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Waterfalls and Lehua at Kaau Crater
Posted: July 9, 2009
I hiked with some friend to the very back of Palolo Valley to see the charming waterfalls along Waiomao Stream and the lehua flowers that bloom along the rim of Ka’au Crater.
The hike to Ka’au Crater is one of my favorite hikes because of the great variety of things to see along the way. The trailhead is at the end of Waiomao Street where a big old mango tree marks the spot where the trail drops down to the stream.
Mike Algiers and Roy Kikuta cross Waiomao Stream under large mango trees with ginger growing along the stream.
The sweet fragrance of yellow ginger filled the air as we started the hike. While the scent of ginger is pleasant and evokes fond memories from my childhood, ginger is highly invasive and has over taken a number of native forests.
Large ficus trees shaded much of the way as we hiked up the trail. A pipe water, which taps the ground water at a bulkhead next to the first waterfall, follows much of the initial part of the trail.
The first waterfall is about 40 feet tall and is always a delight to see. I always drop down from the trail to visit the pool at the base falls where native and introduced ferns thrive. The source of the water is derived from 2 sources — rainfall over the Koolau Mountains that collects in Kaau crater and ground water from the aquifer.
After admiring the waterfall from below, I climbed up the wet slippery rocks next to the bulkhead and pipe that taps the aquifer to see the waterfall from above. Ficus trees, ginger, and ferns grow along the edge of the 40-foot pluge.
Loulu palms, mamaki and other native plants grow along the stream above the first waterfall. Not long further upstream is the second waterfall — which is about 35 feet tall.
While climbing along-side the 2nd waterfall, I saw a number of charming hapuu tree ferns growing over the pool at the base of the falls.
Not far upstream from the second waterfall is where two tributaries converge into Waiomao Stream. The tributary further up the valley is fed by ground water — you can tell because the water is clear and cold. The tributary that flows down a series of cascading waterfalls is fed by water that collects in Ka’au Crater.
There must be at least a dozen cascading sections to climb before reaching Kaau Crater. Since the water sits in the bowl shaped crater before cascading down a crack on the side of the crater, the water is warmer and has taken on the color of tea — from decaying vegetation in the water.
While the hike up the cascading waterfall is exhilarating, it can be dangerous — a slippery algal film covers the rocks. A number of ropes assist climbers along the steepest and slickest parts of the climb, but the going is still slippery. Jay Feldman makes his way up the side of the cascading waterfalls.
When I climbed to the top of the waterfall and into the crater, I turned left to make my way along the lip of the crater. Ka’au Crater is a bowl shaped crater that is nestled right up against the summit of the Koolau Mountains. Water collects at the bottom of the bowl shaped crater creating a marshy environment dominated by alien grasses before cascading down the crack on the east side of the crater.
According to Hawaiian lore, Ka’au Crater was created when Maui, the Hawaiian superhero demigod, attempted to pull the Hawaiian Islands closer together. Maui used his magical hook “Mana’ia-ka-lani” to hook the foundations of Kauai and pull it closer to Oahu when a part of Kauai suddenly broke-off. The giant boulder “Pohahu O Kauai” catapulted to Kaena Point and the magic hook swung backwards with such force that it struck the Ko’olau Mountains and created Ka’au Crater.
Ohia lehua trees (Metrosideros polymorpha) thrive along the rim of the crater. I was pleased to see many ohia trees covered with red lehua flowers.
Uluhe ferns dominate much of the landscape. As I made my way along the rim of the crater I peered over the edge into Waiomao Valley to see a carpet of green uluhe ferns punctuated by ohia trees covered with vibrant red flowers.
While hiking down the ridge I hiked through charming native forests dominated by koa trees with uluhe ferns in the understory and ohia trees with ieie vines that twisted themselves up the tree.
One of my favorite sections of the trail is where ohia and other trees are just covered with green moss.
The green moss grew in clumps so thick and soft to the touch that it was tempting to sit on.
After making my way down through switchbacks in the strawberry guava covered slopes I dropped back down to the stream a the bottom of Waiomao Valley. As I made my way out the trail, I reflected on the great time I had climbing up the waterfalls along Waiomao Stream and seeing the vibrant lehua flowers on the rim of Ka’au Crater. The climb into Ka’au Crater is always a memorable adventure.
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SOURCES
Native Hawaiian Plants, University of Hawaii, Department of Botany
Sites of Oahu, by Elspeth Sterling and Catherine Summers, Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1978, p. 277
We just did this hike on 07/30/10…WOW!! What an amazing hike but a real A**-kicker!