Hawaii’s Grand Canyon of the Pacific
Shadows dance on canyons, as jagged mountains slope to the ocean in Kalalau Valley
JIM BYERS HANAPEPE, KAUAI— It was decision time. Ed Justus and his wife, Cynthia, had opened a bookstore in the economically depressed town of Hanapepe, on the dry and less touristy side of this beautiful Hawaiian island.
The couple had been collecting books at garage sales and on eBay and had been using a bookstore rentfree to sell what they could. The bookstore owners, understandably, wanted money for the next month. But the Justuses had only enough money to pay the rent on the home they were living in, not the home and the bookstore.
“We didn’t know what to do, so we took a walk down the road to the Swinging Bridge,” a pontoon-style bridge over a lazy river just steps from what passes for downtown Hanapepe. “I put my arms around Cynthia and we looked out over the river. Just then — and I swear this is true — a double rainbow appeared.”
The couple took it as a sign to pursue their bookstore dreams. Without money to pay the rent on their home and the store, they lived in their van for a month. Sure, it’s warm in Hawaii all year but it wasn’t exactly the Four Seasons.
That was 10 years ago. The Talk Story Bookstore has been going strong ever since. (“Talk story” is Hawaiian slang for telling tales and generally conversing with friends.) It’s an old-style book shop with a wide selection, including kids’ books, the latest novels and Hawaiian studies.
Folks in town will tell you Hanapepe was once a bustling port with large numbers of foreign workers, with three live theatres and two (roller) skating rinks.
But the Hawaiian government in 1960 decided Kauai needed a deeper water spot for ships and moved the main port to Nawiliwili, near the capital of Lihue. Hanapepe took a nose dive and wonderful, historic buildings were left to rot.
On Sept. 11, 1992, Hurricane Iniki thundered down on the island and nearly obliterated the town. Many owners gave up. Rents plummeted and artists moved in, and shops opened.
Today, you’ll find a still sleepy and pretty much one or two block town that looks like the combination of a movie set from South Pacific and Oklahoma, with wood front buildings and lush forested hills and the aforementioned Hanapepe River.
You’ll find excellent galleries in town, including the Banana Patch and The Robert Bader Gallery, where they cut slices of wood and let special spores attack, which forms intricate patterns which are, in turn, sliced into pretty plates and dishes.
The biggest draw for tourists in these parts is Waimea Canyon, sometimes called the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. The views of the cavernous, wind and rain-pounded, deep green valley and the iron rich, rust-red soil present a stunning sight. der made from plum skins. “We don’t have hours,” says Stanley Sokoda, the man frying the chips. “We open when we’re ready.” When do they close? “You see that small door over there? If it’s closed, we’re out of chips.” Jim Byers’ trip was subsidized by Hawaii Tourism. He appears regularly in the pages of Star Travel and writes a travel blog every weekday at thestar.com/ travel. Email him at jim@jimbyerstravel.com. You also can find him on Twitter @jimbyerstravel and on Instagram @jimbyerstravel1.
Many folks take helicopter tours, but you can see breathtaking views by pulling over for free at any of the rest stops and vista lay-bys. If there’s a car pulled over somewhere, park your vehicle and wander by, as the chances are someone has found a particularly great viewpoint that’s not marked on a map.
The colours change throughout the day and the shadows dance on the red and green rock and deep, craggy canyons. Be sure to head to the Kalalau Valley lookout for a stupendous view of green, jagged mountains sloping downward to the blue Pacific. It can get rainy up here, so check the local weather forecasts.
Things are pretty casual down the road at Kukui O Lono golf course, a nine-hole affair built on a former estate high on a hill, where a round costs just $9 and you can play as long as you like. Conditions aren’t immaculate, but there are beautiful gardens and the remains of an old Hawaiian temple or heiau. On top of that, the views out over west Kauai and down to the south are stunning; the deep blue ocean stretches on forever and fields of sugar cane wave in the breeze.
A band of older guys called The Goats are belting out songs inside the informal clubhouse. “It stands for Greatest Of All Time. Sometimes,” says a band member, who adds that one of the group used to play with Roy Orbison, while another wrote the Johnny Cash hit “Ring of Fire.” “We’re the GOATS. We do old songs by old guys.” Back in Hanapepe, folks say you’ll find the best, homemade chips at Taro Ko. They’re made from the starchy taro root. Taro Ko also serves sweet potato chips and regular potato chips topped with lihi mui, a pow-