Museum Mondays! (On Tuesday...yet again)

Portrait of Princess Kaiulani (Courtesy of Hawaii State Archives)

 

Nuuanu

Lets start here at another favorite chill spot in what some may call Liliha. This area is actually more in the Kou area in which Honolulu is named after, Kou was located at around the Liliha and School intersection and full of taro patches inherited by royalty. This is Kunawai Spring. Now a circular pond with a flood gate under a cute little walkway bridge. A nice place to bring children to catch small fish and craw fish. The street and park its located at share its name.


                                          

Deeper into the valley, two bad ass Haole!

A memorial to Isaac Davis in Oahu Cemetery

John Young's resting place at Mauna Ala, the Royal Mausoleum. I will do another post about the cannons of Nuuanu in the future, four of which stand guard around John Young's grave.

Downstream behind the Royal Mausoleum you can find two petroglyph locations. The first is behind the Nuuanu Cemetery and the second just before the trail leading to Kapena Falls from Nuuanu Cemetery from the ewa side of the stream instead of from the pagoda lookout spot on Pali hwy. Both are covered with iron cages to restrict anymore graffiti from present day "artists" 

Just upstream is Kapena Falls!

Higher up Nuuanu Valley off of Nuuanu Pali Drive across Reservoir 3. You will find a jewel from the past. Kaniakapupu, Kamehameha III's summer palace. Used to keep the King's privacy from foreign influence and "favors," training the future monarchs the old Hawaiian ways, and finally the location for a gallant party celebrating the anniversary of Restoration Day of the Hawaiian Nation from a short British rule.

It was kind of hard to find the first time I visited here. Even after finding this opening to the trail head, I continued too far and it led me to someones backyard. Instead, after about a hundred feet from the road. You'll want to take a left onto the trail leading to Kaniakapupu. Continuing on this trail will take you to a pretty nice waterfall that was once diverted to power Hawaii's first hydroelectric power plant. Crossing the diverted stream st the first point the pipes cross the trail will take to that very backyard I brought up earlier but we'll get to that a little later. This place seems less of a secret now than the first time I was here. I always see tour groups, families, and classes here when I go.

The remains of the west wall as viewed from the inside. Kaniakapupu was constructed with coral from the ocean in the same manner that Kawaiahau Church was. You can see that notch in the wall on the left side of the door marking where the floor once stood.

A plaque set up at the door step explaining some of Kaniakapupu's past.

Here is the detached kitchen.

A few feet to the north east are the remains of a heiau which may have been why Kaniakapupu was decided to be built here, some suggest it was a healing heiau used for travelers that passed from the Windward side to the Leeward side and vice versa. It was also the seating area for the large party on Restoration Day as all of the 12,000 could not have fit in the house. Here is a fire pit from a group that frequents here for reasons I do not know and would not wish to suggest.

Here is a stone that was pointed out from a youtube video I saw with Dr. Baron Kaho`ola Ching. It may have been used for sharpening and he suggests it was from a precontact era. 

The backdoor of the structure looking south to the front door.

These two black and whites are courtesy of the Hawaii State Archives.

Here is another waterfall at the back of the trail through a bamboo forest fronting a very large filled in Taro patch or Lo'i. Some lucky landowner can call this their very own nowadays.

I climbed over the large stone on the right of the last pic and found this very deep section under the waterfall. I vowed to return with board shorts to jump in.

One Sunday I returned and jumped in. Too bad I jumped into a section hiding a very large boulder just under the surface leaving a very large bruise on my right thigh. No broken bones though. Lots more to be said about Nuuanu but I'll have to comeback later!

Waianae

 

Kamaile Heiau commanding a striking view of both Waianae and Makaha from Mauna Kuwale.

After learning about this area and visiting it, I have a very deep fondness for it. I have never been to it's peak at Pu'u Kawiwi but have been to the no name peak at the back of the valley and traversed the "Tiki" trail culminating to the best and hardest hiking experiance I have even been on. Island Trails with Kaleo Lancaster

 

A view from the ridge atop the Heiau with Mauna Lahilahi in the distance.

At the level of the Heiau platform.

Here you can see more tiers showing from the lower platform. The first closest to frame and then two more at higher levels.

The first wall you come to as you approach the Heiau from the ocean side after climbing about 400ft. up the foot of the ridge. Remarkably straight for a wall built hundreds of years ago on a ridge. Gotta love the west side for their well preserved heiau!

After exploring the Heiau I decided to go spelunking at this cave on the same ridge below the Heiau.

Blocked by a keawe tree and situated a few feet above a natural spring now used as a water pump to supply the area in a modern way as it did in the ancient times, this area was ideal for living off of the land and being close to the gods of the time.

I found this fire pit inside and some glass bottles all around the entrance. McAllister's notes suggested he found skeletal bone material but no evidence it was used for burials.

I don't think this lovely petroglyph is that ancient but it's pretty cool.

 



Just outside the cave and on an outcropping jutting out off of the ridge, I found this and imagined someone using it for purposes related to cave dwelling.



Inside looking out.

 

The cave mouth from the mauka side looking makai.

 

 



Here I am now at Mauna Lahilahi. There are petroglyphs here and more to be found. This one looks like a man standing under some kind of constellation in the sky??? It wasn't even one that I knew about but the only one I found that day.

