Life in Kalalau Valley
The natural beauty and relative isolation are the major attractions of the valley. Legal campers stay in the designated camping area within roughly 300 feet (91 m) of the beach. There is a small waterfall in this area that is used for bathing and washing dishes.
At one end of the beach is a stream that is also used for fresh water. All the streams are contaminated with leptospirosis, a bacteria that is transmitted from the urine of infected rodents. It is transmitted from the water into open cuts or mucous membranes. Symptoms occur from 5 days to 2 weeks after exposure and include sudden onset of fever, body aches, malaise. Treatment is with doxycycline 100 mg twice day. Although it is recommended that you treat water with iodine or filters, stomach acid kills the leptospirosis making such treatment unncessary. There has not been a single case of leptospirosis isolated to drinking from waters along the Na Pali Coast. Few if any "residents" of Kalalau Valley treat the water and suffer no ill effects.
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