A mysterious owner has purchased and donated a $3.8 million beauty spot in Hawaii that developers had their eye on.
The unknown male donor bought the popular Pololu Valley, a huge tourist attraction that attracts 322,000 visitors a year and about 600 to 1,500 in a single day.
For years, Pololu Valley – a sacred home to the ancestors of locals – has suffered from overcrowding due to the many visitors exploring the highly admired Pololu Trailhead.
The donor said he was inspired to purchase the land and give back to the community after meeting Sarah Pule-Fujii, a Pololu steward, who taught him the “sacredness and cultural importance of the Pololu Valley.”
“That interaction left a lasting impression on me and fueled my desire to help provide a solution to some of the problems the Pololu community was experiencing,” the anonymous man said.
An anonymous male donor bought Hawaii’s Pololu Valley (pictured) for $3.8 million and gave it back to the community
The donor said he was inspired to purchase the land and give back to the community after meeting Sarah Pule-Fujii, a Pololu steward, who taught him the “sacredness and cultural importance of the Pololu Valley.” (Photo: Pule-Fujii with a visitor – not the donor)
Pule-Fujii, one of Pololu’s many stewards, greets and guides visitors who come to the trailhead, while also protecting the area and its people.
In 2021, an attempt was made to build a 13-lot subdivision on the land, but after the community disagreed with the plan, Pololu Valley was listed on the market.
The donation of the 42-acre property came at a “pivotal time” for the community, as the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) recently published its Pololu Trailhead Management Plan, according to Steve Bergfeld. , the agency’s Hawaii branch manager.
The plan, led by DOFAW and the North Kohala community, was designed so that locals could find solutions to address the high levels of visitation in their home countries.
For years, locals feared that the wrong person would buy the land and decide to go ahead with unwanted development plans, but fortunately the opposite happened.
Now the land is under the management program, while the rest will remain undeveloped.
Last month, the program celebrated its three-year anniversary, as stewards worked to rescue hikers, tackle illegal campers and even assist with ocean rescues in Pololu Valley, according to the DLNR.
Pule-Fujii, also known as “Auntie” or Trail Tutu (grandmother) to many, said it is extremely important that anyone visiting the site is respectful.
Pule-Fujii, one of many stewards, greets and guides visitors, while also warning them of the potential dangers on land
“Please keep in mind that this is sacred land to us Hawaiians. Our king grew up in this valley and it is so important that everyone has respect when visiting this special place,” the native told a crowd of visitors in October. SFGoes reported.
During her speeches to tourists, Pule-Fujii and her team make sure to inform them of the dangers of the strenuous trail, that swimming in the nearby ocean is not allowed due to the strong currents, and warn them to have enough water . so they stay hydrated during their journey.
The stewards also inform travelers not to go near the cordoned sand dunes, which are ancient burial grounds where Pule-Fujii’s ancestors were buried.
Pule-Fujii and her team first heard that their land had been purchased in May, but they had no idea who had bought it.
When she heard that the donor had bought it to help, she was speechless.
“When we had the meeting and he told us he was going to keep it the way it is, I started crying, and he started crying,” she told SFGate
“And it was a special moment for him to feel the way we did.”
The big news came just as the Pololu Trailhead Management Plan was finalized in September.
Now that the area is protected, a heritage center will be built on the site, along with portable toilets and even a car park to help with the traffic caused by the heavy visitation.
And now that the area is protected, a heritage center will be built on the site, along with portable toilets and even a car park to help with the traffic caused by the high number of visitors.
The future plot will operate via an online booking system, allowing only 250 people to visit the site per day.
Non-residents will also have to pay for parking, and that money will be donated to the stewardship program currently funded through 2026.
Jackson Bauer, DOFAW trail and access specialist, said the land is more than a beautiful attraction.
‘We’re not just postcards, we’re not just Instagram posts. We are sacred spaces, and this is where people live or die, where they worship,” Bauer said.
While no firm plans have been made for the newly purchased land, Bauer said the local community will manage it.
‘We really work together. They are the ones driving it,” he added.
‘Pololu is more than just a place for us. It is a person, it is our lineage… For our kupuna (elders), that valley is ohana (family) for us,” Pule-Fujii told the outlet.