Kepharts' Hawaiian Ocean-View Hale
Location
Car: Necessary
The house is located on the Kohala Coast just three miles north of Kawaihae: The scenery is breathtaking---five volcanoes in view plus the Kona Coast to the south and the Kohala Coast to the north. The climate is nearly perfect--warm and breezy and dry. Snorkeling is wonderful along the Kohala coast because a coral reef extends out several hundred feet. You can watch the humpbacks breach and blow right from the roadside or the lanai during the winter months. Several premiere golf courses, beaches, and restaurants are within a short drive. The night sky is a gorgeous star scape. The rugged Kohala coast is a spectacular example of Hawaii as it was before it became so developed in other areas.
Hale Kephart is ideally located--45 minutes from Kailua-Kona, 20 minutes from Waimea (Kamuela), 20 minutes from Hawi and Kapa'au, 90 minutes from Hilo, and 120 minutes from Volcanoes National Park. In Kawaihae, there are several restaurants and two shave-ice vendors. Da Fish House sells fresh fish from local catches of the day. Kawaihae also has a dive shop and dive boat, a charter fishing boat, and a whale-watching or dolphin-watching boat that also offers sunset cruises.
Two helicopter-tour companies are only six and twelve miles away. Fixed-wing tours are available at Kailua-Kona Airport.
Some of the activities that our guests have raved about include:
professional snorkel and dive trips
zip-line adventures over rain forests and waterfalls
tours to the top of Mauna Kea, near to the top of Hualalai, into
the rain forest, into Waipio Valley
hikes along the coast, in the rain forest, and on the mountain
sides
a flume tour through the Kohala Ditch system
a manta-ray dive at night
a charter fishing trip
ATV tours in North Kohala
horseback riding on local ranchlands
visits to coffee farms, a vanilla farm, and a chocolate farm
an over-night trip to Volcanoes National Park to allow time for
hiking and sightseeing
sampling the boutiques and restaurants in Hawi and Kapa'au in North Kohala or at the major hotels in South Kohala
visiting the museums--Lyman, Imiola, Kona Historic Society
visiting Hualalai Palace and the historic Mokuaikaua Church in
Kailua Kona
parasailing or jetskiing off the pier in Kailua-Kona
kayaking in the bays at Puako or Kealakakua
doing a circle drive around the island, allowing time to stop for
scenic views and to visit interesting spots
visiting Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden
buying a day pass at the Waikaloa Hilton and swimming in their
pools and enjoying their monorail, shops, and restaurants
driving to the top of the island and walking down into Pololu
Valley
walking the beaches at Koloko-Honokohau Natiional Park to
check out the sea turtles
walking down to Kiholo Bay to swim in a freshwater cave, check
out the king's and queen's baths, and to swim in a turquoise
lagoon
boogie-boarding at Hapuna Beach
visiting the tide pools and enjoying swimming, snorkeling, and
reading beneath the shade of kiawe trees at Wailea State Beach
Park
having lunch at the Lava Lava Beach Club right on the sand
visiting historic Pu'ukahala National Park only three miles away
visiting the Mauna Kea Visitors' Center and looking through
their telescopes at night
joining a bird-watching tour
taking a commercial snorkeling tour either out of Honokohau
Harbor or Ke'eau Bay
golfing at either the hotels' courses or at some of the municipal
courses nearby
taking a commercial snorkeling/adventure inflatable-raft tour out
of either Honokohau Harbor or Ke'eau Bay
taking advantage of the good food and live music at the Blue
Dragon Restaurant in Kawaihae and the Bamboo Restaurant
in Hawi
taking in some of the free concerts at the Kings Shops and the
Queens Marketplace
booking a bicycle tour
attending some of the performances at the Kahilu Theatre in
Waimea, the People's Theater in Hanaka'a, the school theaters
in Waimea, and the Aloha Theatre in Kainaliu
taking the time at night to watch the sunset, the possible green
flash, and the star-and-moon show
going to a luau or a clambake at a local hotel
taking a lava-boat tour
taking aerial tours of the volcano, the Kohala coast, or the
entire island
signing up in season for a whale-watching cruise
visiting Kona Bay or Hilo Bay Used Book Stores
participating in local events, such as farmers' markets and
rodeos and craft fairs
paddling at the Kawaihae Canoe Club--they welcome newbies
swimming with the dolphins at the Waikaloa Hilton
walking and picnicking in Waimea Park
geocaching
visiting the Isaacs Art Gallery in Waimea
snorkeling offshore from Puako, the Mauna Lani hotels, Mauna
Kea Beach Hotel, Mahu Kona
visiting Lapikahi State Park, an ancient fishing village
family golfing at the inexpensive six-hole course
in Kamehameha Park
playing tennis at Waimea Park or at Kamehameha Park
sampling microbreweries in Kona and Waimea
wine-tasting at the Volcano Winery
reading a book in the hammock on the lanai
Owner info
Year Purchased: 1989
About the owner: Don grew up in California, earned his B.S. and M.S. from Stanford University, and his PhD in biology from the University of Chicago. Kerrill moved to California from Michigan. She earned a B.A. from Eastern Michigan University and an M.A. in English literature from California State University in Long Beach. We both finished our teaching careers at Long Beach Polytechnic High School, where we were able to teach the subjects we loved to students who made us laugh and think every day we spent with them. We built Hale Kephart in 1989 during nine weeks of our summer vacation with the help of family and friends. We enjoyed staying in the house during spring, winter, and summer breaks for 14 years. Then we retired and built our current residence on the same five acres as the vacation rental and thus began another chapter in our lives. Hawaii is our home now, and we cannot imagine wanting to live anywhere else. We love the climate, the dark and quiet nights, the fresh air, the ever-changing views of ocean, mountains, and sky. We have embraced the aloha spirit and the whole concept of ohana. We also love the people. We have made friends from many walks of life; each one of them has enriched in our lives in some meaningful way. Some of them have been guests at our vacation rental who kept coming back until our relationship metamorphosed into a deep friendship. Others we met while writing articles for the local newspaper or playing tennis at Mauna Kea's Seaside Tennis Club. Most we met through other friends. Our lives have developed a rhythm to them that is both interesting and comfortable. Every year we take at least one trip to the mainland to touch bases with friends and family. Almost every other year we take a longer trip. We have enjoyed sojourns in Alaska, Australia, New England, Washington D.C, New Zealand, Micronesia, and the Pacific Northwest. We have seen spectacular places and had breathtaking experiences, but we are always glad to come home.
