Tag Archives: Upolu

The Numbers Game #14

The shadow of Mauna Kea stretches out above the clouds.
A favorite photo of mine. The shadow of Mauna Kea stretching out over the clouds!

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 135. Captions are on the photos.

You can see more responses here.

Sunrise at Upolu on the Big Island of Hawaii
Sunrise at Upolu. I was looking to capture an eclipse, but got this instead.

The Numbers Game #11

A distant view of Pu'u O'o vent from the Napau Trail at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
A view of Pu’u O’o vent, when it was erupting, from the Napau Trail in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

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 132.

You can see more responses here.

Post office boxes in Hawaii
Couldn’t resist taking this one at my local post office. I can run this several times!

The Numbers Game #9

A Black-Crowned Night Heron juvenile in Hawaii
A juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron on alert.

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 130. You can see more responses here.

A V22 Osprey aircraft at Upolu Airport, HawaiiA V22 Osprey aircraft at Upolu Airport, Hawaii showing how it is operated
A V22 Osprey aircraft…and how it works!

Finally, another monk seal

A Hawaiian Monk Seal rests at Upolu on the Big Island of Hawaii

Back on January 25, I posted photos for The Numbers Game that included an old monk seal photo. At the time I thought, I should run this because it’s been ages since I saw a monk seal.

A Hawaiian Monk Seal rests at Upolu on the Big Island of Hawaii

That afternoon, I went for a walk at Upolu and saw this monk seal. I didn’t notice it at first because monk seals tend to blend in well with the rocks they rest on. But when I got closer, I realized what I was looking at. It’s been two and a half years since I last saw one, so maybe I’m out of practice.

A Hawaiian Monk Seal rests at Upolu on the Big Island of Hawaii

I took photos, with a view to being able to identify the seal. I could see red tags in both tail flippers, but the seal’s position left me unable to see what was on the tags. Luckily, just before I left, the seal moved and I was able to get one shot from which I could read the identification.

A Hawaiian Monk Seal tag at Upolu on the Big Island of Hawaii

The seal’s tag read M36, and I sent this photo along with others to the Marine Mammal Center, which tracks monk seals around the islands. I was happy to get a response telling me this monk seal is a female, born in 2020 on Kauai. What was really nice to hear was that she is the pup of BOO, a monk seal I saw several times back in 2016 in the company of I05 (affectionately known as Igor). It’s been almost five years since I saw I05, which could mean bad news or simply that he moved elsewhere. He was not typically a social seal!

Two Hawaiian monk seals tussle in a tide pool.
BOO and IO5 at Upolu in 2016. Original post here.

Yesterday, I went walking at Upolu for the first time in a week and saw the same seal in the same place. I doubt she’s been there the whole time, but perhaps she’s going to make this stretch of coast her new home. One can only hope.

Some things to do on the Big Island

Skydivers in the air above Hawaii
Try skydiving, whether you’ve ever done it before, or not.
Paddleboarders in the waters off Hawaii
For something more mellow, there’s paddleboarding, at least on a morning like this one.

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Something to Do.’ See more responses here.

There’s plenty to do here on the Big Island, with outdoor activities available year round. Here’s a selection.

Canoe paddlers practice in the waters off Hawaii
Another paddling option is in canoes…
Canoe paddlers practice in the waters off Hawaii
…Or you can just watch others doing that.
A fisherman tries his luck in the waters off Hawaii
Perhaps a spot of fishing is more your style.
Going for a swim in Hawaii
There’s lots of places to go for a swim.
Sunbathing on a beach in Hawaii
Or you could kick back, relax, and do nothing, which is still something, right?

Hello, mate

A Seven-spotted Lady Beetle in Hawaii

On a recent walk, I noticed the Seven-spotted Lady Beetle in the top photo, wandering around on the ground.

Two Seven-spotted Lady Beetles in Hawaii

Soon, a second one came into view, then turned around and headed off again.

Two Seven-spotted Lady Beetles in Hawaii

A minute or so later, it reappeared and, without so much as a “Hi, my name’s Frank. And you?’ he climbed aboard. The two of them lurched about on the little rock, so I took my leave, and left them to it.

Two Seven-spotted Lady Beetles mating in Hawaii
Two Seven-spotted Lady Beetles mating in Hawaii

The Numbers Game #5

Plumeria blooms.

The idea of The Numbers Game is to enter a number into your computer’s search bar and then post a selection of the photos that turn up. I typed in a few numbers and up popped photos I’d forgotten about, so I thought this would be a fun way to feature some photos that ran a while ago, but warranted another airing.

This week’s number is 126. Ironically, for this first response, it turned out that three of these photos haven’t run before, but have been languishing in my archives.

A Green Turtle dives in the waters off Hawaii
Green turtle diving.

You can see more responses here.