Category Archives: Activities

Kiawes – a thorn in the foot

When twigs break off a kiawe, the thorns dry to hard, sharp spikes.

Kiawe thorns growing on a tree on the Big Island.

Kiawe thorns growing on the tree.

A stand of kiawe trees bordering a trail.

Hiking on the west side of the Big Island can be a hot and arid experience. The landscape is often barren lava or scrubby growth. If it’s scrubby growth, chances are that kiawe trees (Prosopis pallida) are prominent and if they are, it’s wise to tread carefully. That’s because kiawe trees produce long, tough thorns.

Hiking in slippahs (flip flops) is asking for trouble. A kiawe thorn will go through them like a knife through wet tissue. I’ve felt the jab of these thorns through my Tevas, which have robust soles of decent thickness. The first time I wore my new trail shoes, toward the end of the hike, crossing a kiawe-bordered beach, I felt a familiar prick in my foot. A thorn had buried itself in the ¾-inch thick sole and penetrated far enough to make itself felt. One of my routine tasks with my trail shoes, and the Tevas, is to examine the soles and extract any thorns with a pair of pliers. When a hike is over, it doesn’t mean the danger is past. Drive over one of these thorns and it can and does cause punctures.

But if all this makes it seem as if kiawes are reviled, that’s not the case. It’s widely used in smoking meats. The smell of burning kiawe is commonplace.

Kiawe isn’t a native tree; it originated in Peru. In fact, all Hawaii’s kiawes can trace their roots, as it were, back to a single seed planted by a priest in Honolulu in 1828.

Abstracts: Surface reflection

When I’m snorkeling, I like seeing the colors and patterns of the surface of the water from below.

Signs: Rainbows next 3 miles

I saw this sign when I was hiking out to see the current lava flow from Pu’u O’o to the ocean. Sure, the sign was a little vague, but I figured it must refer to the rainbow which it appeared to point to.

By golly, the sign was right. There were rainbows for the next 3 miles.

Kahuku hike

Kahuku is part of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Its 116,000 acres was added to the park in 2003, an estate purchase of former ranch land. This purchase almost doubled the size of the park.

Not far from the southern tip of the Big Island, the entrance to Kahuku is about an hour’s drive from the main park entrance, but the two areas are contiguous, joined at the summit of Mauna Loa.

These photos are from a guided hike in Kahuku that I did a while back. The hike went through fairly dense old growth Hawaiian forest that had been spared because it was in a steep gully and thus not suitable for clearing for pasture. There was no real trail.

Currently this part of the park is closed because trees with Rapid ‘Ōhi’a Death (ROD) have been found in the lower part of the park and the goal is to prevent it spreading to other areas.

For more information on the Kahuku Unit of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, go to nps.gov/havo/planyourvisit/kahuku-hikes.htm or bigislandhawaiitravelguide.com/places/puu-o-kahuku-at-hawaii-volcanoes-national-park.html

Opihi picker

This man was multi-tasking on the coast. After setting up his fishing rod, he went down to the shore to pick opihi. Such an undertaking is not for the faint of heart. Misjudge a wave, and he could be swept into the ocean in an instant.

Opihi are a kind of limpet and are a favorite delicacy here in Hawaii, most often eaten raw, straight from the shell.

A Bay to Keawaiki hike

The Ala Loa Trail (King’s Trail) south of Waikoloa.

Keawaiki Beach with its lone palm tree and Hualalai volcano in the background.

This hike is a 7 mile loop directly north of the Keawaiki to Kiholo loop hike that I posted about here and here. One could combine the two, but it would make for a long, hot walk, though with several opportunities to take a cooling dip. I chose to start the loop at its northern end, heading south on the inland lava field before it got too hot. The return, along the coast, is still over lava, but usually features a cooling sea breeze.

A Bay is officially known as ʻAnaehoʻomalu Bay, but most people find A Bay easier to pronounce. There’s bathrooms and showers at the beach here so I find it a good place to start and finish.

From the parking area, head inland to pick up the old King’s Trail which is marked by a sign, though it’s obvious without it. The King’s Trail heads south in a ramrod straight line. Eventually, this trail intersects with a dirt road headed toward a cluster of palm trees on the coast. Follow this road down to the Brown estate, which is surrounded with barbed-wire. The trail goes down the side of this fence to Keawaiki Bay and its lone palm tree.

The Golden Pools of Keawaiki. The golden color is due to a unique algae.

The Golden Pools of Keawaiki (though they’re actually inland of the next beach down the coast). The golden color is due to a unique algae.

Heading north again, the next bay is Pueo Bay and a small trail inland from this leads to the Golden Pools of Keawaiki. The color of these pools is due to a unique algae that grows here. There’s no swimming in these pools, but further up the coast, after passing Weliweli Point, another lone palm tree marks Akahu Kaimu Bay. Just inland from the palm is a large freshwater pool which is perfect for a cooling dip. When I visited, there was no one else there, or indeed within a mile of the spot.

Heading north along the coast again, the lava transitions to the kind of sandy beaches that Hawaii is renowned for. The southernmost beaches are usually sparsely populated or just plain empty. These beaches lead back to A Bay and its welcome facilities.

For more information about this, and other hikes on the Big Island, go to bigislandhikes.com. (This hike is listed as Keawaiki Bay to ʻAnaehoʻomalu Bay (A Bay), starting from the southern end.)

The freshwater pool behind Akahu Kaimu beach, marked by another lone palm tree. After a hot, dry walk, a dip in the pool was very refreshing.

A sandy beach at the south end of A Bay.

A sandy beach straight out of the brochures at the south end of A Bay.

Signs: Have mercy

I enjoyed the message in front of the local Catholic church during the recent IRONMAN race, which is a decidedly merciless event consisting of a 2.4 mile open-water swim, a 112 mile bike ride, and a marathon run. Looks like someone might be about to have a problem with his bike chain, too.

For more information about IRONMAN, go to Ironman.com.

IRONMAN wrap

A final few photos from last weekend’s IRONMAN world championship here on the Big Island.

Above, competitors pull over to wait out time penalties they’ve been given by race marshals. For cyclists, the violations are usually drafting violations.

Second, one of my favorite IRONMAN participants, the wheeler-dealer. I like to think this support guy rides the course shouting, “Wheels, we got wheels. Get your wheels here.” Sadly, every time I’ve seen him, he’s always been very quiet and with this same inscrutable expression.

Bottom, a rider whizzes past tropical foliage on the way out of Hawi.