A Blast Start of A Great Gift Trip: Hiking at Hawai'i Historic Kaloko-Honokōhau Park.

 

 

 

Date: January 21, 2020

Place: Kaloko-Honokōhau State Historic Park, Hawai'i, Hawaii

Coordinates: 19.677899, -156.021713 

Length: 3.8 miles

Level: easy 

 

On occasions I do go hiking in places other than California. 

Pappa Quail is truly something else. For my big round birthday he organized a surprise trip to Hawaii for me, with two of my close friends, while he stayed home with the chikas. It was already a year after that when the trip actually happened because it wasn't easy to match the schedules of three busy women but he did it. So on January 2020, less than two months before COVID-19 hit the States and travel had came to a screeching halt, I flew to Hawaii with my friends for two weeks dreamy vacation.

I was the only one of us who has visited Hawaii before (16 years before, to be exact), and by the time I recovered from my surprise of Pappa Quail's idea, I was also tasked with choosing the destinations within Hawaii. Without hesitation I chose Hawai'i, the Big Island, as the first island we'd visit, and allocated it the longest stay time. 

We stayed in the city of Kona on the west side of Hawai'i, and on the first morning after our arrival we drove north looking for a nice hike to start our island adventure. 

I had Kaloko-Honokōhau State Historic Park on my, "would be nice to see what this is," list. I didn't think we'd stay there for more than an hour or so. The view from the visitor center wasn't all that promising - a wide field of A'ā basalt (the word A'ā in Hawaiian means broken, stony lava) under nice blue skies and only a thin strip of darker blue marked where the ocean was. 

A'ā basat 

 

After a chat with the resident ranger though, we decided to go on a loop hike in the park. 

Our hike as captured by my GPS

I found interest in this trail almost immediately, when I discovered wildflowers blooming in between the A'ā rocks. 

Pua Kala, Argemone glauca

Only a short distance away from the visitor center the trail dips below the higher part of the lava field to reveal much more greenery. Nearly everything was new to me so I stopped a lot to look at things. 

Ala-Mauka-Makai Trail

A little fan palm welcomed us around the curve of the trail. It didn't look any different from the California fan palms I'm familiar with but a sign next to it identified it as an endangered species, endemic to the Bigז Island. 

Loulu, Prichardia affinis, indigenous, endemic.

Next to the palm flew a very global insect species- the cabbage butterfly. It had a lot on which to feast there, too. 

Cabbage Butterfly

Further down the trail we run into an already familiar tree - the Hawaiian mulberry. There were a number of them in the street where we lodged and they attracted my attention right from the start. 

Noni, Morinda citrifolia, in bloom

In a perfect timing we run into a park ranger on her way back from the beach to the visitor center. She told us that the mulberry fruit are edible but taste horrible. I believed her and didn't try them for myself. She told us some more about the park. then loaned me her field wildflowers guide to the rest of the hike, a guide that turned out really useful. 

Noni, Morinda citrifolia

I don't usually photograph grasses but this one was so colorful and pretty that I couldn't resist. 

Natal Grass, Melinis repens

We didn't walk half a mile yet, and I already knew that this would be our main hike of the day. This wasn't a park for just a quick look, but one to explore more deeply. Even the non-native plants here were interesting, many of them also very pretty. 

Bitter Melon, Momordica charantia, non-native

The word 'Makai' that is part of the trail's name means in Hawaiian language, "in the direction of the sea".  And we were going in that direction, but we were taking it slow, taking in the sights. 

Ala-Mauka-Makai Trail

A caper looking plant cause my attention next. It s indeed of the caper genus, a cousin of the middle-eastern caper whose pickled, unopened flower buds are a tender delicacy in Mediterranean cuisine. This Hawaiian relative had much bigger flowers and I assume the bids are bigger too. I wonder if anyone trued pickling them.

Maiapilo, Capparis sandwichiana

A low shrub with pretty, red flowers was the next wildflower that captivated me. There were many of them all over the lava rocks.

Coral Creeper, Barleria repens

Hawaii is close enough to the equator for seasons to be less defined than in other States. My prevous visit to Hawaii was on July 2013, now I was there in January. I saw many wildflowers then, in the middle of summer. I saw many wildflowers now too, in the dead of winter. I assume that there is bloom year round there. 

Pa'uohi'iaka, Jacquemontia ovalifolia, indigenous, endemic

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Even the tiniest of the wildflowers didn't escape my eyes. Taking good photos of them however, was a different matter. 

Uhaloa, Waltheria indica, indigenous

A short distance before getting to the beach we arrived a little side loop that circled an area of petroglyphs. It isn't easy etching in basalt, and the contrast of the pictographs isn't great but standing right over them we could discern many of the images. 

