Hawaii's spooky South Point and fearless locals

October 30, 11:00 PMHonolulu Big Island Travel ExaminerTricia Vogt

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South Point Cliff Jumper, Tricia Vogt Photo

Looking for a truly spooky place to visit in Hawaii?  South Point's windy barren landscape and fearless inhabitants would be perfect  for an eerie horror film.   Howling wind blasts across the sparse land and bends the few hardy trees at bizarre angles.  The relatively flat land ends at cliffs that fall off abruptly to the tumultuous ocean far, far below.  

The residents here are as sparse as the trees and every bit as hardy.  The land in Hawaii is called the aina. The aina here, this rugged, harsh environment seems to have given birth to a breed of fearless people who are eager to met head on, the challenge the land offers.

From Highway 11 between the 69 and 70 mile markers is a long, desolate, mostly one lane road to the cliffs near South Point.  You will probably see a few cars parked and people wandering near the cliff at the boat hoists.  Stop here  to observe as few brave (or foolish) people leap into the abyss in the name of sport or just weekend pastime.  The actual South Point is a little farther south of the cliffs past a ghost town of shabby remains of military buildings.  The water is always violent and unsafe there.

One jagged lava rock juts out above a hole into the rocky earth a little inland from the cliff.  Daring characters take turns climbing onto this perch to watch the churning ocean suck the water out of the rocks deep  below then rumble, surge and splash skyward into this giant hole.  They leap off hell’s own diving platform at the exact moment the water reaches its summit then are swept out of sight below.  Just when you are certain they have met a violent death on the rocks below, one man scrambles straight up the face of the hole like spider man just as another emerges from another jagged gap in the rocks.

Now look toward the ocean, carefully as the cliff drops straight into the deep blue sea with no guardrails, no warnings.  Here boat hoists perch on the edge of the cliff, still used to drop fishing boats into the water, many feet below.  A group of local friends stand on the edge and one by one jump or dive head first off the cliff to the choppy water below.  A medal ladder is their means to get back up the cliff.   

Attempting to dive like the locals can be foolhardy or even deadly.  The currents can be exceptionally strong.  The land is brutal, the sea unforgiving, and there is no medical aid for many, many miles.  Unless you are an amazing athlete leave this sport to the few tough souls born into this spooky land.