We woke up on Saturday grateful that we didn't have to be anywhere until noon! We got dressed and went to have breakfast at a little cafe on the beach. We sat at a bar that looked out over the ocean. This was our breakfast view...
After breakfast we did the long drive from the bottom of the west side of the island to the top of the east side of the island. Today we were going to "Ride the Rim!" I saw an ad on local TV to see Waipiho Valley - The Valley of Kings from high atop the mountains. You get there by ATV. Now just a few months ago I was up at Brad and Iris's house and they have ATV's. Brad got me to ride one and I just loved it. It seemed scary at first but once I got the hang of it, I loved it. Had it not been for that short drive I probably would have never thought twice as that being a fun tourist type activity. I signed us all up!
The is the Waipiho Valley Artworks where we were to meet our guides. It was a quaint little store with lots of art and good books.
Everyone was happy to be getting out of the car. We went into the store and looked around. We changed into our swimsuits and waited for the guides.
We waited...
And waited... It seems the van broke down while coming to get us. The guides went back to get the jeep and it broke down too. They finally came in a second jeep but only two could fit at a time so we went up to the ATV sheds in pairs. Me and Laura went first.
The came Extremo and Judi.
Hawaii is so laid back. These are our guides. Kim, Mike & Desmond. Kim is Mike's girlfriend. She wasn't official, just up there for the day and went with us. Mike was really outgoing and talkative, Desmond very quiet and was the caravan leader.
Laura got all suited up and ready to ride the rim!
We had to wear helmets and practice going around in circles to prove we could drive these contraptions.
It was so fun. We drove about 12 miles back into the mountains, up and up. We passed through groves of Eucalyptus Trees and ended up here.
To get to the waterfall we had to climb down a really steep set of rocky steps. It was a little adventure for most normal folks. Mike wouldn't let us
NOT go down. I considered for a moment staying up top with the rigs. But they insisted we go down. I really wanted to experience everything so I did it. With my bad knee going down these steep steps was a little bigger adventure than most. For Laura with a goofy foot and being short it was a really bigger adventure and took her a while to get down the steps and across the bridge. I say we were really lucky to get her to the deck at all! I thought she was going to quit and go back.
Mike and Kim jumped in the water and headed to the waterfall. Extremo went next.
It was so beautiful and so cold. There were lots of shrimpy looking things and sword fish and crawdads in the water. It was really mossy, slipppery and rocky.
Laura rested on the deck. Judi ate her snack and we headed down into the water. Like I said it was slippery, rocky and mossy so I went in slowly. I took a misstep and !wham! into the water I went. It was shallow and shockingly cold. Once I was in I went out to my shoulders took a swimming stride and headed back. It was too cold. Judi just got her feet wet and went back up.
Getting back up the steps was the real adventure of the day! I headed up first because as you can see the the only siderail was a rope! It took a few painful minutes to get back to the top of the stairs. Judi came next and then Extremo. I had to sit on the ATV and shake out the pain in my knee. We rested a while waiting for Laura. I knew it was going to be really hard for her. Then I heard the crazy cackling of Extremo and he was excitedly doing something, up to no good, I could tell! He was trying to be stealthy and taking pictures of poor Laura trying to get up the stairs. Desmond was doing his best to help her up the stairs, as Laura put it, "hauling her up step by step" Mike and Kim were taking the break while Laura was coming up the steps to get in some makeout time. Laura bellowed, "Quit canoodling, can't you see I'm in crisis!"
We finally got all situated and ready to keep going! Woohoo! Ride the Rim!
We ended up at the top of Waipiho Valley, Valley of the Kings. It was breathtaking. Behind us is a steep cliff and to the left of us was a beautiful waterfall. It was the one they showed in Jurassic Park. There is only one road into the valley and you need 4 wheel drive to use it. They harvest taro there, electricity by generator. It is hard to explain the simplicity and beauty of that valley. The kings are buried in the lava tubes in the cliffs. It is a very sacred place.
We traveled through miles and miles of these Eucalyptus forests. They are only about 10 years old. Apparently some Japanese company planted them intending to harvest them and ship them back to Japan for paper products. They planted them in rows, very close together. When they went to cut them down to harvest they realized that it was just not cost effective to ship it all back to Japan and then found that the menthol drained into the ground contaminating the coffee fields and the beans down slope. What a mess. So now the miles of Eucalyptus stand in the mountains on the Hamakua Coast. They grow tall trying to reach the sun, they look a little straggly because they are planted so close together that there is not enough room for them to grow properly and they can't be cut down without contaminating the coffee farms. Go figure. Isn't that what the EPA Impact Statement is for?
Here is the standard view of Waipiho Valley we took from the tourists lookout. It has a black sand beach and was incredibly breathtaking.
