Category: North Kona

Monk Seals

Somehow I had gone fifteen years in Hawaii without seeing a monk seal in the wild. How I had managed this I will never know, perhaps just bad luck.

A pair of A Hawaiian monk seals (Monachus schauinslandi) slumber in the sand at Mahaiʻula beach
A pair of A Hawaiian monk seals (Monachus schauinslandi) slumber in the sand at Mahaiʻula beach

Been there, done that.

Not just one monk seal, but three. And a great view, watching as the seals played in the water then pulled up on the beach to rest for the day.

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Puʻuwaʻawaʻa Take 2

This week I returned to Puʻuwaʻawaʻa.

A rough road on the back side of Puʻuwaʻawaʻa
A rough road on the back side of Puʻuwaʻawaʻa

The plan was to use a mountain bike this time. One nagging issue in hiking Puʻuwaʻawaʻa is the long access road you need to hike just to get to the base of the puʻu. Two miles of straight, and mostly paved road to climb before the hike really gets interesting.

It is old pavement, but in good shape as there is little more than foot traffic. Last time hiking out I wished I had a bike so those two miles would be one smooth downhill roll back to the vehicle. Once above the puʻu I could use the bike to explore the network of ranch roads that lead back into the forest reserve.

That was the plan, reality did not work out quite as well.

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