Category Archives: Parks

All quiet at Hapuna Beach

A couple of days ago, I hiked south from Spencer Beach Park to Hapuna and back. My main reason for doing this was that I’d heard Hapuna State Park was closed because of a broken water line. People were still allowed to get in the water there, but not stay on the beach or gather anywhere – a sort of return to Covid restrictions. I wanted to see how much difference this made.

When I got down there, the beach wasn’t deserted, but was pretty quiet, especially for a Saturday afternoon. Normally, there would be large gatherings and barbecues. Mind you, the beach in front of Hapuna Resort, at the top of this photo, wasn’t especially crowded either. Perhaps it was just a slow weekend.

Wiliwili tree

A week ago, I posted (here) about a Wiliwili tree flowering at the foot of Pu’u Wa’a Wa’a. Wiliwili (Erythrina sandwicensis) is endemic to Hawaii and grows in dry forests on the leeward side of the island. Pu’u Wa’a Wa’a is one such place. While I’ve hiked here several times before, this is the first time I’ve seen a Wiliwili flowering.

Wiliwili is unusual for an Hawaiian tree in that it’s deciduous, dropping it’s leaves during summer droughts. It’s pollinated by birds, but on this day bees were the primary visitors.

Wiliwili seeds are easy to germinate and grow but, like many Hawaiian plants, it has been in decline, losing out to more robust non-native plants and to herbivores. The arrival in Hawaii of a a gall wasp, Quadrastichus erythrinae, greatly exacerbated the situation. However, biocontrol responses have been effective and the situation has been stabilized.

A’ama Crab at Crab Cove

An A’ama Crab at the aptly named Crab Cove at Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve & Garden.

Somewhere, a child is crying

A toy watering can left on a beach in Hawaii

I found this toy watering can on the sand at Spencer Beach Park one early morning, as the full moon was setting, clearly been left behind by the previous day’s beach-goers.

Bench at Pu’uKohala

A bench overlooking the bay below Pu'uKohala in Kawaihae Hawaii

This bench at Pu’uKohala looks north to the small boat harbor at Kawaihae and, beyond that towards Maui, obscured here by early morning clouds.

Lava in all its colors

A variety of colors can be seen in this lava on the Puna Coast Trail (posted here).

This week’s Sunday Stills Monthly Color Challenge is ‘Lava.’ See more responses here. I don’t often run photos I’ve posted before, but this seemed like an opportune instance to rerun some older photos that are perfect for this theme. I’ve put captions on the photos and a link to the original posts for those interested in checking them out.