Category Archives: Places

Surfing at Keokea

People surfing off of Keakea Beach Park Hawaii

Last week, I went out to Keokea Beach Park for the first time in quite a while. It’s a scenic little park, with a breakwater protecting a shallow area where kids can get in the water safely, a rarity on this stretch of coast.

Outside the breakwater, waves rolling in from the northeast had lured some surfers into the water. It looked a little hairy, riding those waves, apparently headed for the rocks. But the surfers were angling across the waves, from right to left as I looked at them, and so were pretty safe unless they made a major mistake. Those who did end up in the water were dismounting rather than wiping out.

Spencer Beach Park from the air

Spencer Beach Park in Hawaii from the air

Spencer Beach Park is a place I visit fairly often. Recently, I had the opportunity to fly to Maui and, while I was in the air, took the usual plethora of photos. Some of these were of the park.

The top photo shows the park with its sandy beach, surrounding trees, and calm blue waters offshore. It also shows how close the recent brush fires came to the park. The building on the left side of the photo is the visitor center for Pu’ukohola Heiau National Historic Site, which adjoins the site.

In the bottom photo, Spencer is at the lower left. To the right is Mauna Kea resort, which did suffer some damage in the fires. Mauna Kea Volcano provides the backdrop.

Spencer Beach Park and Mauna Kea fire area from the air

A bevy of bridges

A bridge over an inlet on the coast in Hawaii

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Bridges.’ See more responses here.

The top image is an elegant bridge on the coast, in the Hilton Resort at Waikoloa. It spans an inlet from the ocean into a lagoon. This bridge is part of the coast path, which is open for anyone to walk.

A bridge over a gulch in North Kohala, Hawaii

The Big Island’s main use of bridges is to span the numerous gullies that run from the mountains down to the ocean. On the east side, some of these bridges are quite long and high, with vertigo-inducing views over the edge. These three bridges cross gullies in North Kohala on the winding road from Kapaau to Pololu. The third has several houses nearby, so a walkway has been added. This is surely safer than walking on the road, though not by much judging from its appearance!

Finally, bridges of a different kind. Anoles and geckos use lines, attached to the house, to get around. Sometimes these one-lane bridges lead to encounters with fellow travelers. In this case the smaller anole leapt off into the cane grass, but that was its intended destination anyway. In the second photo, this anole was using the washing line to bridge the space from the house to a hedge.

Leaning tower of Albizia

An albizia tree shading a road in Hawaii

This Albizia tree leans precariously over a narrow road in North Kohala. The bottom photo shows the view from below it. I don’t tend to spend much time in that spot in case it chooses that moment to topple over, though the tree hasn’t budged in the 10 years I’ve lived here.

On the rocks

A view of The coast north of Kiholo Bay, Hawaii

Hawaii isn’t all sandy beaches. There are lots of rocky shores and lava ledges such as this stretch north of Kihilo Bay.

Waimea Nature Park

Recently, while waiting to visit my dentist, I walked the trail in the Waimea Nature Park, also known as Ulu La’au. The trail follows the Waikoloa Stream for about a mile from the town center down toward the ocean. It’s a work in progress, with volunteers removing invasive species and planting native and canoe plants in their place.

On my walk, the Waikoloa Stream had water in it, but not much. I think it would be fun to walk there after a heavy rain. But one thing I liked was the abundance of benches, some of which offered nice views of the park, the stream, and the hills surrounding the town.

Orange kayak

I was going through photos, sorting out what to post this week, when I came across this one. My immediate thought was that this should definitely have been included in yesterday’s Sunday Stills post, and its theme of Orange. Well, it’s a day late, but not a dollar short, so here it is. See more responses here.

Orange is the new theme

A Passion vine butterfly spreads its wings

This month’s Sunday Stills color challenge theme is ‘Orange and Gold.’ See more responses here. First up is a very orange Passion Vine Butterfly taking a break.

Next, orange is the official color of the island of Lanai, represented here at this year’s Kamehameha Day celebrations.

A rider at the Kamehameha Day parade in Kapaau, Hawaii

Fish swim in one of the golden pools at Keawaiki, Hawaii — A spot of gold at Keawaiki.

An orange Bitter Melon fruit in Hawaii — A spot of gold at Keawaiki.

When I was putting this post together a few days ago, I thought a sunset photo would be a nice way to wrap it up. I trolled through my files before picking a suitable one out, and was on the verge of processing it, when I happened to glance out of the window and saw this developing. Another reminder to live in the present and not the past!

Graham's Island

Life on the Big Island of Hawaii