Hawaii advice needed - any locals?

Parent Cafe
21

<p>The waterfall valley area is Waipio Valley, in north Kohala on the windward side; it is also the site “dry land” in the film Waterworld.
<a href=“http://www.hawaiiweb.com/hawaii/html/sites/waipio_valley.html[/url]”>http://www.hawaiiweb.com/hawaii/html/sites/waipio_valley.html&lt;/a&gt; </p>

<p>Pololu Valley is a hike down Pololu lookout on the leeward North Kohala. It is possible to backpack from Waipio to Pololu across a very rugged and muddy trail.
<a href=“http://www.hawaiiweb.com/hawaii/html/sites/pololu_valley_lookout.html[/url]”>http://www.hawaiiweb.com/hawaii/html/sites/pololu_valley_lookout.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Both sites are beautiful and well worth the trip. A drive to lunch in Hawi puts you most of the way to Pololu.</p>

22

<p>Great suggestions - I will be following up on all of them!
I absolutely love to visit waterfalls , so I will be looking into these. Last time we were in Hawaii, we drove to Akaka Falls , so I will want to see some others this time.
dmd - My husband and I are both scuba certified, but we won’t be diving this trip. Neither of my kids are divers and I really want to be with them as much as possible. Actually, my husband said he doesn’t think it will fit into his schedule either, so I guess I will stick to snorkeling. ( which is fine, because it is soooo relaxing). Great suggestion for others though! Maybe my girls will get certified one of these days and we can do a family trip ( sounds like a good idea for a Christmas present? )
I am really getting excited about my trip as it approaches. I will have to plan an itinerary so I can hit all of these great places !</p>

23

<p>Just remember that Waimea is a half hour drive up the volcano, and the temp. there averages 30 degrees less that near the ocean-it can be drizzly and windy too - you’ll need to take a light jacket or a wrap.</p>

24

<p>I second the above suggestion to have a meal at Merriman’s in Waimea. It was the best meal we had on the Big Island; so good, in fact, that I went alone for lunch the next day when the rest of our family went on a helicopter tour.</p>

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<p>Here is the Merriman’s link.
<a href=“http://www.merrimanshawaii.com/[/url]”>http://www.merrimanshawaii.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>As previously noted, Merriman’s also has a casual cafe in the King’s Shops in Waikoloa. (And a former Merriman’s chef cooks in the evening at Something’s Cooking in Paradise - Kawaihae).</p>

26

<p>I just want to report back to all of you that were so kind to give their advice. We had a wonderful trip although we couldn’t fit in everything we wanted to do.
I’d like to add something that we found spectacular. We went to the green sand beach down by South Point. It was a little bit of a hike ( definitely wear sunscreen and take water) but so worth it. The view from the top was unbelievable and even better down on the shore. We loved it.</p>

<p>Also - I recommend that you go to the local grocery store and get some poke. We tried several different varieties and loved them all. Made a great snack or appetizer! We also made friends with a fruit vendor at the farmers market ( which was open daily). He gave us lots of samples and some treats that he only had for himself ( not enough to sell). We definitely enjoyed eating the local fruit delicacies. Too bad we couldn’t bring some home!
Snorkeling was, of course, great. We got to see a ton of sea turtles and even saw a monk seal. My daughter saw a large group of dolphins from our condo (right on the water- awesome sunset views!)
Overall- a great trip.</p>