Because Hawaiians were still practicing this form of expression (was it art? or a religious practice? I don't know) when Captain Cook arrived at the Big Island's shores and introduced the concept of firearms to the locals, there is also this pictograph of a rifle amongst the other, more traditional images. 

The short walk between the petroglyphs site to the beach was even more condensed with wildflowers. Most of the plants were of species I've already seen, just many more of them. And there were new ones, too. 

Ilima, Sida fallax, indigenous.

The trees seemed taller and more dense.I didn't see wetland directly under us but part of the trail was on an elevated boardwalk. There must be something sensitive underfoot there. 

Ala-Mauka-Makai Trail

At one spot I turned and looked back. When we entered the park in the morning we couldn't see the mountains because they were completely hidden in the clouds. now i could see the base of the nearest mountain - the Hualalai volcano. I remembered that on my previous visit to the Big Island I dreamed that Hualalai was erupting and I woke up in panic. It didn't erupt of course, that was only a dream. It hadn't erupted yet and as of now it isn't due to erupt any time soon. 

Hualalai

We took a short break at the beach. We didn't plan to stop for long, only a quick use of the facilities there. On the wall of the restrooms I saw this very colorful gecko - the suitably named gold dust day gecko. 

Gold Dust Day Gecko

From the beach site we turned north to walk on the Ala-Kahakai National Historic Trail which follows the coastline. The day was getting hotter and we enjoyed the partial shade cast by trees along the trail, and the light breeze that blew from the sea. 

Ala-Kahakai National Historic Trail

At the first opportunity we stepped off the trail and onto the rocks that extended from the coastline into the ocean. Flat rocks, like stepstones, separated by cracks grown with sea plants and little tide pools. 

Some shore birds were roaming around the tide pools, looking for food. I promised Pappa Quail I'd photograph the birds I see, and I did do my best to fulfill my promise.  

Ruddy Turnstone 

We've seen the sea turtles on the previous evening at the beach of Kona, but it was more exciting to see them here, surrounded by wilderness rather than city sights. There were a few of them swimming just off the stepstone rocks. I had to use my strongest zoom to capture them. 

One of the turtles made it easier for me. It was sunning itself on the rocks, a stationary model easy to photograph. 

Green Sea Turtle 

After being satisfied with the photo book I created for the turtle, I turned my attention to the tide pools themselves. There weren't as many animals as I was used to seeing in California's tide pools. I didn't see any sea anemones or mussels. There were many snails and hermit crabs, but different of those I know from California. The tide pool fish however, looked the same. 

I saw a wandering tattler roaming the tide pools. I saw this bird the first time in California where it is fairly uncommon. Now I was seeing it again in Hawaii, where it is common. 

Wandering Tattler 

We spend a good half an hour in the tide pools area before continuing on. We arrived to the sandy beach where the trail disappeared. There were some people ahead on the beach and an area fenced off by orange ribbons. I hoped we could go around it. 

According to the map there were brackish water lagoons to our right, just behind the sand bar we were walking on. The ridge of that sand bar seemed also the way to bypass the blocked off area, so I pulled my friends and we headed up to the top of the sand bar. 

The lagoon was indeed there, a blue lake of peaceful waters, with ducks floating on the surface. As to annoy me, the ducks swam away as we made it to the ridge of the sand bar. 

Lesser Scaup

I walked to the water and looked down. Small fish were swimming to and fro. Not schooling, but sticking together. The fish looked very familiar to me. I think they might be guppies, the all too common aquarium fish. 

Guppies?

Further down the lagoon another bird was swimming. It was familiar enough: a coot. But not like the American coots that are all too common in California. This one was a Hawaiian coot, and I was photographing it like a madwoman. Later, Pappa Quail told me that we had seen these before, on our previous visit to Hawaii, nearly 18 years ago. I didn't remember that at all. 

Hawaiian Coot

When we neared the closed off area we saw the reason for it: a single, huge seal was lying on the beach near the water. Behind the orange ribbon sat a man wearing a straw hat. I engaged in a chat with him and he told us that the seal was a female Hawaiian seal, which is a solitary species, and this spot on the beach is her regular siesta place. He himself was a volunteer sitting there to educate beach goers and passer-bys and to make sure that they don't disturb the seal. 

Monk Seal, female

We moved on. After a few steps I turned around and looked behind at the closed off area, the seal, and the volunteer. If we were locals, or had longer tie to spend on the Big Island, I would have gladly spend more time on that beautiful beach. 

There were semi-succulent bushes growing on the ridge of the sand bar. These were heliotrope bushes - the name literal meaning is 'sun-lover'.  I don't know this heliotrope is a relative of the heliotrope plants of the mainland. The Hawaiian plant was definitely much bigger than they.  

