Category Archives: Places

Raccoon Butterflyfishes

Racoon Butterflyfishes in the waters of Honaunau Bay (Two Step), Hawaii
Racoon Butterflyfishes in the waters of Honaunau Bay (Two Step), Hawaii

Last week, my wife and I fled Hawi in the wee hours of the morning to avoid being trapped at home by the Ironman race. The cycling portion of the race goes past our driveway and the road was closed from 7:00am to 3:00pm.

Our first destination was Two Step, more properly known as Honaunau Bay. Arriving before 6:30am, we were the first people there and had the bay to ourselves for a short while. It’s a great spot for snorkeling as it’s generally fairly calm, and the area is a marine reserve, which means the various kinds of fishing aren’t allowed. Experience has shown that fish in marine reserves are less skittish, which makes them easier to see and photograph.

These Raccoon Butterflyfishes are a good example of that. I see them elsewhere, hanging in the water, but if I approach they ease away from me. At Two Step, the fish stay where they are. I’ve had one or two come right up to me, presenting a different photographic challenge as they butt my camera housing.

This small school was drifting above the steep slope bordering the deeper part of the bay.

Kamehameha Park playground

A new playground at Kamehameha Park in Kapaau, Hawaii

There’s a new playground in town, specifically at Kamehameha Park in Kapa’au. The official opening is Saturday, but I took a sneak peek yesterday.

A new playground at Kamehameha Park in Kapaau, Hawaii

The playground was surrounded by orange tape so I couldn’t get a close look, but my first impression was that I was glad I wasn’t a kid anymore. I didn’t see a thing I’d know what to do with! The story that alerted me to the new playground noted it “features new tactile and interactive elements, challenging climbing structures, and various spinners and swings.” Some of the pieces looked like things that could cause a good deal of pain. Others suggested it would be handy to have a jaws-of-life nearby.

A new playground at Kamehameha Park in Kapaau, Hawaii

No, if I was a kid I’d probably end up sitting on the ground, rubbing my arm against the synthetic turf, to see how long it took before I caught fire.

Posted for Bushboy’s Last on the Card (top photo). See more responses here.

The Numbers Game #45

A boy hangs off a yellow raft off the coast of Hawaii
A yellow raft on blue water.

The idea of The Numbers Game is to enter a number into the search bar of your computer and then post a selection of the photos that turn up. This week’s number is 166. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

Monarch butterflies mating on a kiawe tree
Monarchs mating.
An I'iwi calls in a forest off Saddle Road, Hawaii
An I’iwi calls.
A Roseate Skimmer Dragonfly perched on a twig
A Roseatte Skimmer dragonfly.
Rust forms on a water tank
A rusty water tank.
The wall of the Ackerman Gallery Building in Kapaau, Hawaii
Art gallery wall.
Maiapilo flowers in Hawaii
Maiapilo flowers.

Pololu

A view of the coast at Pololu in Hawaii

Pololu is at the end of the highway in Kohala. A popular destination for visitors, social media coverage has now boosted it into the burgeoning overrun category. Last week, I headed out there for the first time in ages, intending to walk down to the beach and see if the place had changed.

When I got to the end of the road, I found several people involved in organizing parking and giving out information. This was certainly new. The parking is still inadequate for the number of visitors, but a parcel of land, near the end of the road, is supposed to become a parking and information area, though the time frame for that is a bit vague.

With rain pushing along the coast, I didn’t go down to the beach, but the views along the coast and up the valley are still wonderful. Do me a favor though, and keep that to yourselves!

A view of Pololu valley in Hawaii

Whittington Beach Park

Whittington Beach Park lagoon, Hawaii

Whittington Beach Park sits on Honuʻapo Bay, a few miles northeast of the island’s southern tip. There’s no beach at the park, but there are old fish ponds and a lagoon where it’s relatively safe to get in the water. This makes it popular with locals, since such places are few and far between on this wild and rocky stretch of coast.

The early Hawaiians established a fishing village here that lasted until the mid-1800s, when drought, earthquakes and a tsunami brought about its demise. Some years later, a port was reestablished where goods could be brought to and from the surrounding area, which was home to a large sugar plantation.

Whittington Beach Park, Hawaii

The remains of a concrete pier, built in 1910, can still be seen at the southeastern end of the park. I’ve read conflicting accounts of the cause of it’s demise, including a tsunami and bombing by U.S. planes in 1942 to prevent it being used by the Japanese in WWII!

The old pier at Whittington Beach Park, Hawaii

These days, it’s a good spot to watch the waves, and the noddies, twirling through the air as they go to and fro from their homes on the nearby cliffs.

Hawaiian Noddys on the old pier at Whittington Beach Park, Hawaii