We woke up to birds chirping and ocean waves crashing once again, before making a nice camp breakfast in our Jeep. We’ll be starting our morning doing an easy hike to ‘Akaka falls State Park, one of the most famous waterfalls in the entire state of Hawai’i. We drove through rolling hills and farmlands to get to the falls, and we could almost imagine ourselves living out here…wishful thinking!
The park opened at 8AM, and we were the first ones to arrive.
There is an entrance fee of $5/person and there is an additional parking fee of $10 (via credit card only parking kiosk). The 0.4-mile loop trail was paved, but there were many steps to climb up and down. The trail took us through lush tropical vegetation with viewpoints of Kahuna Falls and ‘Akaka Falls.
Note: There is limited street parking just outside the gate that is free of charge.
After a nice morning walk through the rainforest, we hopped back in our car and drove north along Highway 19 to the historic Hamakua Coast. The northeast region of the Big Island is so lush that every curve provided a new opportunity to enjoy breathtaking scenery.
Our next stop was the historical town of Honoka’a. This town was a former cane sugar stronghold, which had a beautiful collection of shops and galleries (many of which are located in original storefronts from the early 1900s). You can also find the Honoka’a Peoples Theater right in the town center, which is still the original theater from the 1930s, and currently in operation as a movie theater to this day!
It was fun to walk down the strip of this historical town and to imagine what it used to be back like 100 years ago. The community has done a great job of preserving the original buildings (many of the storefronts are even adorned with plaques and photos of what the buildings looked like during that time period).
Our next stop was the Waipi’o Valley overlook (at the end of Highway 240) to get a glimpse of the “Valley of Kings,” one of the most culturally significant spaces for the native Hawaiian population. It is also a hotspot for the traditional cultivation of locally prized “Kalo” or taro plants.
On our way to the Waipi’o Lookout we saw a beautiful fruit stand, so we made a mental note to stop there on our way back from the valley. The vibe of the fruit stand was amazing and the two guys that worked there were so friendly…they also looked like they were living their best life! The stand offered fresh local fruits and sugarcane juices, alongside a beautiful landscape and native fruit trees. We shared a sugarcane juice and relaxed amongst the other animals living in the moment.
We drove to the town of Waimea to stop for lunch. We were craving some local Hawaiian food, so we stopped at Ippy’s Hawaiian BBQ for some loco moco and fish + chips!
After some much needed sustenance, we continued to the northernmost region of the Big Island. Hawi is famous within the Hawaiian culture as being the birthplace of King Kamehameha I.
It is also where you can find the awe-inspiring Pololū Valley. There is a 2-mile round trip trail that takes down to sea-level, where you can enjoy an amazing black sand beach, but we were pretty tired at this point, so we settled for the lookout…there’s always next time!
We got back on the road to headed to our campsite for the night. Tonight we’ll be staying at Spencer Beach Park, a very popular state park just north of Kona town on the west side of the Big Island. We wanted to get there on the early side so we would have some time to relax on the beach.
When we arrived to Spencer Beach Park, we saw that it was adjacent to the Pu’ukohola Heiau National Historic Site. Before we went to the beach, we decided to explore the Historical site for a bit. This site is free of charge and is self guided (though a downloadable audio tour is available for smartphones). The area continues to actively preserve the National Historic Landmark ruins of the last major ancient Hawaiian temple.
Walking around the historical grounds was really impressive and we learned a lot by downloading the free audio tour guide (highly recommend if you visit). Once we finished walking the short loop, the heat of the sun led us straight to the cool Pacific Ocean.
After enjoying a sunset on the beach, we walked back to set up our pop-up roof tent. We made a camp dinner in the car, and went to bed early to get plenty of rest for another snorkel adventure tomorrow. This time our adventure involves kayaks and the famed Captain Cook Monument…so stay posted!