The Wonders of Waipio

A few things on this island really scare me. Huge waves, cars that won't stay on their side of Saddle Road, our county government, and the shady characters who hang out in Kailua town. Until yesterday, the road to Waipio Valley was on that list.

The road drops about 1,000 feet in less than a mile and at times it's so steep it feels like your car will somersault down the rest of the hill. It's a narrow, one-lane road with a mountain on one side and drop-off on the other. I first traveled this road just after I moved here from Indiana, where our biggest hill was a sand dune at Lake Michigan. So Waipio Road was quite an experience. But I drove my Jeep down Waipio yesterday and it was really no big deal. Kind of fun, actually. And I finally get to use my 4-wheel drive low.


We went to the valley to hike to the 1,600-foot Hi`ilawi Falls.



It took about an hour to get to the falls by hiking up a rough trail through thick vegetation, and up the rocky stream. It was slow going, but fun! And worth it! This is what we saw:


After the hike we drove around in the valley and went though some streams. On of the roads down there IS a stream. (Can you imagine living in a valley with no running water, electricity, phone or cell service? When you give friends directions to your house you say, "drive 1/2 mile up the stream, my house is the second on the left) Then we hung out on the beach watching the surf, wishing we had brought the boards.