You might make the case that the Kohala Coast is where Hawaiian history really starts. The basis for that simplistic statement comes from the fact that this is where Kamehameha the Great was born here, at least that’s one version, the other version is that he was born in a war canoe somewhere between Maui and the Kohala Coast. What’s undisputed however is that he was raised from infancy in this area, and through a combination of warrior and diplomatic skills (coupled with a fortuitous storm here and a nasty plague there) he was the first ruler to unite all the islands. So a drive up to the northern tip is worth the time and effort, especially as the scenery makes a spectacular respite from the lava fields just outside of Kailua-Kona.
We were staying in Waikoloa so it was easy enough to jump on Highway 19 and follow it up to where you can branch left onto Highway 270 (bear right and you’ll be heading to Hilo).
As I was saying, Hawaiian history and scenery! First stop was the Pu’ukohola National Historic Site. It was here that Kamehameha was told by his kahuna (don’t snicker, a kahuna was a Hawaiian priest… and the term Big Kahuna once was a serious term of respect, not just another bit of surfer-speak) to build a heaiu (a temple) in order to win the war god’s favor in his quest to conquer the islands. Building the Pu’ukohola only took a couple years, it was completed in 1791. But it took 20 years to get control of the whole chain of islands (those guys on Kauai were really, really scrappy).
Pu’ukohola is preserved and managed by the National Park Service, so forgive me a slightly digressive diatribe first. I get sick and tired of people bad mouthing government employees as being overly rigid, lazy and not helpful. Judging from my personal observations, the percentage of paycheck grabbers and petty tyrants found in governmental jobs is usually lower than those I’ve noted in the profit and non-profit sectors. And I don’t know that I’ve ever met a National Park Service employee that was not helpful or less than polite. Okay… slipping my little soapbox off to the side now, I’ll continue on with a less indignant discourse.
We arrived just behind a school group (middle schoolers – egad!), but we struck up a conversation with a ranger who besides answering our basic question, offered us the option of just tagging along with the group so that we could get a more structured tour. Did I mention that they were middle schoolers? We thanked him for his courtesy, but declined. Of course by this point he had given us a fair amount of history and information, including pointing out the black-tip reef sharks that were swimming idly through the bay (one far closer to a human snorkeler than I would have been comfortable with). Without his keen eye and patience, we would have never even noticed it!
We watched a little of the video dramatizing the life of Kamehameha and slipped down the path to get ahead of the school tour. I’m not really sure why we bothered, as it turned out that they were far more interested in the sharks than the 200+ year old pile of rocks that caught our interest.
I’ve yet to see a heaiu that overwhelmed me with its structure, yet didn’t touch an emotional or spiritual chord within me. If you want architecture and spirituality go to St. Peter’s in Rome (now there’s an architectural knockout!) So I have to conclude that the Hawaiians were so-so builders, but man could they pick a location! You can’t climb the hill to the heaiu itself. It’s a mortarless fortress of sorts, built from (guess what…) lava rock, which doesn’t really create timeless structures. But you can look and imagine things, and before you know it, you’ll find your thoughts touched by images of island royalty and priests worshipping their gods.
Back in the car, we proceeded north. Ho hum, nothing much to see… not! The beauty (for me) of the state of Hawaii is that it’s beautiful almost everywhere you look. A little half day trip like this could have easily consumed an entire week, just by stopping at everything that looked even remotely interesting. And we missed a lot. The Michelle, the concierge back at Hilton Grand Vacations Club couldn’t believe that we missed the statue of Kamehameha in Kapa'au. "You had to drive right by it!" she said. But somehow, drive by it we did (twice) without noticing, much less getting a picture.
Hawi is a cool little town, with plenty of locally-owned restaurants and art galleries. Pico’s Bistro provided our lunch (worthy of a separate review in this journal) and the Kenji’s House/Kohala Artist’s Co-op on the same property (also reviewed separately) made for a very nice gallery visit.
Stay on the highway after you leave Hawi (that’s not as easy as it sounds, you’ll be tempted to make a lot of scenic this and that stops). Somewhere along that drive (you’ll be headed east now) you should find that statue of the Big Guy that proved too elusive for my all-to-easily distracted powers of perception.
Relatively soon you’ll be at the end of the paved road, a place known as Pololu. It’s not quite as breathtaking as Kauai’s Na Pali coast, but then, what is? But the view is gorgeous. Just watch where you drive, the road is narrow and parking is haphazard at best (which might explain the number of bicyclers that you encounter).
After breathing in the vista at Pololu, we reluctantly had to return as we had guests to pick up back at the Kona Airport. Sadly, I placed beloved family over my own selfish contemplative sensibilities, so back down the highway we went. And yes, to the amazement of our concierge Michelle, we somehow managed to miss the statue of Kamehameha yet again!