North Kohala Coast and Waimea

Once upon a time (1878),  Thomas R. Gould, a sculptor from Boston, living in Florence Italy, sculpted a statue of King Kamehameha I.

Now, the way I heard the story is that there was a debate over where the statue should be placed - the people of the Big Island wanted to for North Kohala, where King Kamehameha was born.

The Government Seat, though, is in Honolulu, and the plan was for the statue to be placed there.

Well!  Mr. Gould forged the sculpture in Italy, and sent it off to Honolulu by ship.  The ship sank somewhere around the Falkland Islands, near Cape Horn, and the statue was lost at sea.

Mr. Gould made another sculpture and sent that one, again, to Honolulu. That one arrived safe and sound and was erected in in front of Aliiolani Hale (Hawaiian State Supreme Court), and dedicated in 1883.

BUT THEN, in 1912, the original statue was recovered, restored, and guess where it now sits!  North Kohala, in a little town called Kapaau.

I don't know which town is which, when I remember them, but there's Hawi and Kapaau, and they are only  about 2.5 miles apart.  So, if I tell you all about it, and you get there and it's not how I explained, just go on to the next town.

Here's what I know: there's a little boardwalk, quirky art stores, galleries, and ice cream parlor and patio, some yummy little restaurants, and a grocery store.  I think, technically, you could spend a whole day walking that 2 block strip and going in and out of stores, and stopping for coffee and lunch.  (I think it's Hawi.)

But, we (each time) have been passing through - to and from Pololu Valley Lookout.

  Actually, this year is the first year that I've hiked down INto Pololu.  Totally worth it. Take water.  (And your inhaler, if you need one.)

Pololu Valley is like the sister valley to Waipio Valley, and in fact, you can see the jut-out from Waipio if you look way beyond Pololu.

It is about 1000 feet deep and cuts into the Kohala Mountain, and the Pololu Stream runs through it.   (By the way, further inland, Pololu Valley is Privately Owned, so you need to stay near the Shoreline.  I guess there's tours, too, that can help you navigate properly.)

Hmmmmm.  There was a tour and trail that went to, and around, Kapaloa Falls.  Apparently, the waterfall dropped 300 feet above and 200 feet below the trail! However, the trail was destroyed in Hawaii's big earthquake a couple of years ago, and there's no access anymore... Keep your eye out, though. Maybe someday it'll be re-opened?

It's ANOTHER spectacular view from the Pololu Valley Overlook and I completely forgot to add it to my Top Favorite Views on the Island. (Obviously, the almost entire Island is beautiful and my list of "Absolute Favorite View" is growing...)

Enroute, between Waipio Valley and Pololu Valley is Waimea, also known as Kamuela. ("Kamuela" was adopted later (because of some confusion with the Postal Service) in honor of a resident named Samuel Parker, but Waimea is the original name and means "reddish water". )

We haven't spent a lot of time there, but always like driving through the little town of just over 9,000 (according to the 2006 Census).   It's a "western" town, partly made up of Hawaiian cowboys (Paniolos) who work on Parker Ranch, and the Stop Signs say "Whoa" instead of "Stop".  :)

Its a good place to stop for lunch or dinner, or to pick up your supply of Parker Ranch beef at the local grocery store.  (For non-meat eaters, the veggies and fruit are generally locally grown too, and high quality.  It is Hawaii, after all.)

Just down the road (30 minutes South of Hawi and 20 minutes West of Waimea) is Hapuna Beach.  I've talked about black sand and green sand beaches.  This is the WHITEST sand beach I've ever seen!

There is now a $5 entrance fee for non-residents, but not only does that include almost 62 acres of fine, white sand, but it has restrooms, drinking water, lifeguard services and is right beside the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel, which has restaurants and lounges, and, of course, accommodations.

OK! So if you've been looking at a map at all, you will know that we've gone around the whole island, and are now coming down the stretch to the Kailua-Kona area.

Many would say I saved the Best for Last :D (refer to my Kona vs. Hilo blog!) I love both sides for different reasons.  But, for a certainty, without bias, Kona-side as ALOT to offer!

