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My locals only experience in Waipio Valley

To truly see a place is to see it through the eyes of a local

By: Ashley ashleylakester + Save to a List

As my friend and I traveled from one tourist destination to the next, I was slowly losing my inner spark. I was becoming weary by all the low impact sight seeing. Although the sites were beautiful and appreciated, I couldn't help but feel dishearten by the lack of adventure.

With only a couple days before our departure from the big island, we made our way to yet another touristy spot. You know, one of those places where people say, "oh if you're going here you just have to see this." Or an article you see on the internet; "top ten things to see on the big island." We were sort of dragging our feet as we made our way down the hill, hoping to find something more exciting along the way. That is when we ran into our saving grace. A small group of locals headed for something a little off the beaten path. We asked if we could join and lucky for us they were more than happy to let us tag along!

Our adventure started almost as soon as we passed the path to follow the large groups of people with cameras around their necks, coolers and Hawaiian shirts..and instead follow the small group of people with wild eyes, bare feet and sun kissed skin. 

One of the guys from the group saw me constantly pulling out my camera. We got to a large curve in our path and he said to me, you're really gonna want your camera in a minute. He was right.

We came around the corner and there was a huge waterfall in the distance. I was amazed. This is what I had been looking for and hoping for as soon as my plane landed on the island. And best of all, we were the only ones around. Things only got better from here...


Local: "I know the guy that lives here, he's out of town right now, but you guys are welcome to take a dip if you want"

Me: "Wait, someone LIVES here?!?!"

If you didn't know anything about Waipio Valley, and you were just looking from the drive up viewpoint at the top of the hill, you'd never know that there are actually several houses down in the valley. 

NOTE: It is VERY important that you respect the lands and the owners of these homes. Do not take it upon yourself to walk up on private property, even for a second. Stay on the path. Respect the locals.

Our path took us down trails that suddenly became rivers, knee deep mud fields, friendly locals living their day to day life, discovering fruits i never knew existed and spiders i never wanted to meet. 



After a while we reached the home of one of our new friends. The most magical moment was walking around a corner and seeing an odd shaped house placed in the middle of a green meadow, surrounded my mountains and palm trees and bright flowers and rolling fog. It was a 360 moment. A couple of them actually. I couldn't believe that people get to live here. It was truly something out of a dream. 




After hanging out in this dreamworld for some time, the locals sent us on our way down the public path out of the valley. They said as long as you follow the river and this path, there is no way you can get lost. Unfortunately they did not know us too well. Not five minutes after we parted ways, we lost our way. Lucky for us we ran into a kind local that was willing to give us a ride back to our car. In our heads we thought, great, just a drive up the road and we're back. Nope. Little did we know we were about to embark up "one of the most dangerous roads." We drove up and down huge dips, crossing rivers, driving up rivers and up steep hills we didn't think we'd quite make up. Our driver knew what he was doing so it was all fun for us. A perfect way to end our day in Waipio Valley.

Just another day for a local, but for us it was one of the best days of our lives.

We want to acknowledge and thank the past, present, and future generations of all Native Nations and Indigenous Peoples whose ancestral lands we travel, explore, and play on. Always practice Leave No Trace ethics on your adventures and follow local regulations. Please explore responsibly!

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