From the top of Waipio Valley Road, visitors can cast their eyes on the breathtaking scenery of the Hamakua Coast. Beneath them, a black sand beach is rarely visited by tourists, since it’s difficult to reach. (Tor Johnson/Hawaii Tourism Authority)
A road trip along the Big Island’s Hamakua Coast rewards visitors with seldom-seen natural beauty.
Seen from the Grand Naniloa Hotel, a rainbow seems to kiss the buildings of downtown Hilo, Hawaii. (Jay Jones/Chicago Tribune )
Anthuriums of various colors thrive at the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden north of Hilo. ( Jay Jones/Chicago Tribune )
Passers-by are encouraged to help themselves to bananas (and maybe a wayward sandal too) outside the People’s Theatre in Honokaa. ( Jay Jones/Chicago Tribune )
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While standing beside an old, gnarled koa tree, guide Bobby Bethea explains that Hawaiian Legacy Hardwoods is planting hundreds of thousands of seedlings on the slope of the dormant Mauna Kea volcano. ( Jay Jones/Chicago Tribune )
In the cramped quarters at Donna’s Cookies, local women pack containers with freshly baked treats. The space is so small that only two or three customers can squeeze inside at one time. ( Jay Jones/Chicago Tribune )
Tour guide Douglas Nakata, right, shares information about the flora of the Waipio Valley during a stop along the road that drops 900 feet at a very steep grade. (Jay Jones/Chicago Tribune )
In the distance, well beyond the end of Waipio Valley Road, Hiilawe Falls is the state of Hawaii’s tallest waterfall. ( Jay Jones/Chicago Tribune )
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Honokaa Marketplace is one of several boutiques that have, in recent years, sprung up in the town of Honokaa, formerly a center for sugar-cane growing and processing. ( Jay Jones/Chicago Tribune )
Established in 1930, the Honokaa People’s Theatre once entertained the immigrants who worked in the area sugar-cane fields. It reopened relatively recently after years of neglect. (Jay Jones/Chicago Tribune )
A sign urging drivers to slow down is nailed to a tree in Waipio Valley. Between the branches, Hawaii’s tallest waterfall, Hiilawe Falls, can be seen in the distance. ( Jay Jones/Chicago Tribune )
In most spots only wide enough for one vehicle at a time, the twisting, steep Waipio Valley Road is typically used only by locals who know to patiently wait for oncoming traffic. (Jay Jones/Chicago Tribune )
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A couple return from the half-mile hike to Akaka Falls, in a state park of the same name along Hawaii Island’s Hamakua Coast. ( Tor Johnson/Hawaii Tourism Authority )
