Hawaii 2015: Waipio and Pololu Valleys
Thursday, 24 December 2015 21:44![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
iguana
Along the north coast of Big Island are the eroded remains of the extinct Kohala volcano, which makes the landscape there similar to parts of Kauaʻi. Along the coast are the beautiful Waipio and Pololu valleys, and a bit further west is the lovely little town of Hawi, where cowboys and pirates sit at cafés.
Waipio Valley
Wapio Valley is probably the lushest and most beautiful place on Big Island, albeit amongst very stiff competition. It has a black sand beach in front of the taro fields, and to get to it you have to walk down the steepest road in the USA, a 25% gradient descending 250m in a single kilometer horizontal distance, as seen from the far side:
Once we had made it down to the bottom by foot, we walked along some of the road near the taro fields, then walked down to the beach. It was a lovely sunny day, and we sat near the bottom of some waterfalls on the East side of the beach while we had our lunch.
Further along the beach we needed to wade through the estuary of the small river that originally carved out the valley. It was waist height in places, but with reef shoes and a bit of caution it was no trouble to get across. On the other side were many fewer people, and a row of trees growing at the top of the beach.
We took some time to enjoy the sun, then started walking towards the western cliff edge. Waipio Valley is also the start of the Muliwai Trail which is a nine-mile zig-zagging path to the more remote Waimanu Valley. Emily and I had planned to walk the whole trail at a later date, but Halemaʻumaʻu was doing its thing that weekend, and that unfortunately trumped this hike. It's top of my list if we go back there, because the first stretch, up the side of the canyon, was breathtaking.
You can even see some of the Mauna Kea observatories from two-thirds of the way up:
You know you're nearly at the top when the low shrubbery of the path gives way to a lovely wooded area, which provided us with some welcome shade, having had very little on the climb up.
We found a tree root to sit on and have our lunch, then headed back down to the beach for another laze in the sun. Walking back up the paved road drew a few protestations from our legs, but by this point in the holiday we were pretty used to walking up and down hills!
Wapio Valley is probably the lushest and most beautiful place on Big Island, albeit amongst very stiff competition. It has a black sand beach in front of the taro fields, and to get to it you have to walk down the steepest road in the USA, a 25% gradient descending 250m in a single kilometer horizontal distance, as seen from the far side:
Once we had made it down to the bottom by foot, we walked along some of the road near the taro fields, then walked down to the beach. It was a lovely sunny day, and we sat near the bottom of some waterfalls on the East side of the beach while we had our lunch.
Further along the beach we needed to wade through the estuary of the small river that originally carved out the valley. It was waist height in places, but with reef shoes and a bit of caution it was no trouble to get across. On the other side were many fewer people, and a row of trees growing at the top of the beach.
We took some time to enjoy the sun, then started walking towards the western cliff edge. Waipio Valley is also the start of the Muliwai Trail which is a nine-mile zig-zagging path to the more remote Waimanu Valley. Emily and I had planned to walk the whole trail at a later date, but Halemaʻumaʻu was doing its thing that weekend, and that unfortunately trumped this hike. It's top of my list if we go back there, because the first stretch, up the side of the canyon, was breathtaking.
You can even see some of the Mauna Kea observatories from two-thirds of the way up:
You know you're nearly at the top when the low shrubbery of the path gives way to a lovely wooded area, which provided us with some welcome shade, having had very little on the climb up.
We found a tree root to sit on and have our lunch, then headed back down to the beach for another laze in the sun. Walking back up the paved road drew a few protestations from our legs, but by this point in the holiday we were pretty used to walking up and down hills!
Pololu Valley
Waimanu Valley, even if we'd got to it (and Emily did, later after I'd returned to the UK), is only a fraction of the way along the rugged coastline. At the far end on the west is another (somewhat) more easily accessible valley: Pololu Valley.
The walk down is on a regular footpath here, with a few tree roots providing steps in the soil. At the bottom is the usual river outlet, though this one didn't actually cross the beach; waiting instead for high tide or heavy rainfall to breach the levée at top of the beach. Instead was a rather picturesque lake.
The beach is another black sand one, of course. You can also walk up the other side of the gulch, and it's an easier climb than Waipio Valley's far side. At the top is a bench from which you can see down repeating gulches into the distance.
Waimanu Valley, even if we'd got to it (and Emily did, later after I'd returned to the UK), is only a fraction of the way along the rugged coastline. At the far end on the west is another (somewhat) more easily accessible valley: Pololu Valley.
The walk down is on a regular footpath here, with a few tree roots providing steps in the soil. At the bottom is the usual river outlet, though this one didn't actually cross the beach; waiting instead for high tide or heavy rainfall to breach the levée at top of the beach. Instead was a rather picturesque lake.
The beach is another black sand one, of course. You can also walk up the other side of the gulch, and it's an easier climb than Waipio Valley's far side. At the top is a bench from which you can see down repeating gulches into the distance.
Hawi
On our trip to Pololu Valley we decided to stay the night in Hawi, a town known for its eclectic high street that features art galleries and a great restaurant. We had lunch at a café which appeared to be frequented by a couple of gents dressed up as cowboys and pirates.
On our trip to Pololu Valley we decided to stay the night in Hawi, a town known for its eclectic high street that features art galleries and a great restaurant. We had lunch at a café which appeared to be frequented by a couple of gents dressed up as cowboys and pirates.
