Join Thor and me as we hike over lava fields on the Big Island to find a paradise cove and snorkel with a young Honu sea turtle.
NOTE: Thor and I decided on a quick trip to Hawaii’s Big Island to stretch out summer a bit as our gray, rainy Pacific Northwest winter was closing in. The airline and all venues in Hawaii are being super careful with Covid precautions, and it was a wonderful getaway. If you didn’t catch my blog series about our first Big Island trip, it started April 24, 2021. Check it out if you want to catch up on the full adventure, including a volcano, petroglyphs, snorkeling with wild dolphins, and a night swim with huge manta rays. And I promise I will finish the Retro Italy Vacation series soon.
The newly-erupting Kilauea caldera was spewing “vog” — irritating volcanic fog — that was circling around our condo area, so we decided to head north for cleaner air. We were eager to check out the secluded coves and beaches we had heard were north of Kekaha Kai State Park. So we packed our lunch and snorkel masks, leaving the lush gardens of the Kona Coast…
…and this friendly lizard who popped out to say hi.
The coastal highway took us into a realm of raw lava fields from fairly recent eruptions — layers from the past couple of hundred years over much older flows. We turned off for the park road, which turned out to be a challenge in itself, twisting and turning through the lava fields and offering some serious potholes.
After a bone-jarring drive, we were happy to glimpse the ocean and the path heading north from the park.
But the relatively smooth start of the path was only the deceptive beginning of a rough, broiling-hot, 40-minute hike. Of course we were carrying our beach chairs, lunch, towels, snorkel masks, etc.
It was a visual relief when we reached the start of a green oasis of scrub trees and ice plants. The stark color contrasts are certainly dramatic on this “new” volcanic island.
We reach the south end of the secluded beach and coves.
Our picnic destination is the jutting outcrop of lava near the top of this photo:
We found a shady spot beneath the trees to set up our beach chairs, and were quickly welcomed by doves and francolins, who were scouting for picnic crumbs. One of the bigger francolins, particularly greedy, nipped at Thor’s toes.
But first things first — doff sweaty clothes and dive into that clear, cooling sea.
The coves had mostly sandy bottoms, but around the lava outcrops, coral was busy with fish. I borrowed Thor’s underwater camera to get a shot of him for a change, but it’s a bit tricky to focus and catch the right frame while you’re floating and squinting through your mask.
Thor’s shots are better.
Kona Gold tangs and black spiny urchins:
The highlight of the day came on our second or third snorkel, when we spotted a young Honu sea turtle whose shell was about a foot and a half across. She was munching on something clearly delicious growing on the shallow corals, as the waves broke over her and swept her back and forth. It didn’t seem to bother her a bit. Then she spotted us watching from a distance and turned to swim directly toward me. Within a foot or so, she cocked her head and checked me out from various angles, as I admired the pretty colored patterns on her head and her enormous eyes. Then, apparently satisfied that we were harmless, she went on with her lunch.
We didn’t have the camera with us for the first close encounter, but Thor retrieved it, and we enjoyed watching her some more. Here’s a video of the second swim with her.
After multiple cooling dips, and swimming twice with the sweet Honu, relishing floating weightless in the warm, shimmering sea surges, it was hard to tear ourselves away. But the hot hike back to the car couldn’t be postponed forever. Here, we look northeast toward the shrouded peak of Mauna Kea. As geologist Thor notes, the island built of mounds of gooey lava flows resembles a big blob of oozing dough. In an upcoming post, he’ll enlighten us about the volcanic processes at work.
Getting closer to the car, we paused to admire this gnarled tree gamely surviving in this harsh environment.
Also surviving are a remaining population of endangered Hawaiian Monk seals. This one was resting on the beach near the park entrance while molting. Every year or so, the seals shed the outer layer of fur and skin and regrow them in about a week. During that time, they mostly stay on land and are at risk.
The parks department had erected a rope barrier and sign to protect the molting seal.
And, to top off the day, another beautiful sunset from our condo lanai. Mahalo! Thank you, Big Island!
*****
You will find The Rambling Writer’s blog posts here every Saturday. Sara’s latest novel from Book View Cafe is available in print and ebook: The Ariadne Connection. It’s a near-future thriller set in the Greek islands. “Technology triggers a deadly new plague. Can a healer find the cure?” The novel has received the Chanticleer Global Thriller Grand Prize and the Cygnus Award for Speculative Fiction. Sara has recently returned from another research trip in Greece and is back at work on the sequel, The Ariadne Disconnect. Sign up for her quarterly email newsletter at www.sarastamey.com
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