Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
On Hwy. 19, Honomu (8 miles north of Hilo). Turn left at Honomu and head 3
1
⁄
2
miles inland on Akaka Falls
Rd. (Hwy. 220).
Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden
All ages.
Spend a couple of hours
among more than 1,800 species of tropical plants in this little-known Eden by
the sea. The 40-acre garden, nestled between the crashing surf and a thundering
waterfall, has the world's largest selection of tropical plants growing in a natural
environment, including a torch ginger forest, a banyan canyon, an orchid gar-
den, a banana grove, a bromeliad hill, and a golden bamboo grove, which rattles
like a jungle drum in the trade winds. The torch gingers tower on 12-foot stalks.
Each spectacular specimen is named by genus and species, and caretakers point
out new or rare buds in bloom. Some endangered Hawaiian specimens, such as
the rare
Gardenia remyi,
are flourishing in this habitat. The gardens are seldom
crowded; you can wander around by yourself all day.
Off Hwy. 19 on the 4-mile Scenic Route, Onomea Bay (8 miles north of Hilo).
&
808/964-5233.
www.
htbg.com. Admission $15 adults, $5 children 6-16. Daily 9am-4pm.
World Botanical Garden
All ages.
Just north of Hilo is Hawaii's largest
botanical garden in the state, with some 5,000 species and still growing. When
the fruit are in season, they hand out free chilled juices. One of the most spec-
tacular sites is the .25-mile rainforest walk, which is also wheelchair accessible,
along a stream on a path lined with flowers, to the viewing area of the three-
tiered, 300-foot Umauma Falls. Parents will appreciate the children's maze,
nearly the size of a football field, where the “prize” is a playing field near the exit.
The mock orange hedge, which defines the various paths in the maze, is only 5
feet tall, so most parents can peer over the edge to keep an eye on their keiki. An
educational visitor center is scheduled to be open by the time you read this;
there's also a Hawaii wellness garden with medicinal Hawaiian plants, an ethno-
botanical garden, an arboretum, and a phylogenetic garden with various plants
and trees arranged in roughly the same sequence they first appeared on earth.
You could spend a day here but it's more likely that after a couple of hours, your
kids will be ready to leave.
Off Hwy. 19 near mile marker 16 in Umauma. P.O. Box 411, Honomu, HI 96728.
&
808/963-5427.
www.wbgi.com. Admission $8 adults, $4 teens 13-19, free for children 12 and under. Mon-Sat 9am-5:30pm.
THE END OF THE ROAD: WAIPIO VALLEY
Long ago, this lush, tropical place was the valley of kings, who called it the val-
ley of “curving water” (which is what
Waipio
means). From the black-sand bay
at its mouth, Waipio sweeps back 6 miles between sheer, cathedral-like walls that
reach almost a mile high. Here, 40,000 Hawaiians lived amid taro, red bananas,
and wild guavas in an area etched by streams and waterfalls. Only about 50
Hawaiians live in the valley today, tending taro, fishing, and soaking up the
ambience of this old Hawaiian place.
Many of the ancient royals are buried in Waipio's hidden crevices; some
believe they rise up to become Marchers of the Night, whose chants reverberate
through the valley. It's here that the caskets of Hawaiian chiefs Liloa and Lono
Ika Makahiki, recently stolen from Bishop Museum, are believed to have been
returned by Hawaiians. The sacred valley is steeped in myth and legend, some
of which you may hear—usually after dark in the company of Hawaiian elders.
To get to Waipio Valley, take Highway 19 from Hilo to Honokaa, then High-
way 240 to
Waipio Valley Lookout
, a grassy park on the edge of Waipio
Valley's sheer cliffs with splendid views of the wild oasis below. This is a great
