Month: October 2019

Categories
New Zealand

Cape Reinga to Ahipara

Day 0

Date 19 Oct 2019

Bus trip from Auckland to Kaitaia, then a pick up and drop off at Utea Park.Meet Sabine and Lucas, who have been on the bus all along.Had double beds, kitchen and even salad from Pak n Save. Could leave some stuff behind.

Day 1

Km 12.7

Carrying approx 15kg. Thinking how I shouldn’t be carrying heavy food like salami, cheese and peanut butter.

After waking at 3am and not being able to sleep again I was a bit tired.Drop off and 8am, at the lighthouse just after 9.

Take compulsory photos and walked to the start of the trail.Trail makes it’s way to Te Wahiri Beach. We crossed the rocky outcrop at low tide. Walked the beach then crossed Te Paki Stream . Lots of climbing up dunes next as we headed up to a nice view of Cape Maria van Diemen.

Good views of the peach dunes from behind and head towards our last beach.The start of Twilight beach has a visitor, a NZ fur seal . At first I think its dead, but it raised its head to check around and lay back down.

Our campsite at Twilight Beach is at the very end of the beach and a few staircases up.It has a shelter, running water and toilets. We get here after 4 hours.Watch the sunset, while a beautifully sunny day draws to a close .

Day 2

Km 28

Cumulative km 40.7

Leaving Twilight beach camp at 07h30 we head up a 4WD track , through low kanuka forest and get a view of where we came from and where we will spend the next few days- 90 Mile Beach.

There are multiple sets of steep stairs to get down to the beach, we look back at our first few steps on what is going to be a suuuupppper long walk on the beach.

Kilometres of when I had enough beach…2…kilometres to go … about 83!!After I stopped to have tuna for lunch and slowed right down as everything hurt… including shoulders from the bag I noted 2 figures in the dunes- it was my hiking buddies who were chilling. I rested for 10min with them and then we headed back on the trail. As high tide was coming in we had to stick to the much less compacted sand alongside the dunes. This made the last 2 hours real tough on my aching Achilles and feet. We got out of one waves’ way just in time with 30cm of space by sheer luck.

After 8 hours of walking, I got to out campsite- Maunganui Bluff. Lucas and Sabine got there about 30min before. Was greeted by a herd of wild horses.Was also delighted that there were cold showers here. Good for muscles and dirty body.

Day 3

Km 30

Cumulative km 70.7

This day was grueling…just the sheer boredom of kilometres of beach, crashing waves and my Achilles starting to burn. I also start to feel most of the bones in my feet, they are taking a beating.The only thing that keeps me going is knowing that today we will be back at Utea Park…in a bed with kitchen and bathrooms at our disposal.

I am beat when I arrive at the campsite. Tent has to come out anyway, like the day before to dry from a really short shower that morning. I strip my shoes off and waddle to the shower. I opt for a cold one for the muscles once more.

I was so blessed though, as there were other travellers there who also came in vans and note my sore feet and muscles. One offered my some arnica tablets, while a lovely young lady from Germnay, Josephine, said that she will give me a reflexology foot massage and sound therapy. I was taken aback by this offer, but quickly accepted. She went to her car to get her equipment. I dont really know what the wand is called, but she hit it against her knee, causing it to vibrate and emit a sound. She then placed it on each of my toes and it sent sound waves through my bones. So it was a massage to knead out the pain and then this sound therapy.I asked how I can repay her, she said that the biscuit I offered her earlier that afternoon was all she needed šŸ¤©.

Day 4

Km 17

Cumulative km 87.7

At 3am or so this morning the weather changed drastically with strong wind and rain that battered the windows… how happy I was to be inside!

Today was a little sad as I said goodbye to my first hiking buddies. They are much quicker and fitter than me and were planning to do the 31km to Ahipara in one day, while I knew that I wouldn’t be doing myself any favours doing another ripper like this.

I took my time packing and having breakfast and left at about 08h30, just after another bit of rain came through.The first few hours were slow with a strong headwind. However, this would be easy with what came next…Driving horizontal rain, and it was cold, then I realised it was small hail, maybe 2-3mm across. I had just got my rain jacket on in time but got a bit wet.

The muscles actually appreciated the cold, wet and cooling effect of the strong wind.I was drying off , when, some 30min later another stronger episode arrived. This time I couldn’t walk with getting very pummeled and thus just stood with my back to it.Again, not a long event- luckily!

Day 5

Km 14

Cumulative km 101

After camping wild the night before I was happy to be doing the last stretch of beach.The weather was decent without any drizzle but ever strengthening headwind. I left Waipapakauri at 08h30 and arrived at the YHA just before midday.

Got a dorm bed and sorted out the gear with a bit of de-sanding !

My toes seem to be squashed in my shoes and are bruised, thus sore. Feet are swollen like a pregnant woman with sausages for toes.

I did make it off the beach with 1 blister on right, small toe.

Achilles has been hurting after about 10km daily.I endeavour to stretch and massage the aches.I do feel much better after splitting the 31km section into two- 17 and 14km.

Categories
Hawaii North America USA

Northern Loop

Puā€™ukohola Heiau or ā€œTemple on the Hill of the Whaleā€ in English was my first stop for the northern loop I had planned today.

It is important for several reasons- it was one of the last temples built before outside influences took over Hawaii. The King at the time- Kamehameha I ā€“ built it in 1790-1791, after a prophecy that he would have rule over all the Hawaiian Islands- which were not united- once he completed a temple to the war god atop the Whale Hill. This was indeed what happened.

