Tag Archives: Turtles

Keawaiki to Kiholo and back

The Ala Kahakai Trail near Kiholo, Hawaii — The ramrod straight Ala Kahakai Trail.

A few weeks ago now, I hiked the Ala Kahakai Trail from Keawaiki to Kiholo returning along the coast. Back in the days of the Hawaiian Kingdom, the Ala Kahakai Trail ran from the northern tip of the island down the west coast and around to the southeastern tip, a distance of about 175 miles (282 kilometers). These days, the trail is broken into shorter lengths with private property in between, though more segments of trail are slowly being added. This section is about 4 miles long.

Goats on the Ala Kahakai Trail near Kiholo, Hawaii — Goats on the trail.

The trail starts out clearly marked and very straight, with goats your most likely companion. But after half a mile or so a tree marks the end of this stretch and the way forward is erratically marked by cairns. I did this hike several years ago without a problem, but this time I couldn’t remember which way to go. There was a cairn up to the left and another up to the right. The one on the right was the bigger one so I figured that was the one to go for. Size matters, right? But when I reached it, I couldn’t make out where the next one was. A smart person would have backtracked to the tree and followed the other option. I chose to carry on. It’s not like I was going to get lost. To my right was the coast and to the left the highway with little more than a mile between the two at the widest spot. However, hiking across lava fields is tricky. Lava tubes can be a matter of inches below the surface and collapsed tubes can have cliff-like walls. A wrong step could pose a challenge for search and rescue!

Lava fields near Kiholo, Hawaii — Cairn ahead.

The landscape is stark, crossing the 1859 lava flow from Mauna Loa, the most recent flow in this direction from the volcano. Eventually, I saw houses at Kiholo ahead and figured out I was too far makai (towards the ocean) so I cut inland and found the trail again, marked by lumps of white of bleached coral and a slightly worn look.

A view of the lagoon at Kiholo, Hawaii — Kiholo lagoon. The pale lump on shore is a turtle resting.

A Green Turtle in the lagoon at Kiholo, Hawaii — Kiholo lagoon. The pale lump on shore is a turtle resting.

There’s a park, with limited facilities, at Kiholo, but the trail I took turned back north near the mouth of Kiholo lagoon. The lagoon was once part of a huge fishpond built by King Kamehameha I in 1810, but the 1859 flow wiped it out. The lagoon has a wonderful color and is a great spot to see turtles both in and out of the water, but give them plenty of space. It’s also good place for a swim, but not for snorkeling because freshwater intrusion makes for poor visibility.

A trail along the coast near Kiholo, Hawaii — Heading north on the trail.

A monk seal on the shore near Kiholo, Hawaii — Heading north on the trail.

At the head of the lagoon, the trail mostly follows the coast north. It’s a bit easier to follow than the Ala Kahakai Trail, but one still has to pay attention. I came to one spot where the coast was lower with little rounds of pahoehoe lava surrounded by water. Out near the waves, I saw what I first thought was another lump of lava, but then wondered if it was perhaps a monk seal. I decided to walk down and sure enough it turned out to be a resting monk seal in what I thought was an excellent spot for it: Easy access and very little chance of being disturbed. After I got home, I reported the sighting and learned that the seal was likely RA20. She’s a monk seal that I’ve seen several times before, twice at Kekaha Kai Park with new pups, and also at Upolu. It was good to see that she was in great shape and looked like she had recently molted.

A tide pool near Kiholo, Hawaii — Tide pool colors.

Ruddy Turnstones on the shore near Kiholo, Hawaii — Tide pool colors.

A little farther north, the coast opens to some beaches and an array of tide pools that can be quite colorful. There’s more birds here, feeding or bathing in the pools, and I even saw a Humpback Cowrie getting washed by the waves.

A swing on the beach at Keawaiki, Hawaii — Swinging towards Keawaiki.

Finally, Keawaiki came into view. At the southern end, some scrubby trees provided shade and a swing, though I didn’t try it since it was only about six inches off the ground. Beyond that is the private Brown Estate, surrounded by palms and fencing, and then Keawaiki beach and a short walk back to the car.

Posted for Jo’s Monday Walk. See more responses here.

Pana’ewa Rainforest Zoo

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This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Animal or Bird in farm or zoo.’ See more responses here.

Pana’ewa Rainforest Zoo, in Hilo, is the only zoo on the island. It’s quite small, but is definitely a family-friendly destination. We like to visit once in a while to see the zoo’s star attractions, Sriracha and Tzatziki, a pair of Bengal Tigers. Captions are on the photos.

