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| The Big Island really doesn't have that many beaches compared to say Maui. It's more rocky with deep clear waters full of reefs and fish. The snorkeling is incredible with easy viewing up to 50feet. Swim with turtles, spy on a 4foot moray eel thats as thick as a man's thigh, boogieboard like the true freak you are on fine white sand beaches...The nature is quite spectacular out here. /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ |
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Makalawena Beach- Not sure how to spell it. As nice as Mauna Kea beach without the crowds of sun burnt tourists hassling the sea turtles(which is illegal bub). The catch is you have to hike there from Kona Coast State Park and getting your car over the "road" to Kona Coast State Park is an adventure in itself.
Keauhou- Just a short jaunt through a resort to is this ancient site. There are petroglyphs in front of the heiau(temple) where human sacrifice took place. You can only see the petroglyphs at low tide where they lay on a huge slab of smooth lava(pahoehoe). I tried to show a Maui chief petroglyph which depicts the chief after a failed invasion of Kona. Included is a illustration of the petroglyph, time has caused the lava to become eroded and it's harder to make out the sacrificed chief.
Mauna Kea Beach(Kauna'oa)- Ahh such a sweet beach for lazing. Never crowded(the resort only let in 30 cars), fine white sand, and best of all..shade. A nice reef is only about 100 yards off shore too.
Honaunau Bay- The snorkeling here blows my freaking mind. 50ft-? depths with coral towering maybe 20-30feet high, wide as hills, and as far as the eye can see. You can get in 2 ways, a long lame walking route off the boat launch or you can just jump in off these cool natural stairs that drop you right into 30-40ft of water. Watch the third "step" cause it's covered with sea urchins. I need an underwater camera cause Honaunau doesn't look like much from a terrestrial perspective. Most people go across the bay to Pu'uhonua o Honaunau, or the City of Refuge where there's a surreal park with nicely rebuilt ancient Hawaiian structures and fishponds. Back in the day, a bad Hawaiian who broke a law(kapu) was usually put to death, but if he could run or swim faster than the Man, he could find refuge here and hopefully be purified by a kahuna. Mostly these places were used to hold the elderly, women, and children when the men fought wars or were invaded. The concept of a Pu'uhonua is quite a highly developed aspect of civilization when you think about it.
Kaloko-Honokohau Park- I love this place, we call it honu(sea turtle) beach cause the sea is thick with them feeding on limu(seaweed) and if you hike along the beach please be careful not to wake the snoozing honus, some are as older than your grandma! Sorry no pictures of turtles, it's kinda like if you went hiking and took a bunch of pictures of squirrels(or SUVs). Past the park entrance are some great hiking trails along gorgeous coastlines and through ancient settlements. It's a typical Big Island hike; beautiful, tiring and a bit spooky. If you leave the trail(VERY easy to get lost when you can't see the ocean) you find prehistoric ruins from a large human population. I am careful not to offend anyone because some of the heiaus(temples) are still in use and now and then you accidently stumble across bone houses(or a quiet old man staring at you from the bushes...). Sorry, I did not photograph any of this. It gave me chicken skin kine(Hawaiian for freaked out) so I went back to the coastal hike after a quick dip in Queen's Bath a clear, brackish pond in the middle of a barren lavafield.
Random beach shots-The dangers of learning to boogieboard on 10foot waves, Cheryl at Hapuna, some Honokohau views, and what the hell, why not a turtle?, these guys are everywhere.
Kuki'o Beach- This place was beautiful, I was lucky and got a good view of the spectacular Mauna Kea. The beach was desolate until noon and there was even fishponds with the ancient crumbling walls still functioning. In 1 of the tidepool shots is a baby black moray eel, he was hunting in 2inch deep water.
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