Waipio Valley and Kona. Big Island. Day 22.

Ok, I was naive enough to think I would translate all my Hawaii and USA posts later but it had never happened. I even didn’t finished “USA month” yet. So from day 23 I decided to write it here directly.

Maybe not so huge posts but still something and of course a lot of pictures.

First of all I have short videos for each day, well, almost each day in Hawaii. And a lot, lots of pictures below.

This day we had to move from our jungle house in nowhere to Kona. This house was close enough to Waipio Valley, so we packed everything and went out to find it.

I read many warnings not to leave anything in a car while you are on a hike, so I was pretty nervous about that fact that we have all our stuff in the Jeep. On the parking close to Waipio was a booth with a guard, who was kind enough to promise to look after the Jeep. But still we packed our notebooks and camera and all passports backpack with us. Mine was ok, but my husband had on his back about 15 kg (28lb).

Of course, we knew that the road is steep but you know what we didn’t knew, it is the steepest road of its length in USA, for example.

The valley floor at sea level is almost 2,000 ft (610 m) below the surrounding terrain. A steep road leads down into the valley from a lookout point located on the top of the southern wall of the valley. The road gains 800 vertical feet (243.84 m) in 0.6 miles (0.9 km) at a 25% average grade, with steeper grades in sections. This is a paved public road but it is open only to 4 wheel drive vehicles. It is the steepest road of its length in the United States and possibly the world. The shore line in the valley is a black sand beach, popular with surfers. A few taro farms are located in the valley. Several large waterfalls fall into the valley to feed the river which flows from the foot of the largest falls at the back of the valley out to the ocean.

The warning sign which meets you at the start of the hike_DSC5147-15Jul2015And stunning view from the very beginning. I want to cry when I see this pics now in winter in Europe. Its freezing and gloomy and I wish to be there._DSC5207-16Jul2015Hiking lower_DSC5205-16Jul2015Flower on the way_DSC5145-15Jul2015You could go by bus with locals but the way itself is very worth doing._DSC5152-15Jul2015How it looks like_DSC5172-15Jul2015

The valley was the site of the final scene in the 1995 sci-fi film Waterworld, at which the main characters found dry land. – I love such comments in Wiki._DSC5166-15Jul2015Its all green._DSC5161-15Jul2015There are a lot of garden fields in the valley._DSC5159-15Jul2015_DSC5174-15Jul2015

Here we can see a river._DSC5158-15Jul2015

And an effect of raining the night before. All cars were really muddy.

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There are a lot of Private property signs everywhere. To get to the beach as  we were said “you HAVE TO pass them through”.

The river looks like river with crocodiles from films but as far as we know there is no crocodile in Hawaii=)

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But this sign was funny saying about moose on the trail. I can’t imagine them walking there. Really! Haha!_DSC5180-15Jul2015And the waterfall. Its not accessible because of PRIVATE Property. Its on the private land so we just looked at it from this point.

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And finally we are on the black sand beach. Even though it is forbidden to drive there and to drive to many beaches and roads in Hawaii people do that all the time. There were several cars camping on the beach=(

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The black sand is dusty and very soft but very hot.

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All those beautiful colors

_DSC5189-16Jul2015Looking on my right

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And on my left. Feeling I am in paradise…

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            I only washed my feet in the water, I felt like I won’t be happy to hike back all salty and wet. I didn’t understand that I would be salty and wet anyway. _DSC5201-16Jul2015

A piece of road. It is narrow and I felt uncomfortable when a car passing by.

At most, historians think up to 10,000 people lived in this valley at one time, and it also once housed several important temples. Today, only about 50 people live in Waipio Valley.

With a mile-wide opening at the coast, the Waipi’o Valley boasts a stunning black sand beach that is popular with surfers and has also been used for more than one movie set (including the final scene from Waterworld). The valley itself is not quite six miles deep, and there are lots of waterfalls on both sides of the valley. One of the most famous is Hi’ilawe, which has the distinction of being the highest single waterfall in the Hawaiian islands with a whopping 1,300 foot drop.

While Waipi’o Valley is a popular tourist destination on the Big Island, it’s not the easiest to access. The road into the valley is incredibly steep, with an average 25% grade, so to get to the valley floor you can arrange transport in a four-wheel-drive vehicle (or rent one of your own for a day) or plan to hike to the bottom on foot.

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Sometimes I touched the ground to help myself to climb back._DSC5202-16Jul2015

 We stopped at a coffee farm on the way to Kona but it was nothing to eat there, so we were looking for a snack right in Kona.

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Later that day we drove to and checked in our new apartment near White sand beach. We went to Kona immediately and we wanted to go by foot along Ali Drive. I didn’t mean it hasn’t pathway to go and we had to walk on the road. It was about 6km (3+miles) one way.

All way was full of Plumeria flower trees. I really loved them and brought one home and one to my Russian dad. And again, you know what? It was like a piece of stick with nothing on it. The one in Russia was full blooming in a month and a half. Mine was unhappy with few leaves which were fallen in winter. Its starts growing them again now under UV lamp. Did I mention we have no sun here?

_DSC5213-16Jul2015One more_DSC5219-16Jul2015My favorite color_DSC5217-16Jul2015

Only look at this in someones yard! I wonder why bananas in Hawaii cost more than in mainland, more than in Europe and local bananas cost more than imported? Isn’t that crazy?

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A yard, postboxes and Plumeria tree.

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That blows my mind. Mango tree full of mango in the yard.

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Kona coast is black and white. Beautiful contrasts everywhere.

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I was so excited to find the finish point of Ironman. It was just a place on Ali drive, nothing special. I was disappointed and hungry. I didn’t want to spend time in restaurant but there were almost nothing to take away. We found good Thai food place instead of instant soups from small supermarket.

_DSC5269-16Jul2015And walked back to our place in the dark. It was even more uncomfortable, because we walked on the road and there was no light, so I wore my headlamp all the way=)

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One thought on “Waipio Valley and Kona. Big Island. Day 22.

  1. Explore majestic Waipio Valley, gorgeous Hamakua Coast, and multiple stunning waterfalls on the east side of the Big Island of Hawaii on this full day of fun and exciting adventure.

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