An Emu at Pana'ewa Rainforest Zoo, in Hilo, Hawaii — An Emu having a good hair day.

A Red Tegu lizard at Pana'ewa Rainforest Zoo, in Hilo, Hawaii — An Emu having a good hair day.

Yellow-spotted Amazon River Turtles at Pana'ewa Rainforest Zoo, in Hilo, Hawaii — Yellow-spotted Amazon River Turtles.

Tzatziki, a white tiger at Pana'ewa Rainforest Zoo, in Hilo, Hawaii — Yellow-spotted Amazon River Turtles.

This is one of the many benches in the zoo representing animals that live there. These are ‘Alalās, the endemic Hawaiian Crow. There are no longer any ‘Alalās in the wild and just over a hundred in captivity. The building behind this bench is one of the few places where these birds are bred, with a view to reintroducing them in the wild. So far, attempts to do this have failed, for a variety of reasons including disease and predation. One of the current projects is a release on Maui where Ios, Hawaiian hawks, a major predator of ‘Alalās, are no longer found.

Hawksbill Turtle

I’ve seen this little turtle a couple of times recently and realized it wasn’t one of the usual Hawaiian Green Turtles seen around here. The pointed bill is clear from above, and the edge of the shell is jagged, not curvy. These are both clear indicators that this is a Hawksbill Turtle. I think I’ve only seen one in this area before, but perhaps this one will stick around.

Turtle breath, too

A Green Turtle takes a breath in the waters off Hawaii

A few days ago, I posted photos of a small Green Turtle I saw coming up for breaths before diving down to rest. Brian mentioned that it would be great to see the nose sticking out of the water too, and I responded that every time I tried for that shot it was either out of focus or there was no turtle to be seen!

On Saturday, I ran into what I think was the same turtle doing the same thing. This time I got a shot where the turtle’s head can actually be seen. Mind you, even when the turtle isn’t clear, the resulting photo can still be interesting.

A view above and below the waters off Hawaii

Green Turtle breath

An Hawaiian Green Turtle takes a breath in the waters off Hawaii.

I saw this small turtle, near the end of a swim, popping up to take a breath four or five times. Then it dove down and eventually disappeared under a rock shelf to rest. Green Turtles can hold their breath underwater for up to five hours when they’re resting.

An Hawaiian Green Turtle dives in the waters off Hawaii.

The Numbers Game #122

Opening ceremonies at the Kamehameha Day Parade in Kapaau, Hawaii — Opening ceremonies at the Kamehameha Day Parade in Kapaau.

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 244. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

A Ruddy Turnstone on the coast in Hawaii — A Ruddy Turnstone on the coast.

A Green Turtle on the rocks in Hawaii — A Ruddy Turnstone on the coast.

This bench is one of two on the summit of Puu Waawaa, and this is the view looking north toward the coast and the Kohala mountains. — View from Pu’u Wa’awa’a looking north toward the coast and the Kohala mountains.

A Hawaiian zebra blennie in a tide pool on the Big Island — View from Pu’u Wa’awa’a looking north toward the coast and the Kohala mountains.

Underwater world

Head on view of a Manta Ray in the waters off Hawaii — Hard to beat seeing a big Manta Ray coming straight towards me.

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme, guest hosted by Cathy at Between the Lines is ‘Your Favorite Places.’ See more responses here.

The ocean is one of my favorite places. I love snorkeling and every swim is different, the conditions and the things I see. Here’s a sample. Captions on the photos.

A Scarface Blenny in the waters off Hawaii — A cute little Scarface Blenny.

A Christmas Wrasse in the waters off Hawaii — A cute little Scarface Blenny.

A Happy looking collector urchin in the waters off Hawaii — This Collector Urchin looks happy, so don’t step on it.

A Mauve Stinger Jellyfish in the waters off Hawaii — This Collector Urchin looks happy, so don’t step on it.

A shoal of Hawaiian Silversides in the waters off Hawaii — A shoal of tiny Hawaiian Silversides.

Reef fish in the waters off Hawaii — A shoal of tiny Hawaiian Silversides.

Hitchhikers

A Green Turtle with three Remoras on its shell in the waters off Hawaii

I saw this little turtle on consecutive days last weekend. Both times, it had three remoras on its shell. Two are definitely Slender Remoras, and the third is probably the same, though less easily identified in the photos I took. The remoras don’t harm the turtle, except for possibly slowing it down a bit, though this turtle looked pretty speedy regardless.

Graham's Island

Life on the Big Island of Hawaii