Not a Fluke - Walk There Again

We took a day of rest after our Canyon Trail achievement and then headed back to Keonelona Bay (aka Shipwreck Beach) and the Mahaulepu Heritage Trail to close out our Kauai "walk there agains."  We made sure to get there early so we could avoid some of the heat.  Much of this trail is exposed and collects a lot of sun.  So, it pays to get an early start and it is important to carry lots of fluids to stay hydrated.

This time around, we had the goal of getting to the area where the trail can be accessed at the Makauwehi Cave.  In our prior walk from Keoneloa Bay, we only got to the Heiau Ho'ouluia (Heiau is a sacred Hawaiian site) just prior to the golf course portion of the trail.  This particular Heiau was likely a place of worship where offerings were made to the god of the sea to ensure good fishing - and yes, I am sure I have simplified it too much.

Before I go much further, this region of Kauai has been under threat to be developed in a fashion that is similar to the neighboring Poipu area.  I appreciate the work of Malama Mahaulepu that seeks to preserve this area and find a cooperative use plan that works to protect natural and cultural features while allowing folks, like ourselves to appreciate this land and its unique features.

Most hiking sites will rate this trail as a fairly easy one to walk.  This is, technically, true.  However, it does have its technical aspects.  The first portion can be loose sand, which has its own challenges - especially if you run into some roots or rocks just under or at the surface.  The rest of the trail can have rock and root obstructions like most Kauai hikes.  

That means it can be easy to catch your foot on something and you can stumble or fall.  If you fall on some of the sharp rocks, it could be quite painful.

That said, we both did just fine with only a few mild stumbles each.  The general rule for us is to keep an eye on the ground while walking.  If you want to look at things - stop and let yourself look.  It's worth it.

Most of my picture taking this time around happened after the Heiau.  This photo is looking back at the area we walked to get to the golf course.  Part of the Heiau can be seen in the distance where the black rocks are. 

And this is the view of the cliff edges near the golf course portion of the walk.  When we take shorter walks on Mahaulepu this ridge is often seen in the background of our photos.

While we were walking on the edge of the golf course, we noted a Cane Toad that was looking a little unhappy with its lot in life.  These toads were introduced to Hawaii in an effort to control Sugar Cane Beetles on Oahu in 1932.  Since then, these toads have spread to the other islands, apparently appreciating the habitat golf courses provide.

No, seriously, I am not kidding.  With the watering regimens and the low-cut grass, these toads are pretty happy.  Originating in South America, they are indiscriminate eaters -  whatever they can catch and swallow will work.  And, no, they didn't end up helping with the Sugar Cane Beetles all that much.  And before you think I know all of this stuff magically, I will point you to this excellent web article.  According to that work, ticks that are natural parasites for Cane Frogs have somehow found their way to the big island of Hawaii.

And no, I didn't see any ticks on this toad.  It didn't seem to be of a mind for me to look either.

There are also cactus in the southern portion of the island.  This might seem to be odd considering how wet much of the island is, but there are areas that have very low annual rainfall amounts, making it a good place for cactus.  

I believe this is a hedge cactus, but I couldn't get close to it and I am no expert in that area.  If it is a hedge cactus, it was introduced from Central America.  If this blog is accurate, when some of the sugar cane land was converted to grazing in the early 1900s, cactus were imported to provide a durable food source for the cattle in times of drought.

After the golf course portion of the walk, there is a brushy portion where we hiked in a tunnel of plants for a short while, followed by this brushy area where I found the cactus.  The trail here was level, but it had just enough surprises in the trail surface that we still had to pay attention to where our feet were going.  But, that's okay, we couldn't see much over the brush on either side of the trail at this point anyway.

As we emerged from this portion of the trail, we were re-introduced to blue.  

The color of the Pacific can change depending on how agitated it is, how deep it is, and how much sun there is at any given time.  This area gets lots of sun, so we are often shocked by the deepest blues that keep drawing us to look.

