Bright morning with altocumulus clouds

Location:  Kohala Coast, Big Island, Hawaii

The early morning light was bright, even though the sky over our garden was partly covered by these altocumulus clouds.  The flowering tree in the foreground is a Rainbow Plumeria.

Pa'u 'o Hi'iaka - Hawaiian coastal wildflower

Pa'u 'o Hi'iaka (Jacquemontia ovalifolia ssp. sandwicensis)

Location: Kohala Coast, Big Island, Hawaii

This pretty little wildflower is called Pa'u 'o Hi'iaka, which translates to 'skirt of Hi'iaka.  (In Hawaiian mythology, Hi'iaka was a sister to the volcano goddess, Pele).

Pa'u 'o Hi'iaka is a member of the Morning Glory family.  It is a perennial, and is seen mostly in coastal areas on the leeward sides of the Hawaiian Islands.  It roots in small patches of dirt between rocks and spreads out as a trailing vine.

At one time, this pant was thought to be a Hawaiian endemic, i.e., found only in Hawaii.  Older books and reference materials give the scientific name as Jacquemonita sandwicensis.  More recently it was determined to be a subspecies of Jacquenmontia ovalifolia, which is found in some other tropical areas such as Mexico and the West Indies.  As a result, the status of Pa'u 'o Hi'iaka was changed from 'endemic' to 'indigenous' to Hawaii, and its full scientific name is now Jacquemontia ovalifolia ssp. sandwicensis - quite a mouthful of a name for such a dainty little flower!

Lone Kiawe tree near the ocean

Kiawe (Prosopis pallida)

Location: Kohala Coast, Big Island, Hawaii

The area around the Kaiholena Public Shoreline Access in the North Kohala district of Hawaii's Big Island is very dry.  Vegetation mostly consists of grasses, scrubby bushes and Kiawe trees.  This particular Kiawe tree (Prosopis pallida) stands like a lone sentinel at the base of the footpath that leads from the parking area to the shoreline.

Note:  For more information about the Kiawe, click here.

Beach stones at Kaiholena, Hawaii

Beach stones at Kaiholena

Location: Kohala Coast, Big Island, Hawaii

Here is a closer look at the beach stones on the pocket beach at Kaiholena public shoreline access area in the North Kohala district of Hawaii's Big Island.  These smooth stones are typical of many beaches in Hawaii.   The stones are worn smooth by years and years of exposure to wave action by the Pacific Ocean.

Kaiholena, looking north

Kaiholena Public Shoreline Access

Location:  Kohala Coast, Big Island, Hawaii

This is the second in a series of photos of the Kaiholena public shoreline access area (described in the previous post) in the North Kohala district of Hawaii's Big Island.  Shown here is the view from the base of the footpath, looking north.  As you can see, the coastline there is rocky and rugged.

Kaiholena, looking south

Kaiholena Public Shoreline Access

Location: Kohala Coast, Big Island, Hawaii

Here in Hawaii, all beaches and shorelines are public property, up to "the upper reaches of the wash of waves, usually evidenced by the edge of vegetation or by the debris left by the wash of waves" -- in other words, to the high tide line.  That's right, there's no such thing as a private beach in Hawaii!

Access to the shoreline often is another thing entirely.   Owners of private property that includes ocean frontage are supposed to provide "transit corridors" across their property to the shoreline - i.e., easements that citizens can freely use to get to the ocean.  This does not mean that each and every parcel with ocean frontage has to have a public beach access.  Instead,  communities or subdivisions built along the coastline usually designate a few reasonably spaced public shoreline access routes for public use.

Not long ago, a new public shoreline access was created on the North Kohala coast of Hawaii's Big Island in conjunction with the proposed development of a parcel of land.  This place, known as Kaiholena, is situated just south of Lapakahi State Historical Park, site of an ancient Hawaiian settlement.  It is situated between the ocean and Akoni Pule Highway, the main road that runs parallel to the northwest coast of the Big Island between Kawaihae and Hawi.

Kaiholena also happens to be just a few miles up the coast from where we live, and we went there recently for the first time to have a look at the new public shoreline access.  We found that it consists of a rugged dirt road that winds its way from Akoni Pule Highway to a clearing that is big enough for a few vehicles to park.
From the parking area, it's about a five minute hike along a footpath to the shoreline.

Kaiholena is not a beach park, so there are no facilities there at all -- just access to the ocean.  The coast in this area is rocky and very scenic.  Near the base of the footpath is a small pocket beach covered with rocks worn smooth by the sea.  It's possible to climb down to this beach and carefully wade into the nice clear water to swim or snorkel.

This photo was taken from the base of the footpath that leads from the parking spot to the ocean.  It shows the view looking south, including the pocket beach that I mentioned above.  In the next few days I will post several more photos from Kaiholena.

More 'Ecstasy' from the garden

'Ecstasy' hibiscus

Location: Kohala Coast, Big Island, Hawaii

This is 'Ecstasy', a tropical hibiscus in our garden.  I know I've posted photos of this variety before, but the blossoms have such vivid color that I can't stop taking pictures of them.