This Aloha greeting, mown into the grass at the end of Upolu Airport’s runway, greets arriving aircraft. At this time of year, it’s also traditional for the grounds crew to mow the words “Mele Kalikimaka & Haouoli Makahiki Hou” into the grass bordering the runway. It means “Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.”
I don’t have a photo of this because it’s only visible from the air, but here’s a link to the scene in 2016.
I was driving the Kohala Mountain Road when I saw this Pueo (Hawaiian short-eared owl) hovering. The mountain road is narrow and winding so it was another 100 yards or so before I could pull over to a semi-safe place. Luckily, the pueo was in an amenable mood and hung around the area, swooping back and forth before settling on the hillside.
I love watching them, dropping onto potential prey or ascending into the skies, completely at home in their environment.
In 1871, an old trail from Nāpō’opo’o to Ho’okena was improved to make it passable for horses. Because of this, it became known as “Two Horse Trail.” The northern section of this trail was paved in 1918, but the southern section was left untouched and this became the 1871 Trail, which heads south from Pu’uhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park.
One feature of this trail is the Alakaha ramp at the southern end of Alakaha Bay. The ramp was built to allow trail users to safely ascend Keanae’e Cliffs.
According to bigislandhikes.com, “Prior to the construction of the ramp, access to Ki’ilae (an ancient village) was by ladder or rope only. The earliest mention of the ramp is from 1868, but the ramp likely existed prior to that time. The ramp requires periodic maintenance. It had deteriorated so much in the early 1900s that cowboys called the ramp the “one foot out trail” because they always kept one foot out of the stirrups in case they needed to bail off their horse.”
The top photo looks down the ramp with Keanae’e Cliffs on the right. In the middle photo, the ramp and trail with Alakaha Bay on the left. Below, hiking up toward the ramp with Keanae’e Cliffs on the left.
For more information about the 1871 Trail, and other hikes on the Big Island, go to bigislandhikes.com.
For more information about Pu’uhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park, visit https://www.nps.gov/puho/index.htm.
I saw this little outrigger sailing canoe off the North Kohala coast. The two men had obviously been fishing, possibly still were, but though the canoe wasn’t too far out, I couldn’t figure out which way they were headed. I guess they must have made it safely to shore since I didn’t see anything in the news about missing mariners.
Morning glory vines spread through, what I think is sea purslane, at Pu’uhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park.
For more information about Pu’uhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park, visit https://www.nps.gov/puho/index.htm.
I like how this web mixes repeated patterns and some pretty random connections.
Another post on the WordPress photo challenge theme of ‘serene.’
The hike up Pu’u Wa’a Wa’a is a steady climb, but there are several benches along the way for a quiet break. This bench looks north, toward the South Kohala coastline and North Kohala hills.
The trail isn’t crowded at any time of day, but in the early morning, it’s positively serene.
For more information about Pu’u Wa’a Wa’a and its trails, go to puuwaawaa.org.
Another post on the WordPress photo challenge theme of ‘serene.’
To me this Mauna Kea scene, of an empty landscape in early evening light backed by pillow-like clouds, is quite serene. But is it really? Those fluffy clouds could contain the kind of turbulence that throws airplanes around, and the pu’us are evidence of volcanic eruptions in the past. Still, it does look serene.
Graham's Island 