Not very far from the Mauna Lani and Orchid hotels, there is a piece of old Hawaii that is definitely worth discovering. Head north along the beach, past the pools and tents and lounge chairs. Stay by the sea and skirt the golf course. That is just a bit of Scotland that drifted south.
It will not take long. You will soon leave the tourist compound and arrive at the public access beach with its parking lot and toilets and reminder that there is still some of Hawaii that isn't just for the tourists. Head inland and take the trail through the kiawe grove. Follow the signs for the petroglyphs.
At one point, all of Hawaii was lava. Some of it still shows, but there was also water, and the kiawe. These trees are among the first to colonize the bare stone, growing from cracks and crevasses. They break the rock into stones and then into soil. The petroglyph tail leads through this forest of spooky, twisted trees.
