiped out settlement. We parked our car here since it was not able to travel into the valley, and then hiked down the 4 wheel drive only road into the valley. The hill was really steep going down, and heading back up later that day would be absolute torture.
We attempted to make our way to Waipio waterfall, but were prevented from getting close, and so back-tracked to the magnificent black sand beach. There we found some of the best body surfing conditions that I have seen during my stay in Hawai'i, and so spent most of the afternoon in the waves.
Shortly before leaving we hiked up the far end of the valley to get a view from another lookout, before crawling up the initial road out of the valley once more. While the hills were a killer, the views and experience in the valley was priceless and a great way to spend the day.
