Hamakua Coast and Malasadas

Not quite as tall as the Hi’ilawe Falls, and not as ummm… petite… as Rainbow Falls, Akaka Falls stands out. It falls straight down 442 feet (129 meters), and you can semi-easily get to it’s Overlook. (“Easy”, in that there are pathways right to it, and “semi” in that there’s a lot of stairs, so if you need your inhaler, take it with you.)

Hiking to Akaka Falls is a nice walk through bamboo forests, passed Kahuna Falls (100 feet), oversized trees and huge flowers.

There is now a $5 parking and access fee (for non-residents) , which was a big surprise to me, but still worth going. (The parking area is about 11 miles North of Hilo, and through a cute little town, Honomu, where we stop each time to buy water (which we always forget), ice cream, and browse through antique bottles displayed at one of the shops.)

Akaka Falls is on the Kolekole Stream, and just past the turn-off is Kolekole Beach Park. You can see the beautiful scene from the bridge that goes overhead, but it’s gorgeous inside the park, with bridges and trees covered in moss, a waterfall off to the side… it’s a bit isolated, though, in my opinion – even though you can see it from the road… and people live in the trees in tents… I mean…maybe they were just camping, but they weren’t excited that we were there… Although, one of my friends who lives on the Island says it’s safe, so it probably is… Beautiful, anyway – if you just want to take a peek….

Before you get to the turn-off to Akaka Falls, though, pay attention to the small sign on the right side of the road (coming from Hilo ) that identifies the 4 mile scenic loop. It might say “Onomea Bay Scenic Route”…I can’t remember. (Coming from Hilo is the best angle because you are on the outside lane, overlooking the cliffs and Ocean.)

Don’t assume that you can just zoom down the road in a few minutes – be prepared to pull over on the side of the road for random hikes and photo opportunities. There are roads that take you down the side of the cliff, right to the shoreline. (One such road also takes you to the back gate of the Botanical Garden. They have a gate with a gate keeper – you can’t (and shouldn’t try) to sneak in. However, you can get a nice glance at the Gardens – enough to consider paying the price to go in.)

It’s normally open 9am to 5pm, everyday, and is only $15 for adults! It’s approximately 40 acres and contains over 2000 species of tropical plants.

About 1/2 way between Hilo and Honoka’a (which is our final destination on this particular blog) is Laupahoehoe, and I have to tell you – the view is MAJESTIC!! (Especially if you are coming from the Kona-side, through Waimea.)

On our very first trip to Hawaii, we landed on the Kona-side, which is beautiful, but more…dry…and doesn’t smell like greenhouse… and wasn’t exactly as I had imagined Hawaii to be. BUT, as we drove around to the other side (through rolling hills and fields of pear cactus) and then came around this corner and there in front of us was a view of Laupahoehoe, I actually gasped out loud because of it’s beauty!

(This same gasp triggered a …uh… reprimand… from Peter, who was driving, and thought something had jumped in the road – or some other disastrous event which might initiate a “GASP”!)

Amazing view! Amazing! On my Top 3 on the Island! (The top 3 really are all tied for #1. I can’t really say which is the most spectacular… but, there’s Laupahoehoe, Waipio Valley, and the view of Whittington Park, near South Point, especially coming from Kona.)

Speaking of Waipio Valley, Honoka’a is the Gateway to Waipio Valley.

It’s a cute little weather beaten town, which I love. BUT it’s BIGGEST claim to fame is TEX DRIVE IN!!

What is so great about Tex Drive-in you wonder? OK! I am not exaggerating when I tell you that they have the world’s GREATEST Malasada! (I confess – I’ve never had them anywhere else, but I am convinced that there is no way that they could be any better than they are here!) They are so good and so appreciated in Hawaii, apparently, there is Malasada Day! (I just learned this, just now.)

Have you tried Malasada? Wikipedia defines: “a Portuguese confection, made of egg-sized balls of yeast dough that are deep-fried in oil and coated with granulated sugar.” … Basically, they are like… a light airy doughnut, without the hole in the middle, and often filled with something yummy, like strawberry, or chocolate, or lilikoi. Mmmmmmmmm…

They make them in the morning, and you really should be there FIRST THING! They open at 6:30am. The earliest I’ve made it there was 9am, and they had already sold out of their most popular flavors.

