A Fertile Valley With a View - 2019 Ka‘ū Valley Farms Tour

Photo by Lee Neal

Ka‘ū Valley Farms Tour, on Thursday, May 2, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., offers an opportunity to explore the practice of growing food in Ka‘ū. See the Ka‘ū Valley Farm nursery, fields and orchards, with vegetables, herbs, coffee, tea and fruit trees. See the goats, cattle and horses in Ka‘ū Valley Farms pastures. Visit the Ka‘ū Valley Farms stand to purchase fresh food, including hydroponic lettuce.

Along the hillside, walk through the newly established camellia sinensis tea farm. Travel farther up the slopes of Kahilipali (Windswept Hills) Ahupua‘a to view the expansive green pastures that sit above Nā‘ālehu. At the top of Pu‘u Ho‘omaha (Hill of Leisure), listen to stories of the Ahupua‘a and land tenure from the Kingdom to present, and gaze upon the coastline of Ka‘ū from Puna to South Point.

Photo from kauvalley.com

The hills of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park's Kahuku Unit can be seen in the distance as well as the fields of Makino Valley - relatively unknown to many, as it lies hidden from below the summit of Ho‘omaha.

The tour includes visiting the water system being developed from the old Kahilipali and Kapuna Tunnels from sugar days and ends with a brief walk into the 85 acre pristine native Hawaiian forest - never converted to sugarcane.

To reach Ka‘ū Valley Farms Nursery turn mauka (towards the mountain) at Ka‘alaiki Road in Nā‘ālehu at the intersection of Hwy 11 and Punalu‘u Bake Shop. Proceed up Ka‘alaiki Road to just beyond the County cemetery and then follow the signs to turn left to get to the nursery.

Photo by Geneveve Fyvie

Reservations can be made by calling John Cross at 808-987-4229 or Brenda Iokepa-Moses at 731-5409. $40 per person includes lunch and transportation from meeting site. See kauvalley.com.

See our schedule of events for more fun-filled Ka‘ū Coffee Festival activities. For photos and information about previous events see our website, kaucoffeefestival.com, and our Flickr account. Find us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.