Northwest Jewelry

During the past two days, we’ve explored the east shore (where we’re staying), the south shore, and the west shore (at least as far as we could go–the road ends about 1/3 of the way up at the Na Pali Coast). 

The day before yesterday, we visited two stunning waterfalls and a Hindu monastery. 

‘Opaeka’a Falls is about 5 minutes off the east shore area on Hwy 580:

It’s hard to get a picture of the pool below the falls because of all the foliage.  Look at the house right at the top of the falls–lucky people who live there!

A little further up the same road–Kuamo’o Road–off an unmarked road, on the outside edge of a residential neighborhood, is a Hindu monastery.  The setting is absolutely gorgeous.  The small temple is framed by a pond and seems to be set right in the middle of the jungle.  In fact, the property is 400 acres, and includes some of the most beautiful scenery around.

Here’s the entrance to the property:

If you’re wearing shorts, they provide a basket at the entryway with sarongs that they ask you to wrap around your shorts.  You enter between the two elephants. 

Here’s the temple (and there’s Rick in his sarong):

If you want to enter the temple, you remove your shoes before walking on the orange colored concrete.  You enter the temple only to meditate or pray and no photos are allowed.  They are building a larger temple from hand carved stones and it is anticipated to be done in 2010. 

Beyond the temple is the pond:

Just gorgeous.

And beyond the pond, if you follow the path, is the canyon–this picture just doesn’t do it justice–it is magnificent:

The only bad thing about that place are the mosquitoes!  We never saw a mosquito on the island except for there–but considering it’s in the middle of the jungle, I guess that’s not too surprising. 

The other falls we saw were Wailea Falls:

Locals climb down a nearby path and swim in the pool below.  The signs placed up at the top, however, warn you not to go down there as “people have been killed”.  We saw some people swimming down there the day we were there and it didn’t look too dangerous, but who knows.

Today we’re taking a catameran along the Na Pali coastline, which has no road and is accessable mainly by boat or helicoptor.