Day 6 on the Big Island of Hawaii.
Our original plan was to have the family play a round at Sea Mountain Golf Course, America's southernmost golf course located in the south of the Big Island, and then go on a trip to search for hot springs on the Big Island.
And the next day (Sunday) we were planning to go to Waipio Valley and go horseback riding, but when I checked the horseback riding tour on the website, I found out that Sunday was closed, so we quickly changed our plans and decided to go to Waipio Valley on Saturday instead.
Waipio Valley is the largest valley on the Big Island, located in the north. Long ago, it was the center of Hawaiian politics and religion and was said to be where the royal family lived.
King Kamehameha the Great is also said to have been raised in this area, and Waipio Valley is also called the Valley of the Kings, and it is said to be protected by a powerful mana.
The caves within the valley contain the burials of successive kings, and despite a major tsunami hitting Waipio Valley in 1946 that washed away the village causing great damage, it is said that not a single person died because "they were protected by the mana of the buried royal family."
First, we headed to an overlook where you can see the entire valley.
It is located at the end of Highway 240, past the town of Honokaa.
When we parked the car and got out, we could see at a glance the ocean, cliffs, and the green land spreading across the valley.
Waipio means "winding water" in Hawaiian. When you go down to the valley floor, you'll see it's a valley rich in water.
To descend to the valley floor, you need to go down a narrow, steeply angled road, which is difficult in a rental car, so you need to participate in a tour by foot or in a 4WD shuttle van.
To participate in the tour down to the valley floor, we moved to a nearby meeting point.
