Category Archives: Places

Helicopters circle Pu’u O’o vent

Tour helicopters circle Pu'u O'o vent on the Big Island of Hawaii

During a recent hike on the Nāpau Trail in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, one accompaniment was the throb of helicopter engines. The active flow from Pu’u O’o vent, and its ultimate outpouring into the ocean, is a great attraction for visitors and locals alike.

One way of seeing these events is on a helicopter tour and, as I sat at the Nāpau overlook, I noticed there was a clear order to those helicopter visits. A pair would arrive from the west, one a bit behind the other. One would circle the vent, the other visit the ocean entry. Then they’d switch. After 10 or 15 minutes, the two helicopters would head off to the northeast and soon after, the next pair would arrive.

For more information about Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, go to nps.gov/havo/.
 For more information about Kilauea Volcano and it’s eruptions, go to hvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/history/main.html.

 

 

 

Kaloko fishpond

The wall of Kaloko Fishpond, in Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park

The wall of Kaloko Fishpond, in Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park, is currently under repair. According to the park’s website, work on rebuilding the wall began in 1998. This end looks good, but there’s still work to be done at the far end.

For more information about Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park, go to www.nps.gov/kaho/index.htm

For more information about Kaloko Fishpond, go to www.keolamagazine.com/ocean/kaloko-fishpond-a-valuable-cultural-resource/

 

Hawai‘i ‘amakihi

A Hawaii Amakihi about to feed on mamane flowers.A Hawaii Amakihi about to feed on mamane flowers.

‘Amakihi are endemic honeycreepers and the different islands have slightly different versions of the bird. The Hawai‘i ‘amakihi is very similar to the Maui ‘amakihi, but the O‘ahu and Kaua‘i birds have more noticeable differences. They’re one native bird that has adapted relatively well to changing habitat and introduced diseases including avian malaria.

This one was feeding from bright yellow māmane flowers at the Palila Forest Discovery Trail on the southwest slope of Mauna Kea.

 

Rose grape

A rose grape blooms in Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden
This week’s posts are in response to the WordPress photo challenge on the theme of ‘evanescent.’

A few times a year, I like to visit Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden, which is just north of Hilo on the east side of the Big Island. It’s a wonderful garden, set in a fairly deep gully, with a wide array of plants.

In tropical Hawaii, plants do well year round, but there are still seasons. Different plants flower at different times, so each visit is different. The nice thing about this is there’s always something new to see, such as this rose grape (Medinilla magnifica). The downside is that when I get home and look at my photos, I realize I don’t know what half of the plants are. So I figure I’ll see if I can find a tag next time I visit. But next time, the plant’s not flowering so I have trouble locating exactly what I was looking at.

Ultimately it boils down to me making a mental note to come back, same time next year, when it will be flowering again. Unfortunately, my mental notes have no chance of surviving that long, so the next year I see the flower again, take a new photo, and it’s not until I get home that I realize I already have a photo, still don’t know what it is, and will need to return next year etc., etc., etc.

But the thing is, I don’t really mind this. I just enjoy being at the garden, and appreciating the moments while I’m there.

For more information about Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden, go to htbg.com.

Abstracts: Sunset

Sunset over Kohala
This week’s posts are in response to the WordPress photo challenge on the theme of ‘evanescent.’

Sunsets are an evanescent event. They’re all different, depending on the clouds and the atmosphere and the weather. And where the sun goes down changes from day to day depending on the time of year. And to top it off, the colors, the composition, change from moment to moment as the sun sinks and the clouds move. There’s no ‘OK, it’ll be like this for the next 15 minutes.’ Instead it might vanish in a moment, diffusing into a previously unnoticed layer of haze on the horizon.

I like that unpredictability. I’ve driven down to a good viewing spot, lured there by promising weather and cloud formations, only to have the sunset be a damp squib. And then there have been other times when I’ve gone with low expectations and been treated to a cascade of color.

This photo was taken from the comfort of my lanai and I like the striking contrast of the bright and the dark at that moment in time. A few minutes later, it was all gone.