But, the rocks and obstructions in the trail become more frequent at this point too.  So, we exercised our neck muscles.  Look down to place foot.  Look up to see the blue sky and blue water.  And repeat.

I took a few moments to try and capture a few photos and Tammy walked ahead - so I took a picture with Tammy in it to provide further proof that she was taking this walk - and doing quite well!

In the background is the Black Mountain, Ha`upu.  There is no hat on Ha`upu today, so the some of the areas that use it to predict coming rainfalls aren't likely to see any moisture any time soon.  In fact, during this particular walk we saw very few clouds.  Just the occasional white puff-ball that Wai`ale`ale released from the center of the island so it could go floating out towards the sea.

And speaking of the sea.  Tammy ordered up some whale sightings for our walk too.  

Okay.  What she really did was say, "this would be a good day and a good place to spot some whales."  And then, we looked, and saw some whale spouts.  

Goal for the trip: see some whales.

Check. 

Yes, the ocean is pretty big.  No, I didn't have a giant lens on the camera.  So this is what a person gets for a whale sighting if you are using the unaided eye (or a normal camera lens).  Neither of us has any problem with that.  It is simply thrilling to see the evidence of their existence and their activity and that's good enough for us.

It's like checking with a friend to be sure they're still ok.  Well, the whales are still around - it's a good thing.

We have also had the chance to see Green Sea Turtles (Honu) now and again.  But, usually it's tough to spot them or see much more than their head poking out of the water.  Often it is just a shadow image if you just happen to look just right into the waves.  If you don't manage to look at the right time and place, you won't see them.

On this walk, they must have heard my comment that it would be nice to get a really good look at a Honu.  So, this one obliged us (or maybe it was more than one) a few times.  Enough for us to be shocked to see one so clearly and recover from the shock to get the camera ready.  

Once again, no big lens.  But, this gives you an idea of what our eyes could see.  

In my opinion seeing Honu is a big deal, as they are an endangered species with a population that was drastically reduced by poaching.  It's a bit like seeing a Bald Eagle in Iowa.  I remember the time when being able to view this raptor even once in my lifetime was a dream I wasn't sure could be fulfilled.  The recovery of the Bald Eagle population has been encouraging - perhaps the Honu are seeing a rebound as well?

The Honu also plays an important role in the stories of the Hawaiian culture.  The great fisher Aiai created the honu by drawing its figure on a rock by the water.  Because the honu is part of the earth, it must return to land to lay its eggs (see pages 238-9 in this book).

After this event, we discussed another critter we hadn't seen in the water - dolphins. 

And they showed up not long after that discussion.  We think this was a group of Bottleneck Dolphins.  A rough count put their number somewhere around a dozen.  These intelligent creatures have a complex language of whistles and clicking sounds and each individual has unique characteristics to its voice.

The two of us, on the other hand, were not swimming in the ocean like the Honu, or the wales, or the dolphins.  Instead, we were walking the red-brown earth.  We did our best to respect the plants that tenaciously clung to the soil, though we did gratefully accept the shade when a larger tree or bush offered it.

And when our eyes were not drawn to the sky or the water - or Haupu (the mountain), we took our time to recognize the green and growing things around us.  After all, we are growers and caretakers of the land.  It is only natural for us to check in with the plants on the trip.

I noted that many of the grasses towards the end of our walk displayed these seed heads and I found them to be interesting.  I have no idea what they are, whether they are native, introduced or invasive.  Instead, they just were there.  Carving a little niche for themselves next to a few small trees we were using to take a break from the sun.

And sometimes, that's enough for me to know.

This walk was a little different for us in that we didn't just concentrate on making it BACK to our starting point.  We did take time to look at sea creatures and we stopped at some of the beautiful overlooks.  This departure from what had become the norm is another significant step in Tammy's recovery.  It meant we weren't overly concerned about making it back to the starting point.

It meant that we were confident that we could complete the hike without worrying if we had gone too far.

Tammy's rehab progress on Kauai was not a fluke - but the whales have them (flukes).  And we'd like to keep it that way.