Stop 3 Akaka Falls
Akaka Falls State Park was located at the end of Akaka Falls Road (Highway 220), 3.6 miles southwest of Honomu. The main trail was a 0.4 mile loop that started and ended at the parking lot. Walking it, we found ourselves surrounded by biodiversity. It seemed that there was a new plant every few feet. Another quality of the plants we noticed was their largeness, an example of gigantism. Gigantism was an evolutionary process where plants which were originally small grow to be very large; for example, an herb that grew small and weedy in its usual habitat may, in Hawai`i, grow to be 16 feet tall. We saw ferns with huge fronds, tall, thick forests of bamboo, and trees reaching up to the sky. The rainforest was gorgeous and blending of fruit and crisp clean air lurked as we continued on the hike.
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There are two waterfalls visible along the hike. The first, Kahuna Falls, was far off in the distance. It cascaded down the side of a tree-covered mountain. The second, and more famous, was Akaka Falls. Standing at 442 feet tall, the waterfall plunged straight down into the pool at the bottom. The overlook platform was pretty close to the waterfall and the view was amazing. The waterfall was surrounded by green moss and had very few native plants growing along the sides.
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Sources
"Hiking Hawaii." Hawaii State Parks. DLNR. Web. 19 Dec. 2011. <http://www.hawaiistateparks.org/hiking/hawaii/index.cfm?hike_id=12>.
Lamoureux, Charles. “Native Plants.” Atlas of Hawai`i. Ed. Sonia P. Juvik and James O. Juvik. Third ed. Honolulu: University of Hawai`i, 1998. 48-59. Print.
"Hiking Hawaii." Hawaii State Parks. DLNR. Web. 19 Dec. 2011. <http://www.hawaiistateparks.org/hiking/hawaii/index.cfm?hike_id=12>.
Lamoureux, Charles. “Native Plants.” Atlas of Hawai`i. Ed. Sonia P. Juvik and James O. Juvik. Third ed. Honolulu: University of Hawai`i, 1998. 48-59. Print.
Banner photo by Elizabeth Amann