Hamakua

Hāmākua lies on the Northeast coast of the Big Island of Hawai‘i and is approximately fifty miles long ending at Waipi‘o Valley. Hāmākua is used loosely to describe the region between Hilo and Waipio, although the Hāmākua judicial district begins somewhere North of Laupahoehoe. Hamākuā translates to "breath of god."

Many little towns sprang up around sugar plantations which were operating along the Hāmākua Coast from around the turn of the twentieth century until approximately 1990, notably Honoka‘a (the largest).

The Hamakua district was an endemic region of bubonic plague in the early part of the 20th century. From 1910 to 1949, there were 112 confirmed cases of the dreaded disease, of which 109 were fatal. The Board of Health of the Territory of Hawaii, in combined efforts with the local sugar plantations, engaged in a vast rat extermination campaign. Despite these efforts, plague remained an enzootic disease in the region up until 1957. It is unclear as to exactly why plague eventually left the area.

Driving the Hāmākua Coast from Hilo to Kohala is a very scenic excursion and can be completed in about an hour. Laupāhoehoe lies midway and is a beautiful park area that can be reached by following a side road leading to it. Camping is available at Laupāhoehoe point.

While virtually all of the pre-existing native forest below altitudes of several thousand feet was removed by sugar cane cultivation, several remnants of native forest can be found. One of these is at Kalopā State Park [http://www.hawaii.gov/dlnr/dsp/hawaii.html] , which has preserved a small stand of native trees and their understory compatriots. The Park may be found by following signs several miles south of Honokaokinaa, then driving several miles up the slope of Mauna Kea following the signs. Trails here are poorly maintained, but a number of rare plants can be found in the arboretum area, including the endangered lookinaulu palm ("pritchardia spp."), as well as a number of rare native hibiscus. Kalopā State Park also allows camping, but visitors should be aware that given the altitude, damp and chilly weather is the norm.