We are going to talk about... the Seahorse Ranch next. And, Petroglyphs, I think.

Place of Refuge, Punalu’u Bakery, and Mark Twain

Between Punalu’u Beach and South Point, you will pass through Naʻālehu. It’s a tiny little town of around 1000 people and one main street that runs through it.

TripAdvisor says “3 things to do in Naʻālehu. And, without looking, this is my list of 3 things to do there:

1) The Punalu’u Bakery - I would drive all the way to the other side of the Island for Punalu’u Bread, BUT now you can just buy it in the local grocery store. Still, it’s worth going to the actual bakery, which not only has the best bread EVER (along with samples) but just happens to be the southern most bakery in the United States.

You can buy purple (taro), pink (guava) or yellow/cream-colored (traditional) bread or swirled combinations. You can buy mixes to make your own at home later. (At the Maku’u Farmer’s Market, I had a Polish sausage on a Punalu’u Guava bun.)

It’s a bakery, so they also have cookies, and other desserts, but we really love the bread. (Oh, there’s also a quirky gift shop there, too.)

2) Shaka Restaurant – it’s Claim-to-Fame is that it’s the Southernmost Bar in the United States. But, Peter says it also has the coldest beer he’s ever had! It’s a good place to eat – pub food – yummy fish-n-chips, macaroni and cheese – that kind of food.

3) Mark Twain‘s Tree – Mark Twain’s tree is actually in Waiohinu, a town 2 1/2 miles north of Naʻālehu. He visited the town in 1866 and supposedly planted a Monkey Pod Tree. THAT tree blew down in 1957, but a shoot lives on and grew into what is now there, on the side of the road.

If you follow the Hawaii Belt Road (Hwy 11) clockwise from Mark Twain’s Tree, 37.5 miles later, you will arrive at the Place of Refuge Pu’uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park.

This was a place that ”protected the kapu (sacred laws) breaker, and civilians during the time of war and the defeated warriors”, according to the description on the Place of Refuge website. You would have to run for your life, literally, and if you made it to the Place of Refuge, you could gain asylum.

There are two main areas – the Pu’uhonua and the Royal Grounds. The Royal Grounds housed the chiefly residences and ceremonial structures. The Pu’uhonua IS the actual Place of Refuge and was sacred (it is still considered sacred, so there are some very specific rules about how to behave while there.)

The Pu’uhonua included:

• the ‘Āle‘ale‘a Heiau (a “heiau” is a Hawaiian temple – all that I’ve seen are stone platforms made from lava rock - they are easily recognized and still considered sacred, so you canNOT walk on them…I don’t know what ‘Āle‘ale‘a means…?)
• the Hale o Keawe (this is reconstructed – the original was built around 1650 but has that was a long time ago! It originally held the bones of many chiefs, including Kamehameha I’s son) (*By the way, Hale o Keawe means: House of Keaweʻīkekahialiʻiokamoku. Keaweʻīkekahialiʻiokamoku was great-grandfather of King Kamehameha I, who was the first king of the Kingdom of Hawaii…)
• and Konane (a game similar to checkers, and also chess..sometimes, the chiefs would use this game to settle disputes)
  .

Once upon a time, apparently, Queen Ka’ahumanu had to swim there after a fight with her husband (King Kamehameha I). She got caught, but made up with the King, so… all’s well that ends well.

There were once many Places of Refuge, but now this is one of the few that has lasted… There is a fee to get it – $5 per vehicle for 7 days!

There’s aLOT to see and lots of history. Just go and get the guide from the National Park Service and see all you can see.

There is a view that can’t be missed! Between Punalu’u Beach and Punalu’u Bakery in Naʻālehu (5.3 miles from Beach and 3 miles from the Bakery) is one of the most breathtaking views on the Island. It’s of Whittington Beach Park (Honuapo).

Once upon a time, it was a thriving sugar cane town, but then a tsunami (in 1946) destroy the town and left behind just remnants of what used to be the shipping pier. That’s exactly what it looks like. It’s beautiful and desolate. It looks like a scene from a movie.

Pull over and take the picture – don’t forget!

Sunday – we continue on to see where Captain Cook met his demise.