Tag Archives: Kohala

Great frigatebird

A great frigatebird flies along the North Kohala Coast.

I often see great frigatebirds on my afternoon walks along the North Kohala coast. Usually, they’re coming from the west with the wind and sun at their backs. I rarely spot them until they’re passing me and by the time I’m organized, they’re disappearing into the distance.

My nadir in these encounters occurred recently. I was watching a turtle from the cliff when a large shadow passed over me, quite startling me. I looked up and around and a great frigatebird swooped by, maybe six feet directly overhead. My best chance for a close up zipped away into the distance, but I had to laugh. It was almost like a cartoon encounter.

This is a different bird, one I saw early enough to get a decent photo.

Pololu beach

Pololu beach looks like an inviting place, but is a dangerous place for a swim.

Pololu beach looks like an inviting place to get in the water, especially if you get hot on the hike down. But it’s a very dangerous spot to get in the water with strong rip currents. Local knowledge helps, but even locals get into trouble now and again. One of those places that looks inviting, but only up to a point.

Turbine worker

A worker checks out a turbine blade at Hawi Wind Farm.

A worker checks out a turbine blade at Hawi Wind Farm. He looked like he was using the kind of tools one would use to patch a ding on a car, which seemed incongruous on such a large machine. But I suppose even small irregularities on the surface of the blade, especially the leading edge, could significantly affect the turbine’s efficiency.

Signs: Tong Wo Society

The sign outside Kohala's Tong Wo Society building.

The Tong Wo Society is a nonprofit organization, founded for Chinese immigrant workers as a meeting place and social center. The society’s building, at Halawa in North Kohala, is the oldest standing Chinese building in the state. It’s only open to the public one day a year during the Chinese New Year celebrations.

Upolu sunrise

Sunrise at Upolu on the Big Island of Hawaii

In keeping with my rigorous commitment to staying abreast of current events, it was only on the day before the event that I realized this week’s eclipse of the sun would be visible in Hawaii. Despite it being only be a partial eclipse here, I thought I should make the effort to check it out.

The first issue I had was that I had neither proper viewing glasses, nor the correct filters for my camera. But I thought that, since the eclipse would already be underway at sunrise, I might be able to get a decent photo or two at that moment.

I set my alarm and, when it went off at 5:15 on the big day, I got up and headed out. It was a promising, clear sky morning as I drove to Upolu Point, the northernmost tip of the Big Island. I parked my car and walked up a grassy slope to the headland which I thought would be a good spot for photos. That’s where I saw a band of clouds on the horizon. Maybe it would break up. Maybe it would blow over. Maybe a gap in the clouds would magically appear.

None of those things happened. This was the scene right around sunrise. The sun was eclipsed by the moon, but they were both eclipsed by the clouds. A while later the sun broke free, but by then it was too late for me, with my gear, to get an image. Still, it was a beautiful morning for a walk and not too late to head home for coffee.