The Wailua River is the only navigable river in Hawaii and was the land of the Ali'i or Hawaiian Royalty. We chartered a kayak company to guide us as we paddled up the river much like the ancients must have done. I mean the ancients just paddled, they probably didn't hire a guide. Our plastic, red, double kayak would have been a marvel to the old ones.
This 20-mile-long river once wove through seven different ancient temple sites and is considered one of Hawaii’s two most sacred places. Our final destination was the once secret Opaeka'a Falls. To get there, it started with paddling a kayak in unison for 2 miles upriver, without yelling at your kayak partner once! No easy feat. Maybe that's why, during training, the guide recommended putting the stronger one in the back and the smarter one in the front.
After launch, our little pod of 5 kayaks quickly found ourselves on what felt like a major river. An occasional long boat, looking like a barge with a motor, would go steaming past leaving a big wake and the smell of diesel fuel. Aboard were people not interested in working to make their way up river. Their penance, in addition to the smell, was the fact that starting at 9:30 AM, they had to listen to a really bad trio playing Hawaiian music all the way up and back to wherever they were going. But the day was pleasant, I was feeling lots of Aloha (yes, that's a feeling), and after the barge wake passed, me and my beautiful (and smart) hood ornament made pretty good time up river.
Once we beached our kayaks, we faced another of the many "2 mile" island hikes. We're learning that given the density of the forest and the regular rains, it can take a very long time to make your way through the 6" high tree roots and "chocolate cake mix" type of mud to get anywhere.
Below is a video of our guide talking about the dangers of the part of this hike . . . where the mud could eat your shoes or if you took the dryer route over the tree roots, you could slip and fall 20 feet into the river. He didn't have to worry because we had signed releases which no one read!
Along the hike, the guide pointed out each of the many unique trees and plants along the way. There was an African tree that grows 15 feet a year and is another "invasive species" taking over the island. We passed lots of beautiful flowering plants including a favorite of the feral pig, wild ginger. At about mile one we stopped for the perfect staged photo op at what they think was the Queens Bath. The royalty had a small village less than a mile away and this waterfall/bath was a perfectly beautiful and feminine location. How the Queen and her entourage got there without breaking ankles is beyond me. But Gwen and I look good on the rock.
Just a little farther up the trail, we came to the really beautiful ʻŌpaekaʻa falls. We discovered the name "ʻŌpaekaʻa" is decidedly not beautiful. It means rolling shrimp in Hawaiian. The story told is that there was a time when a fresh water shrimp was plentiful in the stream and they would come "rolling" over the falls into the pool below.
The waterfall is 15 stories high. Our guide said the belief is that this was the king's bath and a place of power. When I asked him what that meant, he said there was a reverence about the place from its royal history. The ancients believed that because the king was all powerful, the water that flowed from his bath had special healing properties for the less well-to-do downstream.
Some things never change.
For me, the cool water was the perfect place for a rejuvenating swim regardless of what may have been going on upstream.
Can you see me in the photos?
Lunch was included in the package price but it was a strange contradiction. First, being in royal surroundings, I guess I expected something, well, nice anyway. Turns out it was a weird combo of good and bad. The "bad" was a white bread bun with a slice of Velveeta cheese, a very little turkey, and some mayo, all having been 2+ hours in the guide's backpack in 80+ degree temps. The condiments were industrial tomatoes, mustard, mayo and Doritos. The "good" was a delicious, fresh, Hawaiian pineapple the guide sliced up right there on a rock. Most people skipped the pineapple.
The trip back retraced the route and was uneventful and, except for tired shoulders, it was a fun outing. When we got back to our end of the island, because we really only had pineapple for lunch, we stopped at the local, hole-in-the-wall fish market in Old Koloa Town and ordered a plate lunch. This meal is another piece of venerable island history.
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| Modern Kau Kau Meal |
The workers, in the 1880's, carried nesting kau kau (food) tins. They usually contained leftover rice and meats each stacked in a tin. They needed carb-loaded meals for their long workdays, and the rice and meat (no vegetables) did the job. After the plantation era, lunch wagons replaced the 'to go' tins in the 1930's, and today, in styrofoam you can still get plate lunches with fish or other meat and "three sides." This is usually 2 scoops of rice and macaroni salad - again no vegetables. We got one with Ahi tuna and had lunch on our lanai listening to the ocean.
If you want to see what we're seeing in our front yard,
click on this link to see a webcam view of the beach located a block from our place. Remember, if it's black, you forgot to add in the time zone difference!
Next post, we're going to revisit the North side of the island, lunch in Hanalei, try another inland hike, and somewhere along the way, I'm hoping to find a taro beverage.
I'm crashing now, so I'll just drop in a few photos at the end of this that make me happy. You'll have to imagine the stories that go with them.
Aloha to you all!
Earl and Gwen
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| Japanese Cemetery |
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| Hawaiian Tomatoes |
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| Dig Deep! |
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