After a rather long day at the Volcanoes Park, I decided to take it a bit easier. The weather looked good: warm with a nice breeze and some high clouds with a temperature of around 23 C.
Not far from the B&B is Kehena Beach which I had read about
. The main draw is the black sand and it being clothing optional was also a plus. It was created after the 1955 lava flow. The local officials made stone steps down to it. Then in 1975, an earthquake sank the whole beach down 3 ft/0.9 m so the lower stone steps don't reach the beach. People have since gathered together piles of rocks to make further steps. The view of the cliffs was dramatic from the path. The beach itself isn’t very big. However, as it is made of volcanic material, it is rich in minerals and therefore plants, mainly tall palms, thrive here, which offer lots of shades. There weren’t many people around but those who were positioned themselves quite high up on the beach. I thought it strange but a big wave hit and I immediately understood why.
The black sand felt different under foot. It’s somewhat coarser than normal sand and doesn’t stick to the skin as much. The sea looked rough and I didn’t fancy going in. I did stand on the water’s edge which was very pleasant
. The water was refreshingly cool. Some brave souls did go out swimming and snorkelling. At one point the wave was pushing a bloke dangerously close to the some of the rocks, but he didn’t seem to be too bothered by that. Only stayed on the beach for just over an hour as the clouds came over and also down came some rather "alternative" individuals. The district is full of these “alternative” characters. So off I went back to the B&B and to the pool.
In the afternoon, I drove along the south coast of Puna District. The coast line is all rugged and wild. The whole area is quiet and seems a long way away from the main town of Hilo, even though it is only 40 or so miles (c. 65km) away. The roads are in good conditions but are subjected to the undulation of the lava flows on which they are built. Plants get destroyed by lava flows and then re-grow profusely. Trees form wonderful canopy over roads - wish I had a convertible car.
Along the route I stopped at the MacKenzie State Creational Park
. According to the guide book, this park was significant for the restored section of the old King’s Highway trail system. Before the West discovered the island, the regional chiefs would use the trail to connect coastal villages to allow them to collect taxes and maintain control. Also evident here are areas of the coast line being eroded away by strong waves and have collapsed. The endless cycle of creating and destruction.
Further along the coast was the Issac Hale Beach Park, which was basically a large area with a car park for surfers. Most of the surfers were young and fit – in the normal and the newer definition of the word, but some were also heftier than expected. Nevertheless, they were skilful and could steer, if steer is the right term, the board to catch the best waves. Eye candy aside, there wasn’t much here to detain the non-surfer like moi.
A couple of miles up the road was Wai’opae Ponds. They are natural tide pools
. Spring-fed brackish pools and some are volcanically heated. They were calm as they were protected by a coral reef further out to sea. Under the sunshine, it looked a wonderful place to swim, paddle, snorkel, or sunbathe on the flat lava rocks. Alas the tranquillity was disturbed by some rather chatty ladies whose voices carried rather. I do hope that one of them would find something to wear to the wedding of her friend’s daughter which would be in May in California. She wanted something smart but comfortable which also would reflect her Hawaiian background.
To get to the pools which are opened to the public, one has to drive through a private gated community. The roads there were well paved but the houses didn’t look like million dollars residences. Neat but not flashy. The weirdest thing about the place was that there were nobody about. It felt like driving through a film set.
Back on the main road, the end of which led to the Cape Kumukahi Lighthouse which was spared in the 1960 lava flow
. People thought that Pele, the volcano goddess, wanted to protect the fishing folks and so did not destroy it. The book said that it was worth a detour but the dirt road was really rough and to avoid any punctures, I only saw it from a distance.
The road going in the opposite direction led to the local town of Pahoa. The old part of town reminded me of some wild west settlements with raised wooden boardwalks and rickety looking building. Still there are two very good Thai restaurants there. (You thought I wouldn’t mention food today !!)I have been to both and twice to one of them. All have friendly staff and happy to chat. Things are just slower and more relaxed here. There was also a small local museum. The display was in no particular order. It looked like someone just randomly set up the exhibits (some rather moth-eaten) in cases, on shelves which saw a duster a long time ago, on the walls and on the floor. All very eclectic but with a certain charm, just like the town itself.
A remark about all the names. In Hawaiian spelling, ' is used a lot and it is used to indicate a glottal stop, somewhat similar to the vanishing “t” in cockney speech. They also used macrons over vowel to indicate stress. Unfortunately, I only worked out how to do it on my Notebook just now! I must admit I find Hawaiian names, like Maori names, hard to pronounce and to remember. There simply aren’t enough consonants to break up the string of vowels. The favourite Hawaiian word for confounding foreigners is the name of a local fish: Humuhumunukunukuāpua’a. So, humu-humu-nuku-nuku-āpu-a’a. Now say it really fast !! J
The Puna Coast
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Kehena, Hawaii, United States
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1London to Hawaii via Los Angeles
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3The Kingdom of Hawai'i
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4Another Day, another island
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5Volcanoes and lava flows
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6The Puna Coast
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7Back to Waikiki
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Comments

2025-02-07
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Lynda
2011-04-02
Yummm!
Etsuko
2011-04-02
A ver. Humhumhumhumhumhumhumhumhumhumhumhumhumhumh........