Alpinia purpurata is also known as red ginger. This bright red display is not actually the flower, but the bract. The flowers are small and white and will appear on the top of this.
Category Archives: Places
Bali House at Kiholo Bay
A good deal of the shoreline at Kiholo Bay is public land, but there is one short stretch that is privately-owned. Not surprisingly, these rare waterfront parcels are owned by the very wealthy. One such is a large, sprawling yellow estate just back from the beach, owned by the inventor of the pacemaker. A bit farther down the beach is this property, known to most people here as the Bali House.
The property is owned by John Paul DeJoria, co-founder of the Paul Mitchell line of hair products and The Patrón Spirits Company. DeJoria had traveled in Bali and loved the architecture, so he had this house hand-built in Bali. The house was then disassembled, shipped to the Big Island, and reassembled on this property. The whole process took around six years and when they were done, it started to shrink. Turns out the Balinese carpenters had used green logs from the Borneo forest and in less-humid Hawaii, the wood shrank and split.
Apart from it’s striking appearance, what I find notable about the house is how it’s set back from the beach and surrounded by greenery. The view of the ocean is almost what realtors call peek-a-boo. The house is also self-sustaining, relying on solar power and rainwater collection. This is most admirable, but I suspect I’d still prefer the caretaker’s cottage.
Moon landing
When I saw these skydivers I thought of Kurt Vonnegut’s satirical essay “Excelsior! We’re Going to the Moon! Excelsior!” The connection was really nothing more than the title.
In this case, I imagined the captions as “Coming in for landing,” “Whoa, just missed,” and “Let’s go round again.” I bet this is along the lines of how the moon landings were faked!
The reality is these were part of Upolu Airport’s newest/only economic enterprise, B.I.G Skydiving. On this outing, a couple of solo skydivers had already landed. These two were on a tandem skydive, where a paying customer has the much-needed security of being attached to an experienced skydiver.
For more information about B. I. G. Skydiving go to skydivebig.com.
Green Darner dragonflies mating
The headline pretty much says it all. I saw these green darner dragonflies at the anchialine pond at the south end of Kiholo park. Anchialine ponds are landlocked, but connected to the ocean underground. They contain a mix of fresh and saltwater. The air above the pond was thick with dragonflies so I’m keen to return and spend more time there.
Tangled trunks
For dense foliage, the east side (otherwise known as the wet side, or Hilo side) of the Big Island can’t be beat. Here the trunks of two trees are entwined by a tangled vine, surrounded by exotic foliage.
Coconut palms line the beach
Think of Hawaii and chances are coconut palms and golden beaches spring to mind. These were north of the park at Kiholo. Head south from there instead and the beaches will be black sand.
Better Days: A worn out view
A view of the ocean as seen through a trailer, shot through with rust and perhaps a few bullet holes.
Castaway?
This lonesome individual, scrambling over a tiny islet, searching for food, appears to be the quintessential castaway. But he’s really collecting opihi and the islet is about a hundred-foot swim to the much larger Big Island.
On a different day with windier conditions, the swim wouldn’t be necessary since the surf could pick a person up and slam them against the cliff with no effort required on their part.
Graham's Island 