(I found a recipe for “Tex style malasada” on epicurious.com. I’m 100% positive they won’t be as good if you try to make them, but don’t let that discourage you!! I might try, too, because I’m CRAVING THEM now!!)

Not sure what we’ll be talking about next week – I think the North Shore of Hawaii… for now, all I can think about is Malasada!

(Or, I might interrupt my Hawaii theme with a short blog about Global Fest, here in Calgary. I totally forgot I have tickets to go, so it depends – might write something for Wednesday…)

Waipio Valley

I found a painting of a beautiful waterfall, and the Gallery Owner told me that it was Hi’ilawe Falls!

Hi’ilawe Stream empties into the Pacific Ocean right in Waipio Valley.

Waipio Valley is, in my opinion, THE most picturesque place on the entire Island!

You can see the most Amazing VIEW right from the top at the Overlook Point…which is the easiest option…

The steep cliffs are about 2000 feet (610 meters) above the Valley floor, so going IN to the Valley is complicated!

You can either:

1) drive in – which is the scariest option! You are not allowed to take in a rental vehicle, and the vehicle must be a 4 wheel drive with low low low gear.

On your way down the hill, you must yield to upcoming traffic – if they have to shift, they can possibly roll off the cliff.  When you look over the edge of the cliff into the trees, you will see carcasses of vehicles that didn’t quite make it.   Also, don’t wear your seatbelt, in case you have to jump out!

When the road in is classified as “a road”, it is the steepest road of it’s length in the United States, and maybe even then entire world (says Wikipedia), gaining “800 vertical feet (243.84 m) in 0.6 miles (0.9 km) at a 25% average grade”.

2) take a tour, which will take you in by van, recreational vehicle, or donkey

3) make friends with a Local, who knows how to drive in AND/OR who is ok with abandoning their vehicle

4) hike – which isn’t as easy as it seems. It’s so steep, it’s recommended that if you do hike in, you leave enough recuperation time before you climb back out…

We  went in by “Local”.  My brother, who had been down into the Valley at least once, and who didn’t mind abandoning his vehicle – in fact, seemed like that’d be part of the great adventure!

We arrived safely at the bottom of the Valley right where Hi’ilawe Stream empties into the Pacific Ocean, after meandering through the Valley, towards the Black Sand Beach at it’s mouth.  (On the way out, we were propped up in the bed of his little pick-up truck, and it’s seriously so steep, I was practically standing against the tailgate to keep from sliding out!  For us, that’s the only option.  There’s no way I’m hiking in.)

There, we were surrounded by gigantic trees, with “wild” horses grazing here and there - I say “wild” because I don’t think they are owned by anyone, but they have perfect manes, so I can’t be sure. (I was TOLD they were wild, though.)

Waipio Valley is called “The Valley of the Kings” and was the home to King Kamehameha I and other royalty once upon a time.

So, remember we wanted to find Hi’ilawe Falls, and didn’t realize there was a path, so we decided the best option was to go straight up the Hi’ilawe Stream.  (This was a good idea in theory, and worked out well – but some of the Locals were keeping an eye on us to make sure we were safe (we didn’t realize this until we were safely out of the canyon) because of flash-flood warnings…)

Anyway, for the most part, we were in the Stream and once in awhile, when it was too deep or the rocks were too big to climb over, we hiked right beside the River, through giant blades of grass (could be Ginger or something besides Grass, but I liked feeling like I was a tiny person in the Land of Giants), and over fairy-tale-like pink carpeting (which I’ve since learned was, I think, Mountain Apple (Hawaiian name is possibly ”Ohia’ai”).

It was a beautiful hike!

Hi’ilawe Falls was impressive – it’s such a tall waterfall, it makes white capped waves when it hits it’s pool.  It’s two tiered and (apparently-reports vary) the first tier is in the 200 foot range, and the main tier drops 1400 feet!!  (Some reports say 1400 in total, and some say it’s 1600 in total… doesn’t seem like that should be that difficult to confirm…)

There’s a second (“twin”) waterfall called “Hakalaoa”, which dries up on occasion, but yay! for us! we got to see THREE waterfalls that day!

Either way, it’s REALLY magnificent!

Next week, hopefully, back to Hilo.