Hawaii Diary
Thursday, April 2 - North Kohala and Waimea
Originally we had planned to take it easy today and maybe even lounge on the lovely beach here at the Waikoloa Resort, however, we decided yesterday that there were still a few places up north that we wished to explore, so we set out this morning for a day in the Kohala District in the northern part of the Big Island of Hawaii.
Our first stop was at Hapuna Beach which I have never seen. I have long heard that it is an excellent snorkeling beach and it seems like it would be. The water today, however, was quite cold and while there were quite a few people on the beach, there were few in the water.
From Hapuna we made a brief stop at the Mauna Kea Resort so that I could stop by the pro-shop and pick up a couple of souvenir golf balls for a couple of friends who collect logo golf balls.
Our next stop was the Lapakahi State Historical Park located near mile marker 14 of Route 270. Unfortunately well over half of the park is currently closed due to 20 foot high waves that struck this coastal area about a month ago and damaged several of the archeological sites. This park marks the site of an old Hawaiian village and while several of the sites are well reserved it is clear that this park could benefit from some additional state funding for upkeep. There is a rough trail running through the village with markers noting interesting spots. Currently over half of the marked sports are unavailable for viewing up close.
We had intended to next visit Mo'okini Heiau and the birthplace of Kamehameha the Great, however, after traveling the two mile road towards the 'Upolu Airport, we discovered that the dirt road off to the left towards the heiau was badly flooded, so we decided to postpone this visit until our next trip.
From her we proceeded through the towns of Hawi and Kapa'au until we reached the end of Highway 270 at the 29 mile marker and the Pololo Lookout. From the actual lookout it is impossible to look back into this beautiful valley or even see the black sand beach below.
You need to hike down a rather steep and rough trail about half way to the beach in order to reach a spot where you can look back up into the valley and down to the beach. The walk down makes the wonderful views well worth while, but the walk up makes you somewhat question your judgment. It is a difficult climb.
Our route took us back to Hawi where we would head south on Route 250 to Waimea. We made stop in Hawi at Tropical Dreams for a taste of the homemade ice cream and a rest. This is a very pleasant place to stop.
From Hawi we headed south on Route 250, the Kohala Mountain Road, and into Waimea. While we had really wanted to explore Waimea, we only had time today to stop by the Kamuela Museum.
The Kamuela Museum is an entirely privately owned museum. The owners are Albert Solomon, Jr. and his wife Harriet. The museum contains a truly eclectic assortment of items collected over the years by the Solomons or passed down from their ancestors which include the founder of the Parker Ranch. The museum includes six pieces of furniture which were original to the Iolani Palace and which are valued in the millions. Negotiations are ongoing to have these items purchased and returned to the palace. These priceless items sit right next to items of much less attractiveness and value.
Albert is 93 years old and he and his wife have been entertaining offers to purchase the museum and its contents. While it is their first desire to attempt to sell to someone who will keep the collection together, this may not be possible and many of these items may be sold off in future months and years. Hence, time may be short to view this collection intact. If you stop by be sure to have a chat with Albert and Harriet. Be warned, they are both real talkers but a chat with them is a great experience.
From Waimea we headed south and west on Route 19, back to Kawaihae where we stopped for a visit at the Pu'ukohala Heiau National Historic Site.
We will be doing a detailed feature on this site in the future. The structure was built by Kamehameha the Great in 1790-91. He built this heiau with the belief that if he did so and dedicated it to his war god, he would prevail in his effort to conquer all of Hawaii. The story of the construction of this heiau and its role in the history of Hawaii is an interesting one which we will explore at a later date.
Our visit to Pu'ukohala Heiau completed our final full day in Hawaii. Tomorrow we will be packing up and heading for the airport for a flight back to Honolulu and then a two leg flight back to the east coast via Chicago.
We will be preparing a concluding piece of our Hawaiian Diary which we will upload on Sunday. We invite you to join us for our final thoughts on this, our most recent, visit to the islands of Hawaii.
We invite you to check back weekly for our new features. In upcoming months many of those features will be detailed features on a number of the cultural and historical sites which we visited on this trip.
