As we pulled up to the Waipio Valley Artworks to check in I noticed that some of the other members of our trip had already arrived and parked their cars in the lot in front of the artworks building. As we walked in the front door an older man sitting behind the desk greeted us and collected our vouchers. He had us fill out some paperwork before the van pulled up to take us up to the ranch area.
At just before the halfway point of the ride we pulled up to the edge of the Waipio Valley. There was a clearing that served as an excellent look out point to view the valley floor below, as well as the giant waterfall that cascaded down the back of the valley wall into a pool more then a thousand feel below. We stayed here for a while taking pictures and just enjoying the view before our guides began to lead the group further up the trail along the rim, towards the back of the canyon.
Within another 20 minutes we had made it to the final destination of our ride, a large field with picnic tables that served as a look out point that looked back down the valley towards the ocean. We spent some time here taking pictures and talking with each other before we eventually got back on our horses for the last leg of our mornings journey. Before long, we had ridden back through the forest to the stables where our ride had initially started. We got off of our horses, said goodbye and then boarded the van for the drive back to the artworks. We really enjoyed the morning that we got to spend with Waipio Ridge Stables.