Kaimusailing

Daughter’s boyfriend, an archaeologist, wanted to visit the Mo’okini heiau, which is a sacred ceremonial site, probably used for human sacrifice. It dates from the 5th century and is one of the oldest sites in the Hawaiian Islands.
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Mo’okini is on the Kohala Coast, north of Kona and Kwaihae. Maui looks near enough to swim over. A few miles away to the north is the town of Hawi, the northernmost town on the Big Island.
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Our drive started in Hilo and went over the refurbished Saddle Road which bisects the volcanoes, Mauna Kea to the north and Mauna Loa to the south. It terminates west of Waimea and one can turn left to drive down to Kailua-Kona or right to go to Kwaihae or Waimea. Kwaihae was our destination for pizza at Cafe Pesto. In Hawaii, Hawaiian pizza is Kalua Pig and fresh pineapple. Kalua pig is similar to barbecue pulled pork, it has the same shredded texture and smoky flavor, but traditional Hawaiian herbs like ti, banana stalks, and taro leaves make an aromatic unique flavor.
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We continued north and noticed a convenient place to photograph Maui, rising above the horizon to the northwest. It turned out to be the entrance of Lapakahi Village, a semi-restored ancient Hawaiian fishing village. It is a beautiful location and excellent place to launch a canoe, with a gravel beach of small round black lava and white coral stones.
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Onward to the north we searched for Mo'okini. It is not easy to get to. In the past it had been kapu except for ali’i and kahuna, forbidden to visitors except for chiefs and priests. The road to the site is unimproved, full of potholes, and proved impassable for our rental car. In the album of pictures, at:
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https://www.flickr.com/photos/8728395@N03/albums/72157685017097074
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there is a picture of one of the mud puddles, which I subsequently fell into, adding mud to a sore knee.
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The Mo’okini heiau is a pile of stones and, according to traditional tales, built in one night by a large army forming a bucket brigade and passing the stones one by one from the Pololu Valley almost 20 miles away. Another tale is that it was built by the Menehune, which are something like Hawaiian leprechauns. The size of the heiau can be seen in the photos at the above web address. Large flat bowl shaped stones were used for human sacrifice. There is a nice view of Maui across the channel. The base of Haleakela is obscured by clouds, but the peak can be seen clearly.
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After our hike to the heiau we headed for Hawi and some liquid refreshment. As the day drew to a close we continued along the highway through the Kohala Mountains, an area of large rolling hills with livestock and for us, a rainbow. We came down the heights above Waimea just as the sun was getting lower, the best time of day for landscape photography. Then the sun set and we were able to get some good shots of the hills along the Saddle Road.
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We finished the day with a late dinner at my brother’s house in Paradise Park. Mahalo Bro’.