Waipio Valley and Waterfalls {Hawaii, Day 3}

I had seen pictures of Waipio Valley online and was keen to visit, even though all I knew was that it had a great view. As with seemingly everywhere else on the island, it took about 2 hours to get there from our yurt.

We had been told by the lady at the car rental place that this was an extremely difficult hike and we would be forced to beg for a ride back to the top if we managed to make it to the bottom. Since we had already paid for the Jeep, I figured we better use it even if it was a do-able hike.

There is a man at the top of the valley road that gives instructions on getting down and showed us a map of what to do once we got down there. He seemed very surprised that I was planning to drive down and pretty impressed when I told him we drove up and down Mauna Kea without incident. I’m now under the impression that I look like a rather helpless little girl.. anyone want to confirm that?

The road down is rough and full of holes, has a few steep areas and is only wide enough for one car unless you’re in a shoulder section. Vehicles going up get to go first and hikers don’t take up enough space to be an issue at all.

Here are my observations for any future visitors. The road was not intimidating or scary at all, though 4x4 is necessary. We saw plenty of hikers or all ages and abilities, none were struggling. We saw children doing the hike in sandals without issue. Whatever the car rental place tells you, don’t listen.

Once at the bottom we went to the black sand beach first. From the lookout at the top we noticed a waterfall in the distance that I was hoping we could hike to, but apparently it requires swimming at least 3 times and I wasn’t prepared for that. Instead we just walked along the beach and enjoyed the area.

Everywhere we looked we saw coconuts, but all were already eaten. I had high hopes we would find one that we could attempt to crack for ourselves, and we did! It took us a solid 15 minutes of acting like wild animals, smashing it against the rocks, to get to the centre. Not going to lie, I had no idea that coconuts were like that. I thought the fuzzy little round coconuts we can buy in the store were just a different kind, but it turns out they live inside the great big thing we see on the trees. Eventually when we got our fuzzy little prize we decided it would just have to come hiking with us because we hadn’t yet figured out how to get the water out without spilling.

As we continued down the beach we saw a waterfall that we would be able to get to, though much smaller than the one I had been eyeing. Across the sand, over some rocks, up a hill and we were there. The pool at the bottom was tiny and surrounded by spiders so no swimming for us, but it was a nice walk anyway.

Back at our Jeep we drove the opposite direction, past the road up, to see the other waterfalls. I was expecting we would drive a bit, park and then hike to the falls.. I was wrong. We drove for ages, through the forest, 5 river crossings, up and down and eventually hit a very dead end. We could see falls all around us but in front of us was a very fast, deep river that we could not cross and nowhere to park or hike anywhere around us..  While we tried to decide what to do a group of horses came to check us out. One pressed his face right against the window and kicked the door! And since Aly does not love animals that was the end of that. We managed to get turned around, back to the bottom of the road and with no difficulty at all, back to the top.

We thought Waipio Valley wold take more of our day but since it didn’t we decided to see a few more waterfalls in the area.

First was Akaka Falls. We did the walk to the fall in the rain and it didn’t bother me one bit; when it’s nearly 30 degrees and sunny I’m perfectly happy to get wet. Since Akaka is on the rainy side of the island, we weren’t really surprised either. This waterfall, and the one we went to next, are very much parking lot attractions. You can see the fall from the parking lot, though the view is better if you walk the short trail, there are tons of tourists around and there is no opportunity to get away. I wouldn’t let that stop you from visiting though, both falls are really nice!

Both waterfalls are located next to Hilo, which we had planned to visit anyway, so we made it our final stop for the day before our long drive back. I was hoping to go for supper but one of my wisdom teeth had other plans so I sucked on ice cubes while Aly ate delicious looking fresh fish.

Our stay in Hilo was short and the drive home was long but my prize for getting home made everything better. Remember that coconut we found? I got it open. At first I decided that I would attempt to open it with a corkscrew, that failed. Then I decided we need a machete, until I realized wild animals can open them and they don't have machetes.. And finally we asked the internet. Turns out it is extremely simple; Coconuts have three little eyes on top and one of them is soft enough to puncture, allowing the water to be poured out or a straw to be inserted.  I'm now desperate to return to Hawaii and drink all the coconuts!