A Trip Down Into Waipi'o Valley

We are now in a much lusher part of Hawaii and the scrub vegetation has been replaced by huge trees and extensive growth.  Our cottage is a rustic made-over farm building surrounded by greenery.

A recommended hike was that to Waipi’o Valley, so after breakfast we took a short drive to the trailhead.  The view from the lookout was impressive.

Access to the valley was via a paved one-lane road.  The signage got my attention.

Descent was a steep 800 feet (a knee-shaker!) but the vegetation and views along the way were lovely.  As I looked closer, I could see little begonias and impatiens growing wild.

There were lots of pedestrians, but even more vehicles, driven by tourists thrilled to use 4 wheel drive.  When the trail flattened out in the valley, the paving ended and the mud road began.  There, drivers began to have REAL fun.  At one point, we would watch vehicles move over the bumps with a maximum of three wheels hitting the ground at any one point.

At the end of the trail, we came upon more feral animals.  Yes, there are feral horses here (as well as feral pigs, goats, sheep, and of course chickens).  The mare and her foal paid no attention to humans until someone made a motion towards their car.  Clearly, these animals have been well habituated, because they wasted no time in seizing the opportunity to mooch.

The beach itself was impressive—black sand.  People were everywhere, playing in the water, sitting on the beach, and generally enjoying life, although the beach wasn’t badly crowded.

Another part of Hawaiian culture became evident.  For want of a better term, I call these Hawaiian Inukshuks.  All of these “sculptures” are merely rocks (and sometimes shells), delicately balanced on one another, forming rather attractive totems.  (I haven’t mentioned it until now, but marijuana seems to be firmly entrenched as a fundament in Hawaii.  The inukshuks are perhaps a product of this…….)

The climb back was sufficiently engrossing to prevent much further picture-taking, so the next descriptions will have to wait until tomorrow.