A view sitting on the large stone with the earlier petroglyph and looking back at Kamaile Heiau on the ridge. As if they were both connected and the writing on the stones were meant to be directed toward the heiau. As at Pu'u Kapolei and at Kukaniloko, I have heard stories about them being used as solar markers for the solstices and I wonder if the same goes with Mauna Lahilahi.

 

 

An earlier day visiting Mauna Lahilahi trying to find petroglyphs, I came across a story from a nearby local resident. I was lost on the opposite side of the mountain that the petroglyphs were. I did find a cave and the view point used by ancient and modern fishermen to locate schools of fish out at sea. I also took a small round stone from the shore that I was almost positive had no connection to a heiau or any sacred place left as it stood in fear of some tabu. I planned to attempt cooking a chicken in the traditional way of stuffing the stone into it to help it cook better from the inside. Anyhow, when I got back to the car parked on the street. A neighbor across the street was staring at me. I asked him if he knew of the petroglyphs and where they could be found. He couldn't help me but he knew there was once a heiau there in the field below the mountain. He began to tell me a story about another man he met in a similar situation....

A man was spotted unloading a wheelbarrow from his vehicle. That same neighbor asked him what he was doing and the man replied that he found a rock with a face on it and that he planned to take it home for his garden. The neighbor warned him and suggested that it was a bad idea. The man dismissed his advise and even asked if he would help him carry it back to his vehicle. The neighbor refused, the man did so himself and left with the stone. A few weeks later the neighbor spotted the man's vehicle back there again with the man nearby looking a little troubled. The neighbor asked what he was doing and the man replied, "it's gone." It disappeared from the man's home. They found it aside the road later and the neighbor told the man, "hey you better go put it back exactly where you found it!"

 

I believe this is that stone. I sits on the oceanside of Mauna Lahilahi and seems to be well taken care of with some offerings left all about its base.

In conclusion we both figured maybe it would be better for me to leave the stone I had there and he left me with a recipe for beer can chicken...

 

Museum Mondays (On Tuesday...again)

The Kihapu Conch of Waipio (Hawaii Island). It has origins from the Big Island and has been among the royal families since long ago. In Kalakaua'a book "The legends and myths of Hawaii: The fables and folk-lore of a strange people", he shares a story about it being in the ownership of the Ali'i Liloa. Until it is stolen and taken across the islands summoning gods and such. Coming to Waolani in Oahu and finally returning to Hawaii island and finally returned with the aid of a legendary dog. The Awa thief named Puapua Lenalena. Some other stories say it could call menehune for work at the users discretion. Others, that it basically was used to announce the royal's presence.



 

 

Even if no legends had remained to give this shell special meaning, it would still be a wonderful prime example of an instrument used by the hand of many generations of people. Shaped by years of use whether it may have been practical or magical.

Kawainui Marsh

At the time being this is my absolute favorite place on the island to chill at. Na Pohaku O Hauwahine boasts a commanding view of Kawainui Marsh and Kailua town. It's history is steeped in the legends of Hi'iaka's travels across the islands and it's formation is full of wonder. I would imagine this area being the very center of the Koolau caldera. A solid mass of stone that survived the explosion of the Nuuanu Landslide and remained where it resides now. It's the largest rock formation I've ever seen on this island and I can just sit here for hours enjoying the view.

Located aside Kapa'a Quarry Road. You can just park and walk a few feet on a marked trail to the pohaku summit. Don't mind the landscapers working about or resting near their cars, in fact go and say hello, then ask them questions about the area. One "uncle" there even told me about another pohaku aside of H3 freeway that I have yet to visit. I wouldn't come here at night though after hearing about an execution style shooting here a few weeks ago. Although I'm sure it's just as beautiful under the moonlight.

Na Pohaku O Hauwahine in the center. A lot of hard work has been put into reviving this area with native plants.

Below the hill some of these rocks seem to be able to hold water when it rains.

Lower at around the marsh level thees large stones continue to amaze.

Kawainui marsh at one of it's nicer areas. Sometimes the chemicals from the landfill up hill catch fire and burn acres of land here.

You'll need to use some light ninja footing to get to this vantage point without sinking into the soft surface of the marsh soil.

Hello! The scale of the pohaku. The side I'm standing on has a face of a Mo'i.

The amazing view standing on the pohaku.

Moanalua Kamanaiki Stream

Kamanaiki seams like the forgotten valley of Moanalua to me. I've never even heard about it until I tried to find the old swimming hole of Wai'apuka. Straight up Wikipedia'd this one and just headed out after slapping the google man at the end of a road to find the trailhead. It must have been around September of last year and there wasn't much rain in that season although the ponds were supposed to be fed by an artisan spring anyway. The stream was almost totally dry rock beds with a couple of ponds only a few inches deep of stagnant brown water that I could hardly imagine were any remnant of the three actual Wai'apuka ponds.

An awesome Heiau was only a few minutes from the trailhead and then deeper into the valley I would find small rock walls that I've found may have been house sites for chiefs at different times in the past.
A cave where Kahahana of Oahu might have hidden with his wife for a time near the end of his life and a cave that Kamehameha set up camp with his warriors may have been in this area.

I also found some very random things around the valley. A classic truck was just about covered by the underbrush aside a hill deep in the valley like it came down from Tripler Hospital way back when somehow and just fell to pieces with time. On the way out I found a mini lab for who knows what, but it was marked with Tripler tags. Some old bottle that read Duraglas was just standing upright like it was ready to finally be recycled if not searched on eBay for any value. Some animal skulls were placed onto trees. Not really that different from some other trails on island in that sense, now that I think about it.