tinzplace

Aloha! My hubby and I are visiting the Big Island at the end of July this summer. We plan to drive out to the Waipio lookout on our first full day there. I have a few questions for anybody who knows more about Waipio...

1. My husband is disabled and cannot walk (he uses a manual wheelchair to get around). I imagine taking him on a hike downhill would be absolutely terrifying (I can just imagine his chair getting away from me at some point, so this is not really an option). Question: are there any tours that are accessible to individuals in wheelchairs that go down to the Valley? He is willing to hang out at the lookout point while I hike, but of course, I'd love to see him join me in some way.

2. Building on Question 1, is the shuttle service (from the lookout point) in a van or some other type of vehicle? I'm just wondering because I physically can transfer my hubby into some vehicles, but wouldn't want to do it if it were any higher than a minivan.

3. If I were to hike down to Waipio and check out the black sand beach down in the valley and then return, about how much time would the hike last? Also, I've heard it's really hard coming back up. What sort of things should I bring with me? Any advice? Someone on another message board suggested "zig-zagging."

Mahalo!

Christina

snod08

I would definitely not advise you to take him all the way in the wheelchair!!
BAD IDEA!

I dont know about tours...sorry.

The amount of time involved to go down and up depends on your fitness level and how long you want to spend down at the beach.

Keep lots of drinking water (at least a couple of liters), / energy drinks / some good snack.

Going down was a piece of cake.....some parts are super steep.
Coming up was really really hard!! I was alone...so it was worse!

snod08

Wanted to add - Welcome to FT!

Enjoy Waipio valley!! It is definitely one of the most scenic hikes I have ever done!

onthego15

Hi Christina,

Did you contact any of the Waipio Valley tour companies to see if they can accommodate a wheelchair ?:
http://www.islandsource.com/adventure/adventure6.htm
http://www.waipiovalleyshuttle.com/

Enjoy

tinzplace

I tried one, but I haven't tried the others yet. It would be really nice if my hubby could come with....



Christina

meeshellb

Hi, I'm going to be on the big island for 5 days. For one of those days, I was thinking of renting a 4WD to go down to Waipio Valley, camp overnight, and then back up. Where is the closest place to rent a 4WD?? Do I need a permit?? Any other tips??

Thanks,
Michelle

bocastephen

Camping or remaining overnight inside the Valley (except as a guest of a resident) is not permitted.

The road is **very** steep - unless you're an experienced 4WD driver and know to use 4-LO gear, I would not tempt the drive down or up. The road is very narrow, and you'll need to give way to hikers and other traffic.

You can take the Waipio Valley Shuttle down into the valley, or hike in and out yourself - but overnight stays are not permitted.

schistosomiasis

Actually, if you hike the muliwai trail from waipio valley to waimanu valley (10 miles, 8 hours) there's a campsite at the end. But this is a difficult hike on a hazardous trail, think na Pali coast kalalau trail in Kauai for comparison. We just did a half day hike into waipio which wad pretty amazing itself.

dhuey

The road is indeed very steep, but I wouldn't say that you need to be an experienced 4WD driver, and you don't need a 4WD vehicle. You just need to know that you must engage your lowest gear on the descent -- don't ride your brakes. There are a few narrow spots where one car will need to back up a bit to make room for an oncoming car. Unless you have some problems with vertigo, you'll be fine.

I rode down and up this road on a mountain bike -- it's not a big deal. This is a very beautiful place.

bocastephen

There is no way a non-4WD vehicle with a 4-LO gear for controlling speed would be safe on this road. It is way to steep for a regular car to navigate in low gear without riding the brakes and risking brake failure part-way down.

The guard posted at the entrance to the road is there to enforce this rule and make sure people don't get killed.

cblaisd

Well put. Don't try this, folks.

dhuey

You're right that the sign makes that 4WD restriction, but I saw plenty of 2WD cars and I didn't see any guard. Where I live, roads almost as steep are common, and dropping down to 1st gear will do nearly all of the necessary braking.

If anyone is concerned about this, just walk down. It's only 3/4 of a mile. Yes, that's 900 ft. of elevation change, but you can do it.

cblaisd

Don't try it.

Some history: http://cadamaran.com/Waipio_Valley.html

^

dhuey

Just curious if anyone knows how 4x4 really helps much on the descent. I happen to have AWD on my Infiniti E35, but I don't see how that really changes anything going down. I would think the engine braking effect in 1st gear would be the same with the 2WD version of my car. I could see, however, how AWD would help with slippery conditions on the climb.

bocastephen

AWD won't help - it just distributes power to all wheels to reduce slipping. A true 4WD car or truck has a 4-LO gear which adds more torque at lower speeds and is good for controlling (to some degree) your speed on steep terrain. You'll still need to brake, just not as much as 4-HI.

I found the speed control on 4-LO to be barely adequate for coming down from the Mauna Kea summit - for Waipio, you'd still need ample braking. In a regular 2WD vehicle, you'd burn the brakes and be out of control in no time.

Another issue - you won't get very far in any low profile vehicle once in the valley because the road has many deep gullies that are full of water. I watched a Jeep Grand Cherokee almost get flooded and stuck the last time I was down there in November. That's not a phone call you want to make to your rental agency.