One morning we rented a car and set out to the other side of the island for some exploring! Google Maps/Yelp were my best friends this trip as I planned out all of our driving/food stops! It was a lot of car time, but the view was so scenic, I can't complain much! Our side of the island was sunny, but a bit barren and dry thanks to the volcanos. But the other side of the island was lush, green, and rainy! It was so fun to see the scenery shift as we drove.
Our first stop was the gorgeous Waipio Valley!
The view from the top was breathtaking, but we decided to hike down to the edge of the black sandy beach too. The only downside was that walking back up to the top afterwards was literally breathtaking. It was a STEEP road. In fact, according to Wikipedia, it is the steepest road of its length in the US and maybe the world! 0.6 miles of 25% grade, so take that lungs!
Hiking down we walked along a cliffside that was covered in tree roots that looked like this.
You can't tell from this picture, but, as we walked along the beach, high tide was coming in and kept getting our legs wet. Not to mention that some of the waves coming in were 10+ ft tall!! They were monsters! Definitely not a swimming beach. But the sand felt so delicious between my toes as I sprinted across the beach, shoes in hand.
socks and teva sandals for days..
The river met the ocean right at this beach and created the weirdest cross current. I just had to get a picture of it, which unfortunately resulted in me getting caught in a river/ocean surge that went up to my chest and soaked my clothes!
Taking lots of rest breaks, i mean *cough* photo breaks, on the way back up! The sun came out for a minute and it was insanely beautiful.
I picked out the most perfect little cafe for our lunch stop, unfortunately I got super car sick and spent most of our time there throwing up on the side of the road.. good times! Eventually I felt well enough to sip some coke, eat some saltines, and some fresh pineapple sorbet. Pelle of course felt the need to document this lowlight of the trip!
The cutest fruit stand we passed by and then all immediately decided we had to turn around! We bought a bag of these rambutans (which I discovered a deep love for in Thailand! But are nearly impossible to find stateside) and then 2 juicy, golden pineapples which the stand owner was nice enough to chop up and bag for us.
Urban camo-ing with our green rain jackets in this lush green jungle we hiked through
Akaka Waterfalls!
And for once, a photo of all 4 of us! Woo go family! It's been bittersweet to look through all these photos because it was such a great trip, but it seems like it was forever ago! Even though it was just last month! Time flies. Take me back to Hawaii.
More posts coming. Surf. Snorkeling. Sand. Sun!
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