Waipio Valley

This morning, after Bo fell backwards in his chair at breakfast and caused a big scene, we went to our hotel's sister resort, the Mauna Kea. We wanted to see their beach. It did not disappoint. I think it might have been the most beautiful beach I've been to. There was a cool place to snorkel and the waves were really fun to play in. At night they shine a light out into the water and manta rays gather there to eat. We were there the other night and didn't see any, but it sounded neat.

We had a wagon tour of Waipio Valley scheduled, so we left around 1 to head to Honoka'a. The bizarre thing about this island is the different weather you experience in different parts. We left Hapuna Beach in 85 degree weather without a cloud nearby. Driving inland through Waimea we found rain showers and completely overcast skies. It was in the 60s in the town above the valley.

We were a little nervous when we got to the place to catch the wagon tour. The guy to check us in (Kekei) was also the shuttle bus driver and the wagon driver. The place where we met him was a teensy little "room" connected to the Neptune General Store, which had an assorted group of Hawaiian oddities, like ceramic hula dancers, etc. We were the only ones on the tour. We climbed into the shuttle and drove down the very steep 7/10 of a mile descent into the valley.

He drove us through the valley to his house, I guess, where he has no telephone, running water, or electricity. The mules and wagon were parked there waiting for us. He's also a taro farmer. The horses in the picture are wild horses.

Nobody on one side of the river has electricity,

running water, or telephones. And, cell phones don't work down there. Kids used to have to trek all the way up the hill (a very steep hard climb) to go to the bus stop, but now their parents drive them up the hill every morning.

The most beautiful part of the valley is the waterfall.

There are so many different kinds of plants down there too. It is so diverse and green. It was raining for part of the tour.

Kekei has lived in Waipio valley (about 75 residents) his whole life. And his father can trace his family back 93 generations, all having lived in the valley. It was a very interesting, beautiful community.

Another cool thing about the island is the difference in terrain. You can go from this

(at our hotel in Hapuna Beach)

to this

(In Waimea, 10 minutes inland)

to this

(In Waipio Valley, looking away from the ocean to the back of the valley. It's about 9 miles long.)

all in 20-minute drives.

After the tour we drove to Hawi, on the north side of the island to check out the view of Maui. The drive to Hawi was gorgeous, with ranches all over and pine trees lining the road. We missed the sunset once again. Just can't seem to time it right! But I took a picture just after sunset on the way from Hawi to Hapuna.