Hawaii - Jeff Campbell [293]
To get to the trailhead, take the one-lane paved road just south of the 7-mile marker that leads up to the Boy Scouts’ Camp Mahulia. The trailhead, marked with a ‘Na Ala Hele’ sign, is a mile up on the left just before the camp.
Waihe′e to Kahakuloa
For a real paniolo experience, saddle up at Mendes Ranch ( 871-5222; www.mendesranch.com; 3530 Kahekili Hwy; 2hr ride $110; rides 8:15am & 12:15pm),a working cattle ranch near the 7-mile marker. The scenery on these rides includes everything from jungle valleys to lofty seacliffs and waterfalls.
For an Eden-like scene, stop at the pull-off 0.1 miles north of the 8-mile marker and look down into the ravine below to see a cascading waterfall framed by double pools.
Continuing around beep-as-you-go hairpin turns, the highway gradually levels out atop sea cliffs. Before the 10-mile marker is Turnbull Studios & Sculpture Garden ( 244-9838; 10am-5pm Tue-Fri) where you can view Bruce Turnbull’s ambitious bronze and wood creations, as well as the works of other area artists. Very cool stuff.
Just before the 14-mile marker, the hilltop Kaukini Gallery & Gift Shop ( 244-3371; 10am-5pm) has works by island artists, with watercolors, native-fiber baskets and pottery. Also eye-catching is the view of Kahakuloa village from the shop grounds.
Kahakuloa Village
Cradled in a tidy valley and embraced by towering sea cliffs, remote Kahakuloa retains a solidly Hawaiian character. Farmers tend taro patches, poi dogs wander across the road, and a missionary-era church marks the village center.
You won’t find any stores here, but villagers set up roadside stands selling snacks to day-trippers. For shave ice, hit Ululani’s hot-pink stand. For delicious banana bread stop at Julia’s lime-green sugar shack. In this one-road town, you can’t miss ’em.
Heading up out of the valley a pull-off above the northern edge of town provides a bird’s-eye view of the village and the surrounding coast. The rise at the backdrop of Kahakuloa Bay is Kahakuloa Head (636ft), once a favorite cliff-diving spot of Hawaiian chiefs. As you climb out of the valley, the terrain is hilly, with rocky cattle pastures punctuated by tall sisal plants. At a number of pull-offs, you can stop and explore. Lush pastures invite you to traipse down the cliffs and out along the rugged coastline.
Ocean Baths & Bellstone
One-tenth of a mile beyond the 16-mile marker, look to the right for a large dirt pull-off and a well-beaten path that leads 15 minutes down lava cliffs to natural ocean baths on the ocean’s edge. Cut out of slippery lava rock and encrusted with olivine minerals, these incredibly clear pools sit in the midst of roaring surf. Some have natural steps, but if you’re tempted to go in, size it up carefully – people unfamiliar with the water conditions here have been swept into the sea and drowned. If the rocks are covered in silt from recent storm runoffs, or the waves look high, forget about it – it’s dangerous.
That huge boulder with concave marks on the inland side of the road just beyond the pull-off is Pohaku Kani, a bellstone. If you hit it with a rock on the Kahakuloa side, where the deepest indentations are, you might be able to get a hollow sound. It’s a bit resonant if you hit it just right, though it certainly takes some imagination to hear it ring like a bell.
Nakalele Point
After the bellstone the mile markers change; the marker beyond 16 becomes 42 and the numbers go down from here. Just 0.2 miles after the 41-mile marker look for the Ohai Viewpoint, on the makai (seaward) side of the road. The viewpoint won’t be marked but there’s a sign announcing the start of the Ohai Trail. Don’t bother with the trail – it’s not particularly interesting. Instead, bear to the left and walk out to the top of the point just two minutes