Water shimmers down the side of an infinity pool in South Kohala.
Abstracts: Infinity pool runoff
Tag Archives: Kohala
Downtown Hawi
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Urban.’ See more responses here.
North Kohala is mostly rural, so in this part of the world Hawi and Kapaau are the only urban centers and pretty small ones at that.
The top photo shows downtown Hawi on a moderately busy day. Some days, the traffic and crush of visitors can make it almost impassible. Downtown is mostly shops and restaurants, though there’s a small local grocery store and, of course, real estate agents.
One kind of store you don’t get in most downtowns is Hawi’s Aloha Man which features items made in Hawaii. There’s even a hammock just out of sight to the left of the store, in case walking the two blocks of downtown is too much for you!
Palm trees on the coast
A couple of different views of five palm trees on the South Kohala coast, looking out to sea (above) and along the coast (below).
Any wave is better than no wave
A couple of surfers ride a small wave off the South Kohala coast. The west coast of the Big Island isn’t the best place for surfing, but this winter the northwest swells have had more of a westerly component than usual, so we have had one high surf warning after another. I suspect absenteeism has been high at many businesses!
Distant sailboat
A sailboat framed by driftwood on the Kohala coast.
High surf
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Power of the Elements.’ See more responses here.
For the past couple of weeks or more, we’ve had a series of sizable WNW swells reaching the Big Island. What this has meant is lousy snorkeling conditions on the west side of the island and a surge in calling in sick to work amongst surfers.
The photos below show surf from one of these swells crashing ashore along the North Kohala coast. The first of these photos was taken from the parking lot of one of the parks there. In the bottom corner of this area is a metal boat hoist and concrete barriers blocking access to the corner of the lot, where it’s no longer safe to park. When big swells wash over the lot, these big concrete barriers get pushed around, such is the power or the surf.
The top photo is from a previous event of this kind several years ago, which dwarfed the recent swells. This particular swell not only washed over the entire parking lot, but also engulfed the boat hoist, swallowing it from sight. As the water receded, two portable toilets in a recess near the top of the lot, started sliding down the lot towards the water. Luckily, some people watching from nearby were able to corral them before they fell over or were washed into the bay. The boat hoist wasn’t as fortunate. After the waves subsided, it was discovered that these powerful waves had twisted the metal frame of the hoist, rendering it unsafe for use. It was several months before repairs made it usable again.
Honoka’ope black sand beach
Honoka’ope black sand beach is reached by driving into Mauna Lani resort or walking along the coast. I did the latter and this is a view from a rocky promontory bordering the beach
Abstracts: Balconies on fire
The setting sun glints off the balconies of the Hilton Hotel on the South Kohala Coast.
Graham's Island 