Waipio Valley

[missydog1]

With all the tours, they transport you down and then you do the activity and then they drive you back up.

[mostkeytoes]

I was wondering if it's possible to ride the atv down if u have your own.
I think only the horseback tour goes down in the valley, and all the atv tours are above the valley

[punafish]

Did the horseback riding tour, and yes, they drive you down to the bottom. It was great--except when the guide's horse got spooked and took off while the astonished guide did a backflip into the water. Happy to say that no guides were harmed in production of this tour. Other than that it was a fun day, for me anyway.

Haven't done the ATV tour but would like to. Here's a link to the site, RIDE THE RIM: http://www.ridetherim.com/

(A typo.[:I] )

[dakine]

quote:

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Originally posted by mostkeytoes

I was wondering if it's possible to ride the atv down if u have your own.
I think only the horseback tour goes down in the valley, and all the atv tours are above the valley

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All small motorized vehicles, atv's motorcycles etc., at greatly discouraged in Waipio. The noise they make is disrupting to everyone, thing in the valley. If you would like to be sensitive to the people that live and work down there you'd just forget about it. If you do go down there with those types of vehicles expect to be hated by everyone you see!

[coppercoin40]

dakine, thanx for answering mostkeytoes Q regarding riding your own ATV to/in Waipio. It is good to know what is acceptable to the culture of life in the valley and how to be sensitive to it if you want to be accepted there! When we make it back there I sure would love to just hang at that beach for an entire day soaking up the sun and sand - how to get down there independently, safely, quietly yet motorized is my quandary... tours are not my cup of tea, I would rather be on my own time. Walking down I might make it but def not back up!

[pslamont]

Geez... I have 30 acres of jungle and mud... maybe I should rent out ATV play or something? Oh, some neighbor would proably go nuts but if it were just Punawebbers we might have some fun!

I want to be the kind of woman that, when my feet
hit the floor each morning, the devil says

"Oh Crap, She's up!"

[dmbwest]

REALLY stir the pot Pam.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAOXUFaXtk0

aloha,
pog

[Erlinda]

We took a tour of the valley in April with Waipio Valley Shuttle. Our tour guide was named Douglas and we drove down in a big four-wheel-drive van with lots of windows. He was very knowledgeable about the history of the valley and Hawaiian culture. We stopped frequently for photos ops or for demos by Douglas on such things as uses of kukui nuts or taro. He was very culturally sensitive.

The van was able to drive through streams and negotiate rough dirt roads that no family-type SUV I know of would have been able to do.

We didn’t go toward the beach; we went deeper into the valley. The views of the many waterfalls were spectacular! At one taro field where we stopped, we were joined by some of the herd of wild horses that live in the valley. Beautiful!

Hiking down was not a possibility for my husband and I because of health issues. But this was a nice alternative.

[dakine]

Hitchhiking does work up and down the pali. For those who do want to walk into Waipio a few things to note. One is going down, even though it doesn't feel like it at the time, is way harder on your body than up. Take it slow. Every step down is (for most of us) the type of activity we're not used to.. ie, our muscles for that sort of thing aren't as developed as they would be if done repeatedly. Going up is in the moment harder, but in general using muscles we keep toned with our normal lifestyles.. if you are an active person.

But as I said hitchhiking does work. Though do not expect someone that might readily give you a ride from either end to be willing to stop and pick you up somewhere in the middle. Some will, but it's not all that much fun to let out a clutch into first gear on that incline when you're going up. Others.. if their's is a pickup will slow down enough for you to jump in.

And yes, even though I was gruffer than coppercoin40 gave me credit for (there was a guy in the 70's that would drive us all nuts racing his motorcycle around in the valley) it's the ambiance of the valley that should be respected. It's a different way of life and a precious one. From within the valley there's 'down in the valley' and 'up top' as references. With 'up top' being as derogatory as 'haole' can be in some uses. So imagine the feelings that fester over the daily intrusion of tourists, and as one bring as much respect and humility as you can.

That road is rough. But thank all the Gods it is!

[missydog1]

I much appreciate hearing your first hand experience as a resident, dakine. []

Even without knowing much about the culture of the Valley, one thing all should find obvious is that the folks down there live off the grid, and deal with difficult ingress and egress, and there are both benefits and hardships of that lifestyle -- so how disrespectful of people to come down and disrupt and treat the lifestyle and 'aina as if it exists to be toured.

It is not a playground back there.
The beach is public, like all beaches in Hawai'i.
The Z trail past the beach is public.
The Valley is private property, other than the stretch of County Road. There are no parks or public trails or other nature areas for tourism back there, but people act as if it is some sort of wilderness. It's a farming community!