Our resort (the Marriott Waikoloa Beach) offers a few “cultural” activities, including the “Nēnē and Native Plants” walk we took this morning. Our guide, Pua, took us around the hotel and showed us places they are trying to preserve or plant native species, like this ti plant.
There were a lot of non-native species too, giving me an excuse to include yet another hibiscus photo in the blog.
We didn’t see any nēnē, but Pua showed us pictures which demonstrated their kinship to the Canadian goose.
Pua took us to the luau pit, where the crew was getting ready for tonight’s luau. They’d spent a couple of hours burning kiawe (Hawaiian mesquite) to charcoal, and now they were ready to add the pig and other meat, then turn the whole thing into a giant pressure cooker where the food would cook for several hours.
It’s always good to see professionals at work.
After the tour, we set out to explore the northern end of the island, beginning with a stop in Waimea (known to the USPS as “Kamuela“), home to the Parker Ranch and the Paniolo Heritage Center, where we stopped to enjoy their mid-week farmers’ market and visit the Nā Wahine Holo Lio Paʻu Museum, honoring the history of the region’s pa‘u riders.
We had hoped to have lunch at Merriman’s Restaurant, but they were closed for renovation, so we did the next best thing and ate at Village Burger in the Parker Ranch Center. They use local beef and lamb, and I really enjoyed my burger.
We drove about 20 miles up Kohala Mountain Road to the little town of Hawi, which used to be a major hub of the Kohala Sugar company. These days, its main street is lined with art galleries, restaurants, and craft shops – we had dessert at Our Founding Farmers, a “farm-to-scoop” ice cream shop. It was an interesting experience – as soon as we walked in, the owner asked us if we had any allergies and proceeded to give us tastings of about half of their flavors! All were delicious, but I could only have two – I finally chose Lilikoi with Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate. Highly recommended if you’re in the area.
The next town down the road is Kapaau, home of the original King Kamehameha Statue.
Kamehameha’s birthplace is a few miles away, but we decided against going there and drove back to the resort so we’d have some time before going to a magic show later this evening.
We passed the Pu’ukoholā Heiau National Historic Site on the way home and decided to stop, but we only went to the Visitor Center because the winds were too strong for us to go to the actual heiau (they were notified of a Red Flag Alert while we were there)!
We didn’t get to go to the magic show, either – tonight’s performance was rescheduled for Friday evening. We consoled ourselves with foofy drinks and quesadillas at Aloha Wine Bar.