Hawaii Day Four: Monday, June 16th, 2008

Today I spent the morning at the house, writing and so on. In the afternoon I decided to go explore the coastal area near here. I started out driving across route 132. After passing a residential area, I entered this gorgeous tunnel of tall, stately trees. Pretty soon, on the left, I saw Lava Tree State Park (no, the tall trees weren’t lava trees!). I pulled in to check it out. Apparently a lava tree somehow forms when lava flows around a wet ohi’a tree. It leaves a tall lava tube. It looks sort of like weird, black, concrete ruins. The trees die as a result of being engulfed in hot lava, so just the tube is left. These were formed some time ago, so they are covered in plants. It’s a peaceful little place.

After about 20 minutes at lava tree state park, I continued on to the dirt road at the end of route 132, which leads to the easternmost tip of the island. Scientists use this place to set a baseline for clean air quality, since the air here is about as clean as it comes. It has traveled across the Pacific all by its lonely for days by the time it reaches this spot. I was thinking of visiting nearby Champagne Pond, where there are supposedly sea turtles, but just as I parked by the 4x4 road that leads down to the pond, I saw a truck full of men with a dog head down there, so I decided it was quite possibly not the ideal time to walk down there by myself.

I set off, back down the long dirt road, to look for the Kapoho Tide Pools. They proved to be elusive, though I may try again, since I think I’ve figured out where they are now. Finally, I settled on an early evening visit to Ahalanui State Park. This is a really unique spot, at least in my experience, where the volcano steam heats ocean water in a large pool next to the open ocean. I think the area has been somewhat enhanced by humans, and the result is a lovely warm ocean pool. It isn’t quite a steam bath – more like a very warm bathtub temperature. The temperature varies, as well, and even though I mainly stayed in one spot, I felt a variety of temperatures in the water. There were also tropical fish swimming around right by my feet! I was afraid I would step on one, so I tried to keep my feet on the bottom. There was a raccoon butterfly fish, among other fish. They zipped about, enjoying the warm water and some snacks (natural, not human donations) while people soaked near by. It was totally idyllic, and had a great view of the clouds getting a bit tinted as the sun went down. The view over the ocean here is east. so dawn is probably more spectacular, but it was very peaceful and tropical. The pool was not crowded at all.

Since it was almost dark, instead of heading down the coast as I had previously planned, I headed back up 137, across 132, and stopped in Pahoa town for a look around before heading back to my cozy cottage. I have not much to report about Pahoa, other than it is small. Perhaps I'll try a restaurant there before I leave. The natural foods store, where I stopped to get a box of tea, seemed nice. So, more on Pahoa as it is warranted!

Aloha.