We woke up on Saturday grateful that we didn't have to be anywhere until noon! We got dressed and went to have breakfast at a little cafe on the beach. We sat at a bar that looked out over the ocean. This was our breakfast view...
After breakfast we did the long drive from the bottom of the west side of the island to the top of the east side of the island. Today we were going to "Ride the Rim!" I saw an ad on local TV to see Waipiho Valley - The Valley of Kings from high atop the mountains. You get there by ATV. Now just a few months ago I was up at Brad and Iris's house and they have ATV's. Brad got me to ride one and I just loved it. It seemed scary at first but once I got the hang of it, I loved it. Had it not been for that short drive I probably would have never thought twice as that being a fun tourist type activity. I signed us all up!
The is the Waipiho Valley Artworks where we were to meet our guides. It was a quaint little store with lots of art and good books.
Everyone was happy to be getting out of the car. We went into the store and looked around. We changed into our swimsuits and waited for the guides.
We waited...
And waited... It seems the van broke down while coming to get us. The guides went back to get the jeep and it broke down too. They finally came in a second jeep but only two could fit at a time so we went up to the ATV sheds in pairs. Me and Laura went first.
The came Extremo and Judi.
Hawaii is so laid back. These are our guides. Kim, Mike & Desmond. Kim is Mike's girlfriend. She wasn't official, just up there for the day and went with us. Mike was really outgoing and talkative, Desmond very quiet and was the caravan leader.
Laura got all suited up and ready to ride the rim!
We had to wear helmets and practice going around in circles to prove we could drive these contraptions.
It was so fun. We drove about 12 miles back into the mountains, up and up. We passed through groves of Eucalyptus Trees and ended up here.
To get to the waterfall we had to climb down a really steep set of rocky steps. It was a little adventure for most normal folks. Mike wouldn't let us NOT go down. I considered for a moment staying up top with the rigs. But they insisted we go down. I really wanted to experience everything so I did it. With my bad knee going down these steep steps was a little bigger adventure than most. For Laura with a goofy foot and being short it was a really bigger adventure and took her a while to get down the steps and across the bridge. I say we were really lucky to get her to the deck at all! I thought she was going to quit and go back. 
Mike and Kim jumped in the water and headed to the waterfall. Extremo went next.
It was so beautiful and so cold. There were lots of shrimpy looking things and sword fish and crawdads in the water. It was really mossy, slipppery and rocky.
Laura rested on the deck. Judi ate her snack and we headed down into the water. Like I said it was slippery, rocky and mossy so I went in slowly. I took a misstep and !wham! into the water I went. It was shallow and shockingly cold. Once I was in I went out to my shoulders took a swimming stride and headed back. It was too cold. Judi just got her feet wet and went back up.
Getting back up the steps was the real adventure of the day! I headed up first because as you can see the the only siderail was a rope! It took a few painful minutes to get back to the top of the stairs. Judi came next and then Extremo. I had to sit on the ATV and shake out the pain in my knee. We rested a while waiting for Laura. I knew it was going to be really hard for her. Then I heard the crazy cackling of Extremo and he was excitedly doing something, up to no good, I could tell! He was trying to be stealthy and taking pictures of poor Laura trying to get up the stairs. Desmond was doing his best to help her up the stairs, as Laura put it, "hauling her up step by step" Mike and Kim were taking the break while Laura was coming up the steps to get in some makeout time. Laura bellowed, "Quit canoodling, can't you see I'm in crisis!"
We finally got all situated and ready to keep going! Woohoo! Ride the Rim!
We ended up at the top of Waipiho Valley, Valley of the Kings. It was breathtaking. Behind us is a steep cliff and to the left of us was a beautiful waterfall. It was the one they showed in Jurassic Park. There is only one road into the valley and you need 4 wheel drive to use it. They harvest taro there, electricity by generator. It is hard to explain the simplicity and beauty of that valley. The kings are buried in the lava tubes in the cliffs. It is a very sacred place.
We traveled through miles and miles of these Eucalyptus forests. They are only about 10 years old. Apparently some Japanese company planted them intending to harvest them and ship them back to Japan for paper products. They planted them in rows, very close together. When they went to cut them down to harvest they realized that it was just not cost effective to ship it all back to Japan and then found that the menthol drained into the ground contaminating the coffee fields and the beans down slope. What a mess. So now the miles of Eucalyptus stand in the mountains on the Hamakua Coast. They grow tall trying to reach the sun, they look a little straggly because they are planted so close together that there is not enough room for them to grow properly and they can't be cut down without contaminating the coffee farms. Go figure. Isn't that what the EPA Impact Statement is for?
Here is the standard view of Waipiho Valley we took from the tourists lookout. It has a black sand beach and was incredibly breathtaking.
1 comment:
It's taking me awhile to get through these posts but this one was especially good. I want to go!!!
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