January in Hawaii – Part 3

This post will cover day 6 and 7 – our beach days, from our trip to the big island of Hawaii.

We decided it was time to go to the beach and actually get in the water. One of the best snorkelling spots on the island was less than twenty minutes south of our place in Kealakekua, so we headed over to Honaunau Bay and the snorkelling spot called “Two Step.” We parked above the beach beside the road and walked down the narrow lane, passing a boat shelter for outrigger canoes.

“Two Step” is in the middle of the photo below, behind the standing group of people. It’s called that because it is a lava shelf with steps. We were there near high tide, so the lower step was hardly visible.

Doug had his iPhone in a waterproof case to take these photos. The one on the left was from the water directly out from the steps. Doug had a great time swimming and looking at the fish and coral. The next two photos were taken in the shallower water just past the boat launch where Wendy was more comfortable. There were plenty of fish to see in shoulder height water.

The snorkelling beach was right beside Pu’uhonua o Honauna National Historic Park. There was a charge for entry, but we gained admission with our National Park Annual Pass. We walked the paths of the Royal Grounds, through the opening in the Great Wall to the Pu’uhonua or place of refuge. A place of refuge was important in ancient times when commoners lived under a kapu system of rules that had to be followed. To escape death, a lawbreaker could get to a place of refuge and be absolved by a priest. The Pu’uhonua was also a sanctuary in times of war. In the photo below, the wooden images of Hawaiian gods stand outside the reconstructed Hale o Keawe heiau, which originally held the bones of 23 chiefs. We suspect the loin cloths have been placed to protect modern sensibilities.

This is a view from near the same spot, looking out towards Honaunau Bay.

Next we drove back towards Kealakekua, to a shoreline park that was basically directly below our BnB. Hokuli’a Shoreline Park is a privately owned park that is open to the public. We drove down from the highway past luxury homes to the golf course and shoreline park. There was no beach here, but the waves crashing on the lava rocks were impressive. We saw seventeen species of birds here, including our best view of a Hawaiian Hawk. Hawk identification is Hawaii is pretty easy; if it’s a hawk, the only one around is the Hawaiian Hawk.

This was Saturday night and we went “out” for dinner. We decided that sushi on the porch would be more enjoyable than driving to a restaurant.

We watched the sunset as we ate and enjoyed our wine.

The next day, we continued with our beach theme and headed north to the Kohala coast. We visited Hapuna Beach mainly to go birding, but it looked like a great beach to spend the day. There was a fee for parking and day use for non-residents. Since we were there about half an hour, we parked beside the road outside the park entrance.

We got a close view of a Pacific Golden Plover. These plovers were plentiful around the island, especially on golf courses, soccer fields or patches of grass near the beaches. This species breeds in the Arctic and flies 3000 miles non-stop to Hawaii for the winter.

We also saw our first African Silverbill.

This Northern Cardinal seemed unafraid and it seemed as if it was asking for its photo to be taken. We saw at least a couple of cardinals each day we were in Hawaii, and they reminded us of Arizona.

We went swimming at Spencer Beach, which was a calm beach about fifteen minutes north of Hapuna Beach.

There we also got a good view of a Warbling White-eye.

January in Hawaii – Part 1, 2, and 3 were about our first seven days on the big island. Part 4 will finish off our trip and be posted soon.