North Kohala

Deb and I again joined the team counting whales at Mile Marker 7 north of Kawaihae. There were about twenty folks this February, following the procedures and filling out the forms for the 2011 season Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary count. So we setup lawn chairs and set out drinks, slathered on the sunscreen, and settled in to count whales for a few hours.

As usual the whales were there in abundance. There were moments when no whales were in sight, but those moments were rare. At times we called activity faster than those recording could make hash marks on the counting forms. Blow, blow, blow, dive, pec slap, pec slap, blow blow, breach!! The whales were spread across 180° of horizon and up to ten miles away. A dozen pairs of binoculars swept back and forth waiting for each pod to surface.

Several calves were visible from time to time, often playing at the surface with mom nowhere in sight, somewhere below. They slapped the water, rolled and breached in front of us. Enjoying the warm waters of the Kohala Coast.

The whales were not the only marine mammals in the water, a super-sized pod of spinner dolphins patrolled the coast. We watched as the Kohala Divers boat was surrounded by dolphins, not just once, but three times as the dolphins swept past. Ded and I were a bit envious, we have been diving off that boat. But not too envious, as we have had the pleasure of being surrounded by spinners just a few miles further up the coast. The dolphins hung around throughout the morning, often among the whales and confusing the count.

It was a fun morning, enjoying the show off the coast. After four hours we were hot, sweaty and slightly sunburned despite SPF30 sunscreen. Time to head for Kawaihae and lunch!

The last few weeks have seen more traffic trouble than usual in Waimea. It is for a good cause however, a few months of construction will hopefully allow traffic to flow just a bit more easily through the town.

Slowly the crews are working their way along the highway. Huge chunks of asphalt are broken away as machines excavate the margins of the roadway. The old pavement must be removed so the that the subsurface can be excavated and replaced with rolled rock, creating a base that can support the weight of heavy traffic.

The widening of Mamalahoa highway continues through Waimea from the hospital to milepost 56. The new section will be two lanes with a new turn lane to allow a smoother flow of traffic and better access to the many businesses in this area.

Despite having to work around continuous traffic, distinct progress is being made. There is no available route onto which the island belt highway can be diverted. The highway must remain open during construction. Work is nearly complete in front of Keck headquarters and the hospital. The main effort is rapidly moving east.

Widening the main highway will ease the usual congestion through town, but will not solve the problem, only a complete bypass route will do that. But with the bypass tied up in political limbo, a little widening is better than nothing.

There is still quite a bit of whale activity off of the Kohala Coast, even in late March. Deb and I spent the morning counting whales, participating in the 2010 NOAA’s Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Ocean Count. We spent our Saturday morning on a bluff just off the Akoni Pule highway, sitting in the hot sun scanning the sea with binoculars, with clipboards and busy pencils.

As is usual for the area around Kawaihae, there were whales everywhere we looked. We saw dozens of breaches, lots of tail slaps, and even a few males getting rough. There were quite a few calves, often playing at the surface, with mom making an appearance every one in a while to get a breath.

Of the 62 counting stations across the islands, we were the busiest, only challenged for numbers by the folks at Pu'ukohala Heiau, just a few miles south of us. While many stations were lucky to see a couple whales in each half hour counting interval, we struggled to keep track of them all.

Soon the whales will depart for the North Pacific. We will have to wait until next winter to see these visitors again. I expect we will go whale counting next year, an enjoyable way to spend a Saturday morning.

Thar she blows!

The whales are present in force off of the Kohala Coast. Stop along the coast highway, anywhere from Puako to Hawi and you can not help but see whales. The humpbacks are spending the winter in our warm, tropical waters as they have done for unknown eons.

To help with the annual census, Deb and I volunteered for the 2010 Sanctuary Ocean Count organized by the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary. For this we joined a group of about a dozen other volunteers at a site a few miles north of Kawaihae.

Deb and I are more than familiar with these whales, having regularly watched their activities here in Hawai'i as well as in Alaska. Helping keep track of their numbers and support the efforts of the sanctuary seemed a small thing we could do for the whales.

Sitting on a grassy bluff for four hours carefully recording the whale activity onto the provided worksheets. A task made rather difficult by the sheer number of whales along the coast at the site. There was barely a moment when a whale was not visible, usually dozens of whales, scattered individuals and small pods everywhere from horizon to horizon. Breaches, tail slaps, fin slaps, and the occasional tussle, a whole range of whale activity visible. The form asked to count each activity, including the blows seen, a task that quickly bordered on the absurd as the spout count climbed fast. The four hours went quickly as we tried to keep up with everything in view.

The final numbers are due to be released on the sanctuary website, but we counted well over a hundred whales at our location. It will be interesting to see where the whales are and how our site compared. A fun and rewarding morning. There are two more counts coming up, February 27th and March 27th, if you want to join the fun and count whales.

Recently I visited a navigational heiau on the Kohala Coast. I am fascinated by the skills of the ancient navigators and wished to see this place. The Maka O Hule Navigation Heiau is an enigmatic collection of standing stones atop a small bluff about a half mile north of Mahukona. A fascinating link to the world of the Polynesian navigators who sailed the vast roads of the Pacific.

Across the islands there are bits and pieces of a technology that was almost lost. With a little searching a persistent explorer can find experiences that give a glimpse into that lost world. A jaunt on a recreated sailing canoe, viewing artifacts in a museum, or visiting an ancient heiau atop a bluff overlooking the ocean.

