Kahalu'u Beach

When I was researching hotels to stay at while I was on the Kona side of Hawaii, I found this hotel that was built partially out over a tidal pool. This is very unique in Hawaii, and the only hotel I am aware of that was built like this. So I had to have an ocean front room so I could sit out on my balcony and watch the amazing sunsets and look down and see the colorful fish and turtles swimming directly underneath me.  I cannot remember the name of this hotel off the top of my head, but the second best feature was that is was located right next to Kahalu'u Beach Park.

                                                                                         

                                                  

At Low Tide Exploring Was Amazing

Kahaluu is one of the best snorkeling spots on the Big Island. Many of the tourist brochures and maps simply refer to this place as "Snorkel Beach". Fed by a fresh water spring, up to 10 million gallons per day. These waters are almost always calm, with colorful corals, rock formations, and 100+ species of fish. Swim with huge schools of colorful fish and green sea turtles in these protected waters; don't forget your underwater camera! The north end of the beach is where the waves break and is best for body boarding and surfing.

                     

                            Green Sea Turtle Resting In The Shallow Tidal Pool

The Green Sea Turtles that I saw while snorkling here were enormous. You are not allowed to touch them, but they would swim right up to you. It was uite an experince to swim in open water with these gentle giants.

Sadly I again had to cram in as many things as possible in a very short time, so I hopped over to the Island of Maui after my stay on Hawaii.

A Rainbow in the West Maui Mountains

After a brief tropical rain while driving to my hotel, this rainbow was pretty spectacular. The difficult part was finding a safe place to pull over to try and photograph it. Every tourist had the same idea, and there were several near wrecks from everyone rubber necking and stopping in the road. It reminded me of how people react to seeing a bear in Yellowstone National Park. I found a spot and then walked around until I found a composition with no man made objects in it and snapped a few frames.

                                      

                                                 My view from the Sheraton Hotel Ka'anapali  Beach

Ka'anapali Beach has been rated one of the top ten beaches in the world on the travel channel. I would now have to agree with that. Paradise probably sums it up best if you can only use one word. I absolutely fell in love with this place. So much so, that I actually bought a time share at the Westin. Now time shares are not a real smart investment, but with starwood Properties the trade value and high end resorts they own sold me. So I can now brag that I own a miniscule sliver of real estate here.

                                                                                         
                       

Black Sand Beaches

Approaching Storm Along The Southern Coast

After leaving Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, my next planned stop was one of Hawaii's most famous black sand beaches. The problem was there was a pretty big storm brewing up and the weather was going to turn nasty. Yes, even in paradise they have crappy weather once in a while.  

     

                                              Punalu'u Beach

Punaluʻu Beach (also called Black Sand Beach) is a beach between Pāhala and Nāʻālehu on the Big Island of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The beach has black sand made of basalt and created by lava flowing into the ocean which explodes as it reaches the ocean and cools. This volcanic activity is in the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. Punaluʻu is frequented by endangered Hawksbill and Green turtles, which can often be seen basking on the black sand.

After A Rain Shower

While I did not have good weather for my time at Punalu'u Beach, it was still an amazing experience to see and feel that black lava under your feet on the beach. This had been my first and only time on a black sand beach. I did see a few turtles in the bay swimming around, but none had crawled out onto the beach while we were there. No sun to bask in!   I still had a few hours of travel time before getting to my next stop, so I sadly left this amazing place to try and make it to my hotel along the Kahalu'u - Kona Coast before dark.

                                     Tiki Torch Sunset

Rolled into my next stop along the Kahalu'u-Kona Coast. I arrived just in time to catch this stunning sunset over the offshore reef.

Hammocks By Moonlight

I woke up about 5:00am to the sound of the surf over the reef from my open window. I took this 20 second exposure very early in the morning while I was wandering around looking for a good composition. This turned out to be one of my favorite photos from my Hawaii trip.

Waikiki Beach

When I planned my trip to Hawaii, I flew in and out of Honolulu, which is located on the Island of Oahu. Honolulu is a city of about 400,000 people, but it feels much bigger since much of it is packed along the famous Waikiki Beach. Oahu, an island occupying 597 square miles, is the second oldest island in the Hawaiian chain of visitable islands. She lies between her sister islands Kauai and Maui.

Waikiki Beach, Honolulu, HI.

With its calm waters, the beaches of Waikiki offer a great place for swimming as well as your very first surf lesson.  Waikiki is known in Hawaiian as “sprouting waters”. The water is very calm and a great beach to relax on and people watch. It will get pretty crowded though with the urban population so densley packed around it. I really enjoyed the sunsets from the beachfront area though.  The sunsets  I experienced in Hawaii were pretty amazing. Pull up a beach chair and have a cooler with some relaxing adult beverages and watch the show.

                             Sunset from Waikiki Beach

The weather on Oahu is ideal, and tempreatures range between 75-88 degrees F.  With moderate humidity and constant ocean breezes, even the hottest months are very comfortable. There are many great attractions, and resturants in the Honolulu area. I knew that Hawaii was going to be expensive, but the sticker shock to my conservative (cheap) mid-western values was painful. It is very easy to bust your budget trying to see and do all the tourist things you want to do while you are there.  I only had three days to spend on Oahu, so I rushed around to see as much as I could fit in and afford. At least the sunsets were free.

 

          The Sun Sinks Slowly Into The Pacific Ocean  

I think this photograph is a good representation of the Honolulu area. Beautiful but somewhat crowded. You see a commercial air plane, cruise ships, sailboats,and swimmers and surfers in the water. Although I prefer my beaches to be less crowded, Waikiki is a very cool place to hang out.

 

                           The Honolulu Pier after Sunset

This was my favorite photograph of my numerous attempts at long exposure shots and sunsets. The sun had dipped below the horizion and left the orange after glow in the sky. I took numerous exposures to try and capture people when they were not moving much so they would retain their forms. This was my best shot of the bunch.