Honoka'a and North Kohala

We had little idea what we would encounter when we woke this morning. Our journey from Kona airport was entirely in the dark, and the last twenty some-odd miles were in fog and light rain. Nearing the northeast coast, east of Waimea, we had to find the old Kamakalua Highway, and then several roads branching off that. The last was one lane, bordered by enormous trees flush against the side of the road, utterly unlighted. Our hosts at Waianuhea, hundreds of feet above Honoka'a, had left keys attached to the door. Crash-burn. Through the night, serenade by frogs from the lake below, and near dawn roosters. The latter here are much more colorful than standard mainland species, but they crow identically. We rose before sunrise, and watched the light suffuse the room and our environs.

 

 

 

Our digs extend out one wing and have views in 3 directions, of the ocean, Mauna Kea with the astronomical observatories catching the rising sun, and the surrounding forest.

 

Today's excursion, back through Waimea, took us along the mountain highway along the upper slopes of Kohala volcano, through transition from desert vegetation to tropical rain forest, to the town of Hawi, on the far northern coast of Hawai'i. We bypassed Hawi through a neighborhood of plantation homes, most having tin roofs slanted to permit drainage of the frequent rain squalls on this windward coast. Eastward, the road ends at Pololu valley, which is reached only by a steep descent of some 500 feet, on foot on a rough, rocky trail. The head of the trail overlooks the valley, and the black sand/lava shoreline.

The valley floor ranges from surf to tidepool to marsh to mountains, and there are old hammocks, trails and other features to suggest the range of human activities here over centuries.

A magnificent place, which we left, reluctantly, to hoof back up top. Once one goes down, one must go back up. The return climb creates the caloric debt earning the treat mentioned below. The view is even better, going back up, and the weather is ever morphing:

We returned along the north coast highway through Hawi (see map), stopping there to partake of one of Hawai'is more famous confections, Tropical Dreams Ice Cream, locally made in biome specific flavors: I had Tahitian Vanilla and Macadamia Nut, MJ had Kona Coffee Cookie and Tahitian Vanilla.

We followed the coastal road back to the west along the North and South Kohala coasts, passing numerous historic sites along the way including King Kamehameha's palace. These Dave will insists upon seeing in detail in the last quarter (0900-1200) of our clockwise tour of the Big Island.

Heavy rain had set in in Waimea, and we drove down through the rain forest in a fair downpour, back to Honoka'a. The next hour we submerged in the B&B spa with a small glass of Lagavulin 16 year, surprisingly available at a package store in Waimea which puts Bev-Mo and Total Wine to shame. Punctuating the soak were a series of downpours brought in on the tradewinds, at 5-7 minutes intervals, pounding our scalps while our bods remained comfortably submerged. This followed by hors doovers, dinner, and now repose.

Manana. Can't wait.

 

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