Mountain water is once again flowing and kayaks are splashing in the Kohala Ditch.
Repairs to storm damage of North Kohala’s signature aqueduct finished ahead of schedule for the official opening of the new kayak tour company Flumin’ Kohala on June 1, and water users who had been forced to turn to other sources are back online.
“We’re back to full flow; the users have all hooked up and topped off their reservoirs,” said Bill Shontell, executive vice president of Surety Kohala Corp., the manager and part owner of the ditch and parent company of Flumin’ Kohala, headquartered in Hawi.
“It’s back to status quo as far as the ditch,” Shontell said.
Last Monday, the first group of customers paddled and splashed along three miles of the 14.5-mile ditch, through earth tunnels and over flumes spanning the gulches. Tour guides detailed the history of the ditch, built over an 18-month period in 1905-06 at a cost of 17 lives.
Everyone on the tour got wet, of course.
“So far, the comments we’ve gotten back is that the guides are very informative, and people are having a lot of fun,” said tour manager Bernelle Camara.
The company has hired six guides, three van drivers and four employees in guest reception. In the two weeks prior to the official start, Flumin’ Kohala was fine-tuning the tour and honing guide skills by taking employees of North Kohala businesses on the trip, Camara said.
The two daily tours have averaged about 15 people a day in their first week, a slow start that the company expected and planned for, Camara said. By July, Flumin’ Kohala plans to offer four of the three-hour tours each day.
The excursions cost $135 per adult, and $75 for children age 5 to 11, and include a van tour of historical sites and waterfalls. Group sizes are now a maximum of 24, but that will be reduced to 12 when the additional departure times are offered, Camara said.
The tour replaces Kohala Ditch Adventures, which ran more than 20,000 people a year along the historic waterway. That company’s lease ran up in February. Surety decided to create and manage a kayak tour in-house, with revenue dedicated to ditch maintenance, following a torrential winter storm last December that knocked out flumes, dried up the flow and put the kayaks on hiatus.
Online: fluminkohala.com
