A metallic skink peeks out from under a lava ledge. This was on the Puʻu ʻŌʻō Trail, off Saddle Road at an elevation of more than 5,000 feet. It seemed a very challenging environment for the skink.
Category Archives: Places
Cannonball tree
The cannonball tree (Couroupita guianensis) is pretty distinctive. It sprouts pink or red flowers the length of its trunk and follows them with woody, round fruits that give the tree its name. This one was at Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden.
For more information about Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden, go to htbg.com.
Tropical coast
One things I like about the east side of the Big Island is the variety of places where one gets a peek of the ocean through tropical foliage. Sometimes this can be from the main highway that circles the island (the belt highway). More often, it’s from a smaller road.
This view of the Pacific is from a narrow, twisty stretch of the original belt highway, north of Hilo.
Hawaiian tiger
It’s Halloween, so I thought I should post something scary. Trouble is, there’s not a lot of scary stuff on the Big Island. Then I thought of the tiger I saw while out hiking one day.
Around this point is when I get an angry call from the Big Island tourist bureau, so I should clarify that my hike was through Pana‘ewa Rainforest Zoo in Hilo and the tiger is Tzatziki, a white Bengal tiger. Tzatziki is one of two tigers at the zoo. They arrived in March of 2016 as replacements for Namaste, another white Bengal tiger, who died in January 2014 at the age of 15.
Tzatziki is a reasonable choice for Halloween. He’s ghostly white and, as for scary, just imagine tumbling into the tiger enclosure. I suspect it would be a rapid transition from spectator to chew toy.
For more information about Pana‘ewa Rainforest Zoo & Gardens, go to hilozoo.org.
Pu’u Wa’awa’a rams
Another post on the theme of ‘Rounded,’ this week’s WordPress photo challenge.
There tend to be a number of sheep dotted around the slopes of Pu’u Wa’awa’a. These three rams trotted off ahead of me as I walked up the hill. I tried to go around them, giving them a wide berth, but they treated this as some kind of sinister maneuver and ran a little faster. Eventually, I got my nose ahead of them (even though it’s a smidge smaller than theirs), and they turned around and headed back the way they came as I carried on to the top.
I do like their curly, rounded horns, each a little different to the others, like fingerprints.
For more information about Pu’u Wa’a Wa’a and its trails, go to puuwaawaa.org.
Gloxinia sylvatica ‘Bolivian Sunset’
Another post on the theme of ‘Rounded,’ this week’s WordPress photo challenge.
I’m pretty sure this flower is Gloxinia sylvatica ‘Bolivian Sunset.’ I saw the plant at Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden where some plants have identifying tags, but many do not.
What I really liked was how the flower caught the sun, illuminating both the exterior and interior. Coupled with its rounded form, both in profile and looking into the mouth of the flower, it’s a sensuous, vibrant plant.
For more information about Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden, go to htbg.com.
Keck telescopes on Mauna Kea
Another post on the theme of ‘Rounded,’ this week’s WordPress photo challenge.
The rounded domes of the two Keck telescopes on Mauna Kea gaze out over the clouds to Maui – and a bit farther afield too.
Rose jatropha
Another post on the theme of ‘Glow,’ this week’s WordPress photo challenge.
I’ve posted photos of rose jatropha before (here). In fact, those photos were of this same plant, but probably not the same bee. They were taken later in the day on a previous hike. These photos were taken in the early morning when the light was better and the flowers were just starting to open.
The flowers really glowed and the bees, well they had to work a little harder, burrowing down into the bloom, but obviously with great success.
Graham's Island 