Day-7 – Hiking to Waterfalls

Today the plan is to ramble off-road to a hiking trail, on private property – legally I might add, to waterfalls.  Our pickup is at 6:25 am so we are up early-dark as we will need to drive north to the Kohala coast.  We pass the Blue Hawaiian Helicopter headquarters and are on new grounds.  Here two mounds are between us and the ocean.

We are heading to the Kohala Mountains which we find out is another volcanic range different than Mauna Kea or Mauna Loa mountains.  Our destination is the northern end of the island and our final stop Hawi and Kapa’au.

Passing Mauna Kea, to our right, we can see the profile of the Science Reserve and the astronomical observatory complex on the mountain. 

We stop to pick up other passengers at, I think was, the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel which seem to be very exclusive.  Since we are waiting for the other customers to show up we take a walk around the resort.  Here is the beach they have; very nice.

They have this nice group of flowers in their garden area. 

But, better than the flowers, look at the golf course.  Wouldn’t you like to be standing on this green hitting a ball to the green across the water?  I would have loved to play this course, only I would need about a dozen balls for water hazards like this. 

After collecting the other passengers we continue our trek north and get off RT 19 and switch to north 270.  Not to many miles along the road we see this rainbow.  What a great sight as it gets better the further we travel and can almost get the full rainbow.

We pass a site said to be created by King Kamehameha I after he consulted with the local medicine man who said to build a temple and perform a human sacrifice; whereupon he killed his cousin king. 

We make a quick stop at the Hawaii Forest and Trail headquarters where it begins to drizzle.  We don our rain gear and drive to our hiking trailhead in a 6-wheel drive Pinzgauer.  When we get to the trailhead, we collect our backpacks and walking sticks before starting our hike.  Here’s Carmen with all of her gear on and ready to hike.

Hiking a relatively short distance we come to our first waterfall.  with all of the rain they had the last couple of days there is a lot of water coming over the falls.  Hope this will not white out the water in the falls pictures

The above falls is alongside a water aqueduct that we are walking over, well actually we are walking on a bridge and the aqueduct is under us.

There are places on the trail that is muddy since the drizzle comes and goes.  We have roots that protrude along certain sections which help to get a footing.  Carmen is just in sight at the top part of the trail.

Along the trail we have quite a diverse flora.  Here crossing branch has some type of fern growing on it.  Behind and to the left are young Rainbow Eucalyptus trees.   I’d better catch up with the group so I know where I’m going.

When I catch up to the group they are in a small clearing where I learn that this is where they would grow Taro.  The watering system comes in from the right along an aqueduct and then goes out the top to another planted area; smart.

Further along the trail we come to another waterfall. 

I head along the trail behind the others when I look back and see the falls and the stream.  So I take another picture just to see how it looks - came out pretty good I think.

By now the other hikers have left and are gone, I catch up to the group and this time they are on one of the aqueducts and there are openings to let excess water out; definitely a nice man-made waterfall.

So I get to where everyone was standing on the walkway and looking over the aqueduct and see this waterfall.  Wow!

Before Carmen goes off to catch up to the group I have her wait so I can get a picture of her in front of the waterfall. As you can see she still has on her poncho hood, so it is still drizzling.

Following along the trail I look back and see both the waterfall and the aqueduct falls.  I just wish it wasn’t sprinkling because it keeps getting on my lens and I have to clean the lens which is getting damp.

I finally catch up to the group at the next turn and the hiking guide is showing everyone this flower which he describes as the flower of the passion fruit. 

Our narrow hiking trail takes us through thick growth and as you can see the trail is a little steep and short logs have been cut to make steps.  Our sneakers are getting a little muddy, but they can be cleaned.

We pass through a large group of ginger plants many of which are in bloom.  The flowers of the ginger plant are mostly closed, but the drizzle makes for a nice dramatic picture.

As we hike further we come across this plant which is similar to the raspberry called an akala berry.  Many of us try the fruit and although it does not taste quite like a raspberry it is more like a cross between a strawberry and raspberry.  Still it is good.

While this isn’t a wild food hiking trip, we do seem to be coming to many different edible plants on this hike.  Here wild pineapples are growing.  This one seems almost ready for picking and eating.  Not this time as we continue on to the next waterfall.

Near the pineapples this water drop is just down river from a very large waterfall which we are making our way to. 

Here is Carmen in front of the very large and roaring waterfall.  There is so much water force coming from the falls the spray is felt 100 feet away.  Here Carmen is standing in front of the falls and I have to take a very fast picture before the lens is completely covered with water spray.  This is the falls pool that we would have been able to go “swimming” in had it not been raining and the falls smaller.

Here we have to walk across the water using a suspension foot bridge.  It kind of bounces and I have to hold onto the camera, tripod, walking stick and all of my other stuff - not an easy task.  

We pass by the side of another falls on our way along the trail.  This one also has a pool which looks like it would be inviting if you could get to it.

More things growing on top of a crossing branch where there is moss growing.

I have to hurry up since everyone in the hiking group has moved on and left me behind.  I took several pictures of this falls but after moving downstream I looked back and had to take this picture of the falls and stream. 

Just before we come out of the woods and the trail ends we pass by these waterfalls.  I can’t get a good angle on the whole falls since the trail turns away from the falls, but this is good enough for a quick shot.

We come to a field and so I think that we are done with the hike and we get back into the vehicle and get ready to leave.

As we are driving through the fields heading back to the main road we come by these flowers.  The trail guide/driver stops to get some of the flowers from this plat which he calls the Jamaican vervain which he also calls a porterweed and sometimes rat’s tail.  We sample the blue flowers that are blooming along the spike and they have a shiitake mushroom flavor – tastes good.

It is around 1:30 pm and time for lunch, but no one wants to sit in the rain to eat so we continue to the main road until we make a turn to Keokea Beach Park.  We have a view of the waves and coastline available at the park.

The waves are quite large here and as you can see by the spray we have a fairly stiff breeze.

The waves crashing on the lava rock cliff creates such a splash,

We have finished the hiking trip and our lunch and have returned to the main office where we return the walking sticks, backpacks and rain ponchos.  Now we are on the road heading back to the hotels and we get to see views like this.  It’s probably because we do not see it often, but these views never seem to get old.

Before long we are back at the hotel and after a long day we get cleaned up and then get something to eat.  Before settling in for the night I get this picture of the I’iwi bird that I was unable to get earlier.  Tomorrow we are flying to Kaui and have an early flight.