Tag Archives: Turtles

Hike to Kamehame Beach

Turtles resting at Punuluu on the Big Island Hawaii

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.

The Ala Kahakai Trail to Kamehame Beach on the Big Island Hawaii

An old sandy road on the trail to Kamehame Beach on the Big Island Hawaii

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.

A Castor semi-looper moth on the trail to Kamehame Beach on the Big Island Hawaii

A grasshopper on the trail to Kamehame Beach on the Big Island Hawaii

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.

A Black Sand beach on the trail to Kamehame Beach on the Big Island Hawaii

Lava cracks on the trail to Kamehame Beach on the Big Island Hawaii

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.

A View of Kamehame Beach on the Big Island Hawaii

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 Numbers Game #44

Billowy clouds over the Alenuihāhā Channel between Maui and the Big Island, Hawaii — Clouds pile up over the ʻAlenuihāhā Channel.

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

A rainy day at Upolu Airport, Hawaii — A plane parked at Upolu under ominous skies.

A giant trevally in the waters off Hawaii — A plane parked at Upolu under ominous skies.

A black saddlebags dragonfly — A Black Saddlebags Dragonfly.

The remains of a building at Kiholo, Hawaii — A Black Saddlebags Dragonfly.

A curious Green Turtle

A young green turtle catches the light as it swims by in the waters off Hawaii

I rarely post for Clare’s Share Your Desktop (here) for the simple reason that I rarely change my desktop image. But a couple of days ago, I was snorkeling off Honoka’ope Beach (commonly known as 49 Black Sand Beach) at Mauna Lani Resort and ran into this little fellow.

The turtle was probably around 18 inches long, head to tail, and in great condition, with a beautiful shell that glowed as it caught the light. Being a younger turtle, it was also quite curious, having not yet learned that people are pretty dull, clumsy in the water, and possibly dangerous. It stuck around for several minutes, coming quite close on a couple of occasions, before easing away, out of view.

I took half a dozen photos and any of them would have made a good desktop image, but the top one is the one that I’m currently running with.

Park yourself here

The coast at Punalu’u Black Sand Beach Park in Hawaii — Punaluu Black Sand Beach Park, on the southern coast of the island, not only has a black sand beach, but also turtles like the one in the photo. OK, it looks like a rock, but it’s there!

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘State and local parks.’ See more responses here.

Sifting through a ton of park photos, it was the island’s beach parks that came out on top. It’s possible to get in the water at all of these, though some require more caution than others.

The beach at Hapuna Beach State Park in Hawaii — Hapuna Beach State Recreation Area offers a long and wide sandy beach.

The coast at Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park in Hawaii — Hapuna Beach State Recreation Area offers a long and wide sandy beach.

A view of View of Whittington Beach Park in Hawaii — Not all beach parks have beaches. Whittington Beach Park on the south end of the island is one of those though it’s still possible to get in the water.

The coast at Lapakahi State Historical Park in Hawaii — Not all beach parks have beaches. Whittington Beach Park on the south end of the island is one of those though it’s still possible to get in the water.

The Numbers Game #28

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

A Scrawled Filefish swimming in the waters off Hawaii — Scrawled Filefish.

A Flowery Flounder swimming in the waters off Hawaii — Scrawled Filefish.

The Pride of America anchored off Kailua Kona.

Green Turtle surfacing

A green turtle surfaces of the North Kohala coast, Hawaii

A Green Turtle comes up for air off the North Kohala coast.

Posted for Bushboy’s Last on the Card photo challenge.

The Numbers Game #17

A Pallid Ghost crab blends int o the beach in Hawaii — A Pallid Ghost Crab on the beach.

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. The top photo was one of these and I thought, I must have run this before, but I hadn’t. It turned out to be a photo I’d processed, but neglected to move from my originals folder. Without The Numbers Game, I would never have found this!

This week’s number is 138. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

A green turtle swims in the waters off Hawaii — A Hawaiian Green Turtle swimming.

Crocodile Needlefish swim just below the surface in Hawaii — A Hawaiian Green Turtle swimming.

Dolphins and turtles, oh my

A pod of Spinner Dolphins swims through hazy water off the coast of Hawaii

Two Hawaiian Green Turtles circle in the waters off Hawaii

In the water yesterday, my wife and I had already seen a small turtle, when this pod of Spinner Dolphins suddenly appeared in the somewhat hazy water. Often, dolphin pods travel fast, but are spread out, with mothers and calves bringing up the rear. This one was moving slower, but tightly bunched. I reckon there were at least 40 or 50 in the pod, and in a few minutes they had all gone by, heading south.

A dolphin encounter is always a highlight of any swim, but conditions were so nice, we carried on across the bay. When we turned to head back in, I saw two turtles, almost directly below me, swimming around in a tight circle. When one headed away, the other followed and the circling resumed. I don’t know what they were up to, but they were still doing this routine when we left them.

Two Hawaiian Green Turtles in the waters off Hawaii

Graham's Island

Life on the Big Island of Hawaii