A horse wades through the sluggish waters of the Waipi’o River in Waipi’o Valley.
To the winner goes the … tail?
I saw the gold dust day gecko above on the edge of the roof with a trophy in its mouth. A fish steak perhaps? Lowering my eyes a tad, I spotted the common house gecko below and it wasn’t hard to fill in the blank. These confrontations are a regular occurrence and the day geckos usually win.
For more information about geckos, go to geckoweb.org.
Pu’u Wa’a Wa’a hike
Pu’u Wa’awa’a seen from the trailhead over a sea of fountain grass.
This old quonset hut, at the foot of Pu’u Wa’awa’a, was probably an old ranch building.
Tamaki Corral was used by the old Pu’u Wa’awa’a Ranch. Hualalai is visible in the background, before clouds rolled in.
Pu’u Wa’a Wa’a means “many-furrowed hill.” It’s popularly known as ‘jello mold,’ and is the biggest of several cinder cones on the slopes of Hualalai volcano.
The land is a State Forest Reserve with about 8 miles of hiking trails. The main trail leads to the top of the cone and is about 3 miles each way. The first half follows an old road that passes through a mostly forested area. There’s a good deal of bird life here, more often heard than seen in my experience. The trail then heads up the side of the cone itself in open country, passing old ranch buildings and likely some cattle, horses, sheep and goats.
Once at the top, the views can be tremendous, but an early start is needed. Clouds build up on the slopes during the morning and by midday the view can be fading or gone.
For more information about Pu’u Wa’a Wa’a and its trails, go to puuwaawaa.org.
The smaller Pu’u Iki cone seen from the top.
A Mamane tree atop Pu’u Wa’awa’a, with the coast in the distance.
Red pencil urchins
Red pencil urchins add striking color to the reef, seen here among cauliflower coral and, what I think are, black banded urchins.
To identify this, I used John P. Hoover’s book Hawai‘i’s Sea Creatures: A Guide to Hawai‘i’s Marine Invertebrates. His website is hawaiisfishes.com.
Signs: Muliwai trail advice
Words of wisdom and instructions for hikers at the start of the Muliwai Trail in Waipi’o Valley. I’m surprised no one has used a finger to scrawl ‘Wash me’ on the signs.
Wandering tattler
This wandering tattler was probing cracks and holes in the rocks, searching for a snack. Periodically, a larger wave than usual would send the bird into the air where it looped around before settling back in the same general area.
Passion vine butterfly
A passion vine butterfly takes a break on a windy day in Kohala.
I joined the Navy to see the world …
The military has a significant presence in Hawaii – think Pearl Harbor on Oahu – and the Big Island sees its share of the action. Naval exercises take place offshore and the saddle between Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea is home to the Army’s Pohakuloa Training Area. Troops and equipment are landed at the harbor at Kawaihae and the driven the 30 odd miles to the base.
I’ve seen this ship, and ones like it, off the northern tip of the island where they make a course change and head off to Oahu.
