A few days ago, I posted here an image from a recent walk along the coast to Hapuna beach. I thought I’d post more photos from that walk for this week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme of ‘Paths and Trails’ (more responses here), and for Becky’s Squares theme of “Walking” (more responses here).
The trail crosses beaches large and small.
Of course, besides the views I was on the alert for anything moving on the beach or in the air.
Other parts pass through trees and other vegetation.
A couple of days ago, I hiked south from Spencer Beach Park to Hapuna and back. My main reason for doing this was that I’d heard Hapuna State Park was closed because of a broken water line. People were still allowed to get in the water there, but not stay on the beach or gather anywhere – a sort of return to Covid restrictions. I wanted to see how much difference this made.
When I got down there, the beach wasn’t deserted, but was pretty quiet, especially for a Saturday afternoon. Normally, there would be large gatherings and barbecues. Mind you, the beach in front of Hapuna Resort, at the top of this photo, wasn’t especially crowded either. Perhaps it was just a slow weekend.
Bushboy’s Last on the Card photo challenge asks us to post the last photo we took in October (See more response here). Mine came from a couple of evenings ago.
I was taking photos of the sunset and when the sun dipped out of view I noticed a strange something on the horizon. I zoomed in and took a couple of photos, this being the second of those.
It took me a while to figure out what was going on here, but then it all became clear. I realized, some 20 miles out to sea, an enormous duck was paddling by. I mean, what else could it be?
I found this toy watering can on the sand at Spencer Beach Park one early morning, as the full moon was setting, clearly been left behind by the previous day’s beach-goers.
A Black-crowned Night Heron is silhouetted as it hunts around sunset.
Pu’u Wa’a Wa’a is a cinder cone on the slopes of Hualalai volcano. The name means “many-furrowed hill,” and it’s a place I like to walk at least once a year, but it had been a while since I was up there. Usually, I go there in the spring when Jacarandas and other flowers are blooming. I also try to go in the early morning, since the area tends to cloud up during the day and the wonderful views become obscured.
A couple of weeks ago I made a late decision to do the hike again since the weather looked unusually good. I got there around 2pm and it will come as no surprise that I spent the first 15 minutes of the hike taking photos of Williwilli flowers on a tree about 20 feet from where I parked! (More of those in a few days.)
The trail follows an old road up the hill past Silk Oak trees, at the tail end of their flowering and sporting a deep red hue I hadn’t seen before. Turn around, and there are good views of Maui to be had. The old road peters out near an old blockhouse, now lacking doors and windows, which offers shelter to livestock on the ranch here. Off to one side is an old quarry, which cuts into the side of the hill. Usually there are goats in this area, but I didn’t see any on this day. Farther up is what’s left of Tamaki Corral, which dates back around 100 years.
Not far after the corral, the trail climbs steeply toward the top. This was where I found a change in the trail. Whereas before the trail was an out-and-back up a steep slope to the top, now a loop has been created. I took this new option to the top where, on this remarkably clear late afternoon, I had great views of Maui, Kohala Mountain, Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, and Hualalai. A new sign at the top welcomes hikers to the nearly 4,000 foot summit, and there’s a survey marker at the top riddled with holes, not from gunfire, but to let the wind blow through. There are also a couple of benches where one can sit a while enjoying the views (weather permitting). The hike is steep in places, but not difficult, though not everyone makes it back alive!
I followed the old trail back down and ran into several sheep, which have the run of the land up here, as the sun dipped behind the ridge.
One other difference I noticed with this afternoon hike was the proliferation of birds. There were large numbers of finches, mostly Saffron Finches flitting about, preparing to roost for the evening. Yellow-fronted Canaries were all over the tree tobacco flowers. I also saw, and heard, several Erckel’s Francolins doing their usual fine job of blending in with the vegetation.
And as I walked back down the hill towards my car, the late afternoon sun still shone, illuminating grasses alongside the trail.
Posted for Jo’s Monday Walk. See more walks here.
Early morning sun illuminates some still unopened blinds.
Hawaii is the Rainbow State and North Kohala is a great place to see them, given its mix of rain and sunshine. I saw this rainbow as I neared home and was moved to pull over and take photos.
Graham's Island 