Why the Owner Chose Kohala Estates (Big Island Hawaii, HI, USA):
Our son taught high-school mathematics for a year in Kona. We came out during spring break to see him and to see the Big Island--the only major Hawaiian island we had not visited. We fell in love with the spaciousness and the diversity of the island and kept finding ourselves drawn to Hapuna Beach, which is six miles south of us.
A few years later we came back and stayed at Puako. We began looking for property. Kerrill kept coming back to a windswept, almost barren piece of land on a hillside in the Kohala Estates. Don finally said, "If you can find anything green on that lot, I'll consider buying it with you." We are not sure that we ever did find anything green--only sere buffle grass and dead kiawe trees. But we kept coming back because the view was better than anywhere else we had looked. And, finally, the land spoke to Don, too, and we put in an offer.
Our offer was refused because someone else offered more money--in cash. It turned out he didn't really have the cash, so he agreed to sell us five of the nine acres if we would float him a second mortgage so that he could come up with the money on the day escrow closed. We both knew the owner would come to realize that his asking price was below market and we might not be able to afford what it was really worth. So we loaned him the money, and right after escrow closed for him, he sold us the bottom five acres.
We've never regretted it. We enjoyed the vacation rental for 14 years and then built our retirement home behind it on the same lot.
When we are not traveling or maintaining the property, we enjoy reading and writing--we have a library of close to 12,000 books. Don does woodworking, builds model wooden ships, makes and shoots off rockets, hunts feral goats and pigs, makes knives, and enjoys photography. Kerrill enjoys tennis and gardening. We both like to take out our Boston Whaler, especially when the humpbacks are here.
The Unique Benefits at this House:
The unique benefits are self-explanatory to anyone who has visited our property. It enjoys an ideal location and an especially beautiful view. It is in a quiet neighborhood, one that so far has been so safe that most of our neighbors don't bother to lock their homes and cars. Besides, where else can you watch whales breaching against the backdrop of a full-sky sunset from your own front porch?
When we return to the mainland--as much as we enjoy seeing family and friends and taking in some of what it has to offer (theater, museums, specialty stores, national parks, restaurants, swap meets, etc.)--we soon become a little homesick. We especially appreciate the lower population density here. A traffic jam here would be considered a mild slowdown in most parts of Southern California.
When we are away we find ourselves missing the raucous calls of the gray francolins in the mornings, the trade winds blowing (sometimes gusting) through our palm trees and making their clattering fronds sound like falling rain, the panoramic and ever-changing vista that our eyes drink in as we look in any direction. We miss the fragrance of plumerias and gardenias, the bright and gaudy colors of the hibiscus and plumbagos and poincianas. We miss the fresh and soft air. We even miss the physical labor that it takes to keep up two houses and five acres of land.
We like to think that we have been here long enough now to consider ourselves kama'aina even though we weren't born here.
Contact us
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Photos
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Hale Kephart from the driveway in early spring
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Entry way off driveway
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Kitchen area with ocean view from the windows
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Oak table in living area
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Master bedroom--king-sized bed and convertible couch
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Bedroom #4--queen-sized bed and convertible couch
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Bedroom #1--queen sized bed, convertible couch, and flat screen TV
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Bedroom #3 with queen bed and baby crib
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Bathroom #2
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Laundry area with over-sized front-loading machines
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Back walkway and garden
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Double rainbow behind the house
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Entry way
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Front lanai
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Living area of great room
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Small table in entry area
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Master bedroom with dresser, desk, and flat screen TV
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Bedroom #4 with love seat, convertible couch, and flat screen TV
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Bedroom #2 with queen bed
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Bathroom #1
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Master bathroom
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Closet full of puzzles, games and toys
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Ample parking for large groups
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View from back of the house--Pacific Ocean and Hualalai Mountain
VRBO #18208
This listing was first published here in 2002.
Date last modified - Friday, September 23, 2016
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