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Haiku → Kahului 25.0 mi (40.2 km) |
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Howzit, everyone?!
Just like when I visited the Foster Botanical Garden to complete my visit to Oʻahu, today, I’m wrapping up my adventure on Māui with a short side quest to visit a lush and glorious state park: ʻĪao Valley State Monument! Back in January, I’d learned my lesson the hard way that all Hawaiian state parks require advanced reservations if you’re not a local (kamaʻaina), so this time I was ready. I had my 9:00 AM reservation, and storm clouds or no storm clouds, I was going to be on time!
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Like many places on Māui, ʻĪao Valley is sacred! Part of the Wailuku Ahupua‘a, it feeds a network of rivers that made agriculture possible for early Hawaiians living on the eastern part of the island. In particular, the Wai ʻEhā (Four Waters) of Waikapū, Wailuku, Waiehu, and Waiheʻe have long flowed out of these mountains, fueled by heavy rains, and were invaluable for cultivating water-loving kalo (taro)! When I realized just how small this park was, I took a nice bit of time appreciating the clear waters rolling down through the ʻĪao Stream!
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A little higher up, I looked back down the Valley toward Kahului, the backdrop for the Battle of Kepaniwai in 1790! This was part of Kamehameha I’s plan to unite the Hawaiian Islands. He arrived on Māui as the aliʻi, Kahekili, was away on Oʻahu and attacked with guns and cannons that overwhelmed the folks on Māui! Their bodies blocked the streams, which is why this battle was called Kepaniwai, the damming of the waters! After his victory, Kamehameha was promised the leaders’ granddaughter, 11-year old Keōpūolani, as his future wife.
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I really thought I was going to spend a lot of time exploring ʻĪao Valley, but the paths were very specific: visitors could explore the ethnobotanical garden, hang out by the riverbank, or trek up a winding series of steps to a viewpoint. Since this path had been closed the first half of the year due to flooding, I figured it would be a good idea to check out the new stone work and see what kind of view awaited at the end!
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And there it was! Beyond a small shelter towered the 1200-foot Kūka‘emoku, an eroded volcanic ridge that was once believed to be the hoo-ha of Kanaloa, the octopus god of the ocean and underworld! In some ways, it was kind of like the lingas I saw in Cambodia, but jumbo-sized! That wasn’t going to work for colonists or the tourism board, so today, this formation is called the ʻĪao Needle. ʻĪao means “cloud supreme,” and it was from the peak of this pinnacle that Māui’s defenders kept watch as Kamehameha rolled in to change their lives forever!
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And that was as close as I’d get! The trail ended here at the shelter, completing my visit to this National Natural Landmark well ahead of schedule. I wouldn’t be able to visit the high cloud forest to look for the rainbow lion or any of the rare and special honeycreepers that live there, like the ʻiʻiwi, ʻapapane, and ʻamakihi. It was kind of disappointing, but I understood. As I learned in Jerusalem, managing crowds in sacred places is always a challenge!
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So instead, I had plenty of time to hip hop to coffee shops, sampling the orange lattes at Wailuku Coffee Company and a kimchi quesadilla from Maui Coffee Attic. I caught an easy flight back to Kona, sat around in the airport for a good three hours, and caught my overnight flight back to LA! I feel like I packed so much into the last few days—four national park sites and lots of historic locations—that I may need a getaway from my getaway. Not for long, though. I’ll be back on the trail of adventure soon enough, once the summer heat settles down a bit.
A hui hou!
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Total Ground Covered: 515.4 mi (829.5 km) |
More 2023 Adventures |