Heliotrope Tree, Tournefortia argentea

I could, and I did take many photos of the magnificent beach we were walking on. I chose one of them to head this blog post. To our right the lagoon was shrinking into small ponds bordered with lush vegetation. 

Eventually the sandy beach ended and once again we were walking on a rocky trail. Another zone of flat stepstones tide pools area attracted me and we did pause there for a little while. 

These tide pools were less interesting than the previous zone we've seen earlier on the hike. I did have better view of the water though, where some more colorful fish were swimming around. 

After leaving this tide pool zone the trail plunged into a more forested area. It was lunch time and we looked for a place to stop and eat. It was quite hot by then, and we chose to sit on the rocks a bit off trail under the shade of a large tree, where we had a nice view of the ocean. 

On the other side of the trail we had a clear view of a large field of A'ā basalt. Behind the A'ā field were modern buildings of a shopping center, perhaps some factories and workshops. After some gazing at the A'ā I started discerning structures there. This area was the location of the Native Hawaiian village in this area. The people who etched the petroglyphs we've seen earlier. I've read before about the ability of the native islanders to walk barefoot on the A'ā, unhindered by the rocks sharpness and heat. This ability was abolished by the introduction of shoes to the islands. 

Old and New

After lunch we reached the trail junction with the trail that loops back to the visitor center. We wanted to go first to the north beach of the park so we continued on north for some distance. 

Ala-Kahakai National Historic Trail

The trail became sandy again. The sand was coarse and light-colored, unlike the black basalt. It seemed to me that most of it was made of bits of sea shells, rather than eroded basalt. On the sand near the trail run plant vines of a plant that looked very familiar to me. When I saw the flowers I recognized the family immediately - it was a morning glory, and it was gorgeous! 

Pohuehue, Ipomoea pes-caprae, indigenous

The trees along the trail were semi-succulent and had little, delicate fan-shaped flowers. The thick, fleshy leaves of these trees and other beach plants have evolved to retain water and avoid dehydration. 

Naupaka Kahakai, Scaevola sericea

We reached the north beach of the park and sat down at one of the picnic tables that were there. There was only one car in the parking lot there, and a couple sitting quietly at one of the other tables. The picnic are was surrounded by orange-blooming trees. 

From my backpack I pulled out a pineapple that we purchased earlier that morning, a knife and a plate. I cut the pineapple and we enjoyed a very satisfying Hawaiian snack. 

Kau, Cordia subcordata

Small, colorfu birds were hopping around, sometimes on, the picnic tables. These were yellow-billed cardinals that were introduced from Brazil and did very well in Hawaii. 

Yellow-billed Cardinal

After consuming the pineapple me and one of my friends changed into swimsuits and went into the water. I wanted to test the new underwater camera that Pappa Quail had got for me before this trip. I took many photos but most of them were blurry. The spot were we got in the water was not protected from wave and I kept moving with the water, unable to keep my camera stable. It took me time and many tries to get a few clear photos. Also, at least in that spot, there wasn't much worth photographing underwater. Maybe a sea cucumber? 

I tried the camera above water as well and I did better at that. While we were in the water the wind had picked and clouds gathered overhead. I wondered if it was going to rain. Eventually it didn't. 

After leaving the beach we backtracked to the trail intersection and started looping back, going east away from the ocean, in the direction of the mountain. Once again we were walking through open A'ā fields, completely exposed to the sun and with much less vegetation. 

Ala-Hu'ehu'e Trail

Of the vegetation we did see there were also some non-Hawaiian native plants, such as the christmasberry bush, bearing pretty clusters of red berries. 

Christmasberry, Schinus terebinthifolius, non-native

Anothe non-native plant, one that is an invasive species in California, is the fountaingrass, It was brought over as a decorative plant and took off in the wild. these days it is no longer allowed to introduce exotic species into the islands. 

Fountaingrass, Pennisetum setaceum

Just before reaching the road we turned on the Highway trail going back south to the visitor center. The cool-looking clouds had moved south and we were walking under direct sun, and getting very hot. 

Kings Highway Foot Trail

We reached the visitor center a little before closing time and returned the loaned wildflowers guide that the ranger gave us at the beginning of the hike. My original thought of merely checking out this park for an hour or so had grown into a full-blown hike in a variable scenery rich in wildflowers, wildlife, and splendid views, and beautiful beaches. It was also clear that we didn't have day time left for any other major hike. As we drove away from Kaloko-Honokōhau we discussed what to do next. Then Mauna Kea, the highest mountain in Hawai'i came into view, its 14,000' snow cap a clear mark that we were in winter. I mentioned it to my friends, and with an instant agreement we directed our car to that holy mountain, to close our day with touching the heavens. 

Mauna Kea