Looking out from the heiau one can completely understand why this site was chosen. The view encompasses over 180 degrees of open ocean. From the site, about two hundred feet above the sea, you may look out along the ancient Polynesian routes to destinations far beyond the horizon.

I was quite impressed by the feeling of history here. Looking past the standing stones that point to distant destinations I could only feel awe and respect for those who challenged the wide expanses of the Pacific in open canoes. I could ask myself what it would be like to set sail from the shore below bound for Tahiti or even further.

As I came down the steep trail a Hawaiian woman waited for me. She scolded me for violating a sacred place, telling me it was off limits. She had clearly gone out of her way to deliver her message.

In some ways I can understand this point of view, so much has been lost or destroyed. Much of Hawaiian culture has been sold, built over or turned into entertainment for tourists. Even now there are those who would vandalize the site, tip over the upright stones. But this site is in a conservation easement, supposedly open to public access. There were no signs or markers around the heiau to declare a kapu. This was a place I followed the old adage... "Take only photographs, leave only footprints"

What about those, like myself, who would visit a site with respect, to see a little of the legacy left by the ancient Hawaiians? When is a place off limits? When is it too sacred? What differentiates who can and can not go to such a place?

These ancient sites are part of the heritage of not only Hawaiians, but all who would learn about and respect the achievements of our predecessors. We are all human, ancient sites like this are the heritage of all who would see and experience human history. To me it is not Hawaiian blood that make the difference, but respect for those who came before. A navigational heiau was built for one purpose, to teach those who would learn.

The Big Island is one of the best places in the world for cloud watching. They are incredibly dynamic here. Over the mountains the are constantly forming and dissipating as the strong winds move the air quickly past. In the passes between the big volcanoes you stand right in the clouds and fog as they move past. The damp marine air from the windward side of the island rapidly forms clouds as it is swept up to lower pressures and cooler temperatures on the mountain slopes. These same clouds dissipate rapidly when mixing with the hot dry air on the leeward side.

One perfect place to watch this is over Waimea and the old Kohala volcano. With the tradewinds blowing a time lapse shows the process more clearly with the formation and dissipation shown at several times real speed. The video below shows a scene from the summit of Mauna Kea looking north to Kohala and across the channel to Maui and Haleakala.


Clouds over Kohala 2 from Andrew Cooper on Vimeo.

At the very north end of Hawai'i lies a monument of the island's darker, bloodier history. This is one of the Hawaiian great temples, a heiau. Every heiau has a history, some were dedicated to worshiping the sea gods or the gods of the great mountains. Some may have served as navigational landmarks, with pointer stones to destinations across the vast Pacific. At Mo'okini a somewhat darker past is preserved in the rocks.

It is here that the Tahitian priests set up one of their first temples when they arrived in these islands. Temples dedicated to bloodthirsty gods that demanded human lives. It is here that so many people were sacrificed, possibly tens of thousands over the centuries. This place was for many centuries the center of life for the entire north end of this island. It is in the shadow of this heiau that Kamehameha I would be born and begin his quest to unify the islands. Starting the wheels of history that would forever end the darker practices of the Hawaiian religions.

Time for another exploration of the island. The excuse, as is so often the case, is hosting guests from the mainland. In this case it is my mother and her good friend Jody. For this trip we planned an outing to an area of the island I had not explored before, up to the north end of the island to Hāwī and Pololū.

The drive up Kohala Mountain Road is very scenic with views down the Kohala coast down to the big resorts. Turning right in the town of Hāwī we drive to the end of the road and the Pololū Valley overlook. This is where the trail into the valley starts, a one mile hike that switchbacks 400ft down the side of the valley to the beautiful black sand beach below. The entire trail is extraordinarily scenic, offering views across the beach and down soaring cliffs of the coastline as far as Waipi'o Valley.

Pololū offers a nice alternative to Waipi'o, very similar valleys with the same scenery. Pololū offers an easier approach with a short trail in place of the steep road or gruelling climb needed to access Waipi'o. The crowds are lighter here and there are no residents giving the stink-eye to the tourists hiking across "their" valley. Think of Pololū as being a smaller, more friendly version of the more famous Waipi'o.

Walking down the trail I was struck by just how old the trail is. Ten to 15 feet wide and cut deeply into the cliffs. This is no common trail cut for modern tourists. The very rocks of the trail are worn by far more traffic than a mere century can account for. Pololū Valley, like most of the deep valleys on this coast, was a center for Hawaiian civilization as long as man has lived in these islands. Before the tsunamis devastated these valleys in the mid twentieth century taro and rice would have been transported up this trail to feed the rest of Hawai'i.

Today the trail serves to give tourists and the occasional surfer access to the beach below. An arc of black sand backed by a high dune covered with ironwood trees is an idyllic setting for a day on the beach. The water here can be dangerous, with strong currents and high surf and should only be braved by strong swimmers prepared for rough water.

The valley is best visited on days when a Kona wind blows from the west. This drives away the rains that feed the many streams and waterfalls of this windward coast creating the thick tropical jungles through these valleys. Otherwise plan on arriving first thing in the morning. If the trade winds are blowing the mornings are often clear and sunny with rainy and grey afternoons on this coast.

The trail may be steep but not too long, well worth the effort to get to the beach and the water below. The views along the trail are actually better than from the viewpoint at the top. Don't drive all the way out to the end of the road without going a bit further down to the beach below.