This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Walk in the Park.’ See more responses here. These photos are from my last hike at what is officially known as Pu’u Wa’awa’a Cinder Cone State Park. The hike took place under heavy skies, but the clouds hovered just above the top of the hill and the rain held off until late in the walk.
Also posted for Jo’s Monday Walk. See more responses here.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Stark.’ See more responses here.
This seemed a good opportunity to recap a hike I did last year, but have failed to get organized into a post! The hike started at Punulu’u Black Sand Beach Park, home of the island’s most famous black sand beach.
As usual, there were a few Green Turtles resting on the beach. The trailhead, at the east end of the beach, isn’t marked, but hike up through a narrow band of trees and it opens out onto a lava bench. On this bench is Kāne’ele’ele Heaiu, an ancient Hawaiian heiau where human sacrifices were carried out.
Beyond the heiau, the trail is marked by flat stones. This is the ancient Ala Kahakai trail, which followed the coast from the northern tip of the island all the way down and around the west and south coasts, to the southeastern corner of the island. The hike follows the coast, passing through scrubby vegetation and across stark lava fields.
There are some tenacious plants growing along the way, notably Beach Naupaka, which tolerates rocky terrain and salt spray. There’s also a variety of birds and other wildlife to be seen.
Cairns mark the trail, though they’re not always easy to spot. It’s easy to wander off the trail, which is not a good thing given the large cracks in the lava and potential thin spots that one could fall into.
But if you don’t get lost or fall into a lava tube, eventually Kamehame Beach will come into view. This beach is important as a nesting place for both Green Turtles and Hawksbill Turtles. The nesting season runs from June to November, which was when I was there, so I knew I wouldn’t be walking on the beach for fear of disturbing anything. In fact, I thought I hadn’t seen anyone on this hike once I left Punulu’u, but when I looked at my photos, I saw someone at the far end of the beach. This was undoubtedly one of the researchers who monitor these spots for turtle activity.
The beach itself is quite steep and, even if it wasn’t turtle nesting season, I’d have been reluctant to walk it given the high surf on this particular day. The round trip hike is around 6 miles unless you get lost!
Also posted for Jo’s Monday Walk. See more responses here.
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 180. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.
The Humpback Whale season here has been underway for a few weeks, but I hadn’t seen many until a few days ago. Then, on one of my coast walks, I saw half a dozen or more.
This whale was in the company of another one, which had dived just before this. I like the curve of the tail and how the water drains off it, just before it’s full submerged.
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 174. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.
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 171. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.
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 163. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Oddballs, Wild and Weird.’ See more responses here. Captions on the photos.
Also posted for Becky’s Squares: Seven. See more responses here.
Graham's Island 