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| Hiking | 1.00 Miles |
80 AEG |
| | Hiking | 1.00 Miles | | | |
| 80 ft AEG | | | | |
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[ show ]
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| partners | | But first, DAY FIVE - Farmers Markets, Hawaiian Style Breakfast and more Mai Tai tasting. My cousins Jenaya and Jaelyn, besides owning My Hawai'i Hostel and some condo rentals, own Cultivate Good Food just outside of Kona in Kealekekua. Cultivate Good Food https://www.cultivategoodfood.com/ is a Plant Based Cafe & Juice Bar Featuring good-for-you Wraps, Salads and Cold Pressed Juice. They also participate in the local Farmers Market in Kona but today, we would be checking out the Farmers Markets in Waimea, less than an hour away. They would run into several people they knew at both markets.
The first market at Parker Ranch also had the Paniolo Heritage Center which we enjoyed. FYI the Parker Ranch is 130,000 acres. Then it was off to a Hawaiian Style breakfast at one of their favorite restaurants. Let's just say, it's not quite what you expect. We went to the other Farmers Market in town and we all bought a little something. The setting below the mountains was quite lovely. I noticed the men were buying the Beef Jerky chips so that's what I got; they are very tasty and much easier to eat then regular beef jerky.
Our next stop was for Mai Tais at Seafood Bar and Grill, also a favorite restaurant of my cousins. It is about 1/2 hour north of Kona. And after all that activity, we regrouped and went to downtown Kona for a Mexican meal; and instead of the Mai Tai I opted for a Lilikoi Margarita. The food was disappointing but the decor was top notch!
DAY SIX Hilo side Part 1: We headed up the coast and then hung a right up to Waimea, where we had been the day before. Our first stop was Waipi‘o valley, the former home to old Hawaiian kings and once upon a time was densely populated. Now however, the valley is mostly wilderness interspersed with taro fields (Taro is a traditional Hawaiian staple food) and a couple of dozens of inhabitants. Currently, you cannot hike into the Valley as of February https://www.civilbeat.org/2022/04/waipi ... al-action/. I assume they'll work something out eventually.
Driving by the local Kukuihaele Park (you gotta love those Hawaiian names), we got back on the main road (Hawai'i Belt) to one of the main attractions of Hawai'i, Akaka Falls State Park. Per what we heard and had seen via various media prior to our visit, Akaka Falls was indeed all that. With the inclement weather, it was even more dramatic. The 442 foot Akaka Falls is taller than Niagara but since I've not seen them, I'll have to trust the print.
We followed the paved footpath counterclockwise, we first saw the 100-foot KAHŪNĀ FALLS; altho it is obscured somewhat by vegetation. We continued to follow the loop around the bend observing all of the greenery of the rainforest to our viewpoint of the main attraction, Akaka Falls. 'Akaka means "split, separation, or crack" in the Hawaiian language.
Afterward, we stopped to get a Coconut drink right from a Hawaiian coconut; not very flavorful but it was our snack before our next stop on our very busy day. The slicer guy was pretty impressive with his knife cutting it free hand. I did shoot some video of that.
Part 1 featuring Waipi'o Valley Overlook and Part 1 of Akaka Falls State Park : [ youtube video ]
Part 2 Akaka Falls [ youtube video ] |
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For me, sometimes it's just as much about the journey as the destination.
Oh, and once in awhile, don't forget to look back at the trail you've traveled. |
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