The plan was to do a large loop on the Island- from Hilo via the Hamakua Coast to Honaka’a , Waimea and then through the Saddle Road to Hilo.
The drive starts with a quick offshoot through a short scenic route. It is a narrow road, through thick tropical forests and the location of one of several botanical gardens. I did a short walk to Onomea Bay- a very scenic but rugged bay, through which sugar cane was once exported.
It’s an exciting next stop- Akaka Falls. You drive through a small, very quaint and periodic little village – and a few kilometres down the road is the parking. The walk is a loop, through lush forests including a mini bamboo forest. The first waterfall is the large cascading Kahuna Falls- but they are not nicely visible. The next waterfall is the start of the show- the 135m high Akaka Falls.
The next stop is a rather sombre one- a monument in Laupahoehoe in memory of the many children that died in the 1 April 1946 tsunami. The reason for the deaths of so many children is that their school was a sea level- and the waves came in the morning. The rest of the community was higher, up the cliff. The tsunami was caused by an earthquake in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands. This series of tsunamis was devastating due to many reasons-for the whole island. A large portion of the railway line that bankrupt the company who installed it was ripped apart as it lay on the coast. The Waipio Valley became infertile due to being inundated with salt water.
The drive through the Old Mamalahoa Highway was pleasant- through many eucalyptus forests and rolling farmlands. There are cattle farms here. It is again, another different landscape –farmland. Sad, considering hundreds of acres of natural forest would have been cleared for this to occur.
The road turns into Saddle Road- with the maximum speed limit I have seen on any islands- 60 miles per hour. Saddle Road runs through the saddle that is created between the two largest volcanoes on the island- and in the world depending on what measure you use. Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. You need to remember that these volcanoes summit at > 4,000m and have snow cover in the winter!! YES, in Hawaii there is snow. This volcano is inactive. Measured from the bottom of the sea floor- from where it is created it stands at 9,750m – this measure makes it the highest in the world.
There is a sad reality though- this most popular site and possibility to summit is not available at present as protesters to a new observation telescope are not allowing any visitors to enter. They have actually set up a whole tent city at the entrance. It doesn’t look pretty.
At the time that I was going through Saddle Road the cloud cover was already low with rain starting- however here is a photo taken from Akaka Falls Road, with the Observatory visible on top.
Mauna Loa is one of the world’s most active volcanoes and has a huge volume! It has erupted 33 times since written records have begun.
One reply on “Hamakua Coast”
Vegetation there is unreal, sad story about tsunami victims …