Today was our day for driving around the island and seeing some of its natural (land-based) beauty.
We started at Akaka Falls, a 420-foot waterfall on the northeast side of the island.
We started at Akaka Falls, a 420-foot waterfall on the northeast side of the island.
After a drive through Hilo, where we saw the statue of King Kamehameha below, we visited the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut factory. We took the tour and got some samples (can you say Wasabi and Teriyaki Macadamia?).
Our last major stop was Waipio Valley, where a 4x4 van took us down the steepest county-maintained road in the United States. The entrance to the valley averages a 25-degree slope, and maxes out at 39 degrees...that's steep! At the base of the valley are some beautiful greenery, lots of taro farms, and a good view of these twin waterfalls, which are over 1200 feet tall.
From the lookout at the entrance, you can see the mouth of the valley, with its black sand beach, lush vegetation, exposed rock, and additional waterfall.
Due to unfavorable lava conditions, we skipped Volcanoes National Park. We may regret it later, but we're more interested in seeing water, greenery, and life than barren rock.....at least on this trip.
Tomorrow we'll be exploring Hawaii's sea-based offerings. We're starting the morning with a catamaran trip to Kealakekua Bay, where we'll enjoy some of the best snorkeling in the area. Then we're going on a night snorkel with manta rays. For those of you that don't know what a manta ray is, a video really does it justice better than a description ever can. Since my underwater camera doesn't have very good video capabilities and it may be too dark for normal pictures, I'll rely on someone else's YouTube video for my explanation:
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