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We are still at Akaka Falls State Park. It is a beautiful day for enjoying nature. Although there are lots of beautiful flowers, I miss any sign of animal life. Then, I suppose that if I were a wild animal I would stay very far away from a tourist attraction.

That was one huge tree that was cut down. The trunk is still laying there (behind Pete).

We finally arrive at the falls. It is rather picturesque. I'm sure it has been in lots of movies.

'Akaka Falls is 422 feet (129 M) tall. The word 'akaka in the Hawaiian language means "A rent, split, chink, separation; to crack, split, scale". Local folklore describes a stone here called Pōohaku a Pele that, when struck by a branch of lehua 'āapane, will call the sky to darken and rain to fall.

So, which one of us looks most like Ranger Rick? My vote is for Pete. It's that hat he bought in the Galapagos.

We have climbed out of the canyon, and here, from the parking lot, I take a picture of the falls that gives a view of
the small river that leads up to the head of the falls. The view lower down from the falls is far more spectacular.

We leave Akaka Falls and continue down the highway towards Waimea, our next place to stop being the Waipi'o Valley overlook (which according to another brochure Pete read, is one of the 10 most beautiful sights to see).

As you can see on this map, our trip is about 3/4 over. Waipi'o means "curved water". It was the capital and permanent residence of many early Hawaiian ali'i (kings) up until the time of King Umi. It is a place celebrated for its nioi tree, and was the location of the ancient grass palace of the ancient kings of Hawaii with the nioi stands. Kahekili II raided Waipi'o in the 18th century and burned the four sacred trees to the ground.

The valley floor at sea level is almost 2,000 feet (610 M) below the surrounding terrain. A steep road leads down into the valley from a lookout point located on the top of the southern wall of the valley. The road gains 800 vertical feet (243.84 M) in 0.6 miles (0.9 km) at a 25% average grade, with steeper grades in sections. If classified as a road, it would be the steepest road of its length in the United States and possibly the world.

Here we stand at the overlook, and watch a storm head our way. We manage to leave before the rain starts.

In the late 1800s many Chinese immigrants settled in the valley. At one time the valley had churches, restaurants and schools as well as a hotel, post office and jail. But in1946 the most devastating tsunami in Hawaii's history swept great waves far back into the valley. Afterwards most people left the valley, and it has been sparsely populated ever since.

A severe deluge in 1979 covered the valley from side to side in four feet of water. Today only about 50 people live in the Waipi'o Valley. These are taro farmers, fishermen and others who are reluctant to leave their simple lifestyle.

The beautiful Hi'ilawe Falls is just one of many that grace the back of the canyon.

There were several information boards describing the scene below, and some of the history of this site.

The signs were in both the Hawaiian language, as well as English. I hope the cultural values will continue to be preserved. A people's culture should not become lost in time. That's why I still believe in leprechauns (tongue-in-cheek).

We finished our trip around the island, arriving back at the Kona Reef at around 6:30 PM. It was a long, yet enjoyable 300 mile trip. I'm glad we did it. Now it was time for Pete to catch up on e-mail by the pool, while I just relaxed and read. For some reason I was never able to establish a reliable WiFi connection at the pool, so I just gave up trying. The next day we had lunch at the Royal Kona Hotel beach bar, "Don the Beachcomber".

Pete had a Mojito and a delicious fish sandwich . . . . . . while I had a Mai Tai and a great salad.

Today is the 16th, so tonight we will go out for dinner at the Royal Kona Hotel restaurant to celebrate our 29th anniversary. But I will save that for the next chapter, as I'm reaching 5 Meg already, which is my cutoff point to remain e-mail friendly. I hope you are enjoying this so far.