Hiking to Mo'okini Heiau
Mo’okini Heiau, very close to Hawi, at the northernmost point of The Big Island, is one of the oldest and most sacred heiaus in the the Hawaiian Islands.
We were intrigued by the short blurb about the heiau in the Lonely Planet guide, but there were no directions on how to get there and we hadn’t seen any signs while driving around during our stay near Hawi. However, after locating a Big Island hiking book at our vacation rental, we figured it out.
There is technically a road all the way there, and it starts easily enough on the paved single lane road to the Upolu Airport.
Turning left at the airport onto a bumpy gravel road, that didn’t seem too rough at first, we drove a little ways until we finally saw the first sign that confirmed that we were actually heading in the right direction. I suspect the sign is really only there to keep people away from the private drive at the only visible house in the area.
The road soon became much worse, especially with all the recent rain, so we turned around and left our car in a small pull-off.
The road follows the coast, so there are lots of opportunities for water views, however there is no shade and it could be very hot, if there’s not an ocean breeze. It also could be very wet, if it’s a rainy day. After a couple days of rain, we had a pleasant and breezy, not too hot day for our walk.
I read that whales are sometimes visible in that area, but we didn’t see any that day.
After walking along the road for awhile, we came to a path leading up a small hill to the heiau.
The site is a National Historical Landmark and is in the Kohala Historical Sites State Monument.
Oral tradition says that the current structure was built in the 13th or 14th century (NPS brochure).
It is was a luakini heaiu, used for human and animal sacrificial rituals and the site was closed until 1978.
The heiau is built from basalt rock with no mortar. According to the National Park Service, the walls were 10 feet thick and originally approximately 7-14 feet tall.
If you continue along the road a little further, you’ll come to site of Kamehameha’s birthplace. We didn’t go that far that day.
