This morning we worked on the blog and did a little "work" and then headed north. We stopped at several beaches on the way up Rt. 19, then arrived at the Pu'ukohola Heiau National Park (The Temple on the Hill of the Whale). This is a temple built by King Kamehameha I in 1790-91, during his fight for supremacy over the Hawaiian Kingdom. Its platform was originally crowded with ceremonial structures. Today it is used for Hawaiian cultural events. The building with the ladders is the Mailekini Heiau. It was a fort during Kamehameha's rule. It is currently being restored by the Nat'l Park Service. The picture of Jean is while she is watching the information film at the Info Center. On down the road we stopped at the Lapakahi State Historical Park. This coastal park was a remote fishing village 600 years ago. It was later abandoned when the freshwater table dropped in the 19th century. There are modest remains and one house reconstruction. The location is stunning on the salt and pepper beach shores. There were lava rocks that they used to make salt by evaporating off the water from the sea. Interesting place. Further up the road we saw more modern lifestyles with a small windmill farm on the point. On to Hawi where the original statue of King Kamahemahe is located. It was originally lost as sea and a second statue was cast from the mold and is in Honolulu. This one was later recovered and given to the town where he was born. From here we drove on to the Pololu Valley overlook. It was stunning with the steep cliffs going into the sea and this beautiful valley below. John walked the path part way down. The valley was once abundant with wetland taro when Pololu Stream carried water from the deep wet interior to the valley floor. In 1906 the Kohala Ditch was built and diverted much of the water and ended taro production. The valley's last residents left in the 1940's and the area is now forest reserve land. We returned to Hawi and took the Kohala Mountain Road which gently zigzags down to Waimea. There is a 3500' elevation drop with stupendous views of the Kohala Coast. It was stunning driving through lush cattle pastures that made you want to take off your shoes and run through the grass and by the time we got to Waimea it was desert once again. There was basically a line of green where the clouds coming off the sea and hitting the mountains stopped the rain. The other side barely gets rain at all. It was a beautiful drive and delightful day!
