After our malasadas we headed to the Waipi'o Valley or Valley of the Kings. This area was once the favorite retreat of Hawaiian royalty. During the 13th and 17th century 4,000 - 20,000 people lived here. In 1946 a tidal wave drove most residents out. The valley is one of the most isolated places in Hawaii. To keep it pristine, only 4 commercial companies are allowed to take people on trips down here and on Sundays no one is allowed in. They do allow 4 wheel drive vehicles down the 25% grade road so we were able to go down.
View from the overlook. The walk down to the overlook is a steep incline which means the trip back up is steep also! The beach below is a black sand beach. I guess because of overuse of the beach and a lack of sanitary facilities serious unhealthy conditions have arisen. There is a sign at the top of the road warning of a bacteria that is in the water. We didn't go near the water at the beach but we did see a pregnant woman playing in the water-go figure.
There are a few people who live in the valley and grow taro plants to make poi.
View from overlook.
View of valley as we head down the very skinny (one lane), very steep, very bumpy road.
This is a fresh water river running through the valley. It is fed by a waterfall to the left of the valley (you can't see it in this picture). The waterfall wasn't very big but I guess when it rains, it's probably very full.
The roads are very skinny so while we were waiting for a car to pass us, your dad spotted this frog on the side of the road. The little pond also had fish in it.
We had to cross this "raging" river to continue on.
We stopped in the middle of the water to take this picture which was to the left of us. The picture sort of looks washed out but it was very green.
This is what was on the other side of the road. He just stood there calmly as we drove by him. His 3 other buddies were to the right of him off road. When we were coming back this way, the four of them were walking down the road towards us-taking their time. We could've touched them if we had wanted to.
The road (and I use that term very loosely) to the beach was unbelievable. I don't know how that pregnant woman made it. Your dad did a great job trying to miss the bigger ruts but still it was a shaky ride.
Once you get to the beach there are signs posted to the left like the one above and the other one (2nd picture below).
Kapu means sacred or sacred law.
This is the very steep and skinny road looking up. It's about a mile long. We saw lots of people walking it. The walk down would be okay but the walk up would be deadly.
View from the overlook. The walk down to the overlook is a steep incline which means the trip back up is steep also! The beach below is a black sand beach. I guess because of overuse of the beach and a lack of sanitary facilities serious unhealthy conditions have arisen. There is a sign at the top of the road warning of a bacteria that is in the water. We didn't go near the water at the beach but we did see a pregnant woman playing in the water-go figure.
There are a few people who live in the valley and grow taro plants to make poi.
View from overlook.
View of valley as we head down the very skinny (one lane), very steep, very bumpy road.
This is a fresh water river running through the valley. It is fed by a waterfall to the left of the valley (you can't see it in this picture). The waterfall wasn't very big but I guess when it rains, it's probably very full.
The roads are very skinny so while we were waiting for a car to pass us, your dad spotted this frog on the side of the road. The little pond also had fish in it.
We had to cross this "raging" river to continue on.
We stopped in the middle of the water to take this picture which was to the left of us. The picture sort of looks washed out but it was very green.
This is what was on the other side of the road. He just stood there calmly as we drove by him. His 3 other buddies were to the right of him off road. When we were coming back this way, the four of them were walking down the road towards us-taking their time. We could've touched them if we had wanted to.
The road (and I use that term very loosely) to the beach was unbelievable. I don't know how that pregnant woman made it. Your dad did a great job trying to miss the bigger ruts but still it was a shaky ride.
Once you get to the beach there are signs posted to the left like the one above and the other one (2nd picture below).
Kapu means sacred or sacred law.
This is the very steep and skinny road looking up. It's about a mile long. We saw lots of people walking it. The walk down would be okay but the walk up would be deadly.
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