A typical early Saturday morning at the beach. The campers set up Friday night, but not too many are up and about until it starts getting warm. This photo was taken just after 7 a.m. when coffee and breakfast is the priority for most of those who are up, though not the kids of course!
I’ve posted a fair number of photos taken on early morning walks in the vicinity of Pelekane Beach, between Kawaihae harbor and Puʻukoholā Heiau National Historic Site. During the winter months, I haven’t stopped there because it’s still dark when I go by, but recently I had an opportunity to visit in the now lighter early morning.
I parked my car in my usual spot and was about to get out and walk along the beach when I realized that there was no beach. Where I usually walked was now water. I got out and saw that the lagoon behind the beach now extended into the back of the beach. Not only that, but the beach was radically different. Instead on being gently sloping sand it was now marked with steep slopes and small sandy cliffs.
I think the dramatic changes are probably due to the storms and downpours that pounded the area this past winter. The good news is that it’s still a great spot for an early morning walk!
I found this picnic table at Punalu’u Black Sand Beach Park and thought it gave a wonderful view out over the ocean. If you swim out from shore here, your next stop is Tahiti, some 2,700 miles away!
Rattlesnake plant (Calathea Crotalifera) is native to Central and South America. This one was at Hawai’i Tropical Bioreserve & Garden, but it also grows in the wild in some places here.
For more information about Hawai’i Tropical Bioreserve & Garden, go to htbg.com.
A view of the Kau coast looking down towards Whittington Beach Park and Hawaii Volcanoes National Park beyond.
The high winds of a few weeks ago caused a fair amount of damage around the island. At Lapakahi State Historical Park, this tree was toppled and took out a bench that had been set up in its shade. The bench will have to be fixed and set up somewhere else because that shade isn’t coming back anytime soon.
I saw this old carriage on the way home from Hilo yesterday, parked in a grassy area of one of the ranches along Old Saddle Road. These days it’s being used as a planter it seems.
The top photo is posted for Bushboy’s Last on the Card challenge. (See more responses here.) The bottom photo is one I took a few moments earlier. I like it better because the carriage is framed better, the photo is crisper, and a few minimal photo edits give it more pop.
Neoregelia carolinae is known as the blushing bromeliad because, when it’s going to flower, the center turns red, as this one has done.
Graham's Island 