We both slept well in our heavily pillowed bed but were rudely awoken at 08:15 by continuous knocking on the door and someone whispering 'hello, sleeping?' No matter how many times Ian responded with 'hello', loudly, she continued to knock and ask. Soon enough we huddled under the duvet and awaited the inevitable door opening which came instantly, followed by an immediate 'sorry' and a reverse exit. Why don't people check the register before waking and disturbing the extortionate fee paying guests?
After a warm shower we made use of the included breakfast but was disappointed to find a self service affair with small polystyrene plates and cups. It was a poor effort on Kamuela Inn's part.
After checking out we drove up highway 250, the Kohala mountain road, but the high altitude and low cloud obscured the view over the Kohala mountains and beyond to Mauna Kea. It is terrific to see cacti plants in the wild. At the end of the highway we reached the Pololu valley which we gazed down into like we did at Waipio valley yesterday, carefully taking photographs in between the rain storms. We were still on the windward side of the island at this point. We stopped for lunch in Kapaau opposite a recovered statue of Kamehameha the Great which sunk with its delivering ship on the way to Honolulu, off the Falkland Islands.
Still being harangued by the rain and wind we headed to the west coast for some shelter and paused at Kapaa Beach Park, which was a very pretty haven with a rocky shore. It is noted for its sighting of Maui on a clear day but a clear day this was not. The ocean was playing an unnerving trick on us at the bay. There was a visible surge but no waves breaking on shore so the visual effect was like the prequel to a tsunami whereby the water drained off away from the bay, repeatedly.
A little further south we found the Lapakahi Historical Site which is the remains of a deserted six hundred year old fishing village sat right by the coastline. There was an informative trail leading around the site which I thoroughly enjoyed. The water in the bay was beautifully clear and inviting and the whole setting of the old village was stunning.
From the village we drove to Kawaihae and then on to Spencer Beach Park. We decided that there were plenty of people camping here and it was dry and warm enough for us and partly sheltered from the wind. However, we couldn't acquire a camping permit at the site nor over the telephone so headed back into nearby Waimea and found that our only option for accommodation, after trying two possible alternatives, was the Kamuela Inn, where we stayed last night. We even took our room from last night too. It was the cheaper and comfortable option.
We drove back to Spencer Beach Park to view the Puukohola Heiau, the last major temple built in Hawaii in 1791. Although we were very limited as to where we could go we wasted an hour wandering around and attracted some curious birds and a mongoose. We found ourselves at the rocky shoreline looking for whales and sharks as the sun set.
A cheaper dinner option, to minimise our overspend led us straight to McDonalds in Waimea after passing by a police roadblock out of Spencer Beach Park. The police were looking for drink drivers this evening.
Back at the hotel I caught up with my journal and was interrupted by a small cockroach.
I lay down to rest before 23:00!
Copyright 2003 Helen Fuller. All rights reserved.