The Heiau or temple was a place where only the highest ranking chiefs could enter. Commoners could not get anywhere close. It is still shut off to public access.

The temple was built by hand ā€“with water worn lava rocks- which came from the coast by way of a 20-mile-long human chain!! Each rock as handled up from the coast!! The King himself laboured on the project.

Just below there was a fortress built to house canons- which the King had learned to use effectively and to his advantage.

Lapakahi is a site that shows how fishing villages were set up pre Europeans. There is an example of grass huts. There is also a construction that shows double roofs for cooling effect. The construction was from bamboo and pili grass cover. The large residential complex has short lava rock walls without mortar, with large grass roofs.

There were huts for storing fishing canoes and kuā€™ula where fishermen gave thanks for their catch by leaving a piece of fish or catch here. The locals had salt making hollow lava rocks where sea water was evaporated and salt left behind. They used this for seasoning and preserving fish.

Besides these important historic sites there is good scenery along the way- more rolling hills, lookouts along the cliff coasts and lovely historic towns such as Hawi in the very north of the Big Island.

There is a long stretch of the Kohala Mountain Road that is lined on both sides by huge ironwood trees.

The coastal stretch of highway 270 was super busy with athletes training for the Ironman Championship which is taking place in Kona on 12 October 2019-less than 1 week away. Lots of nice legs around šŸ™‚

Categories
Hawaii North America USA

Hamakua Coast

The plan was to do a large loop on the Island- from Hilo via the Hamakua Coast to Honakaā€™a , Waimea and then through the Saddle Road to Hilo.

The drive starts with a quick offshoot through a short scenic route. It is a narrow road, through thick tropical forests and the location of one of several botanical gardens. I did a short walk to Onomea Bay- a very scenic but rugged bay, through which sugar cane was once exported.

Itā€™s an exciting next stop- Akaka Falls. You drive through a small, very quaint and periodic little village ā€“ and a few kilometres down the road is the parking. The walk is a loop, through lush forests including a mini bamboo forest. The first waterfall is the large cascading Kahuna Falls- but they are not nicely visible. The next waterfall is the start of the show- the 135m high Akaka Falls.

The next stop is a rather sombre one- a monument in Laupahoehoe in memory of the many children that died in the 1 April 1946 tsunami. The reason for the deaths of so many children is that their school was a sea level- and the waves came in the morning. The rest of the community was higher, up the cliff. The tsunami was caused by an earthquake in Alaskaā€™s Aleutian Islands. This series of tsunamis was devastating due to many reasons-for the whole island. A large portion of the railway line that bankrupt the company who installed it was ripped apart as it lay on the coast. The Waipio Valley became infertile due to being inundated with salt water.

The drive through the Old Mamalahoa Highway was pleasant- through many eucalyptus forests and rolling farmlands. There are cattle farms here. It is again, another different landscape ā€“farmland. Sad, considering hundreds of acres of natural forest would have been cleared for this to occur.Ā 

The road turns into Saddle Road- with the maximum speed limit I have seen on any islands- 60 miles per hour. Saddle Road runs through the saddle that is created between the two largest volcanoes on the island- and in the world depending on what measure you use. Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. You need to remember that these volcanoes summit at > 4,000m and have snow cover in the winter!! YES, in Hawaii there is snow. This volcano is inactive. Measured from the bottom of the sea floor- from where it is created it stands at 9,750m ā€“ this measure makes it the highest in the world.

There is a sad reality though- this most popular site and possibility to summit is not available at present as protesters to a new observation telescope are not allowing any visitors to enter. They have actually set up a whole tent city at the entrance. It doesnā€™t look pretty.

At the time that I was going through Saddle Road the cloud cover was already low with rain starting- however here is a photo taken from Akaka Falls Road, with the Observatory visible on top.

Mauna Loa is one of the worldā€™s most active volcanoes and has a huge volume! It has erupted 33 times since written records have begun.

Categories
Hawaii North America USA

Volcanoes National Park

I was excited to experience the volcanoes that have been creating the islands of Hawaii since I arrived. This was why I dedicated a fair bit of time to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (25USD entry per car for 7 days).

On the way towards the visitorā€™s centre is a turn off to see the tree moulds. These are created when lava hits trees that have a high moisture content. The lava has a little time to harden around the tree, creating a mould of the trunk, before the tree eventually goes up in flames and leaves the mould.

On my first afternoon I spent time in the visitors centre and watched a short video on the most recent series of eruptions in 2018 of Kilauea. The following is a summary point of the facts and events that took place. Lots of information is also available on USGS (US Geological Survey) website https://volcanoes.usgs.gov. There is also a sign at the door that informs us that there is NO visible lava flow anywhere in the park or on the island at his moment (so I was not going to have another exciting helicopter ride as planned).

Ā 

Mid March increased pressure

26 April lava overflowed

30 April crater floor collapsed
Summit lava lake drops
3 May 1st fissure opened
Within 1 week Ā 10 fissures opened
15 May 20 fissures opened
19 May lava flows towards ocean
23 May ocean entry
29 May from fissure 8 moving NE
KAPOHO BAY massive flow -700 homes damaged in total
In the 2 months created lava delta added 3.5km2 to island

Summit subsidence
Collapse events
June caldera floor collapses rapidly
May to Aug 60,000 earthquakes
62 major collapse events
65m to 488m depth change
> Double diameter

This collapse in crater has caused some havoc in the Park. It has sucked up a large portion of the Crater Ring Road and has eaten up the 500 car parking lot on the opposite side of the Volcano Hotel. There is also a museum and research station on the rim which had to be evacuated and personnel relocated due to the building cracks with all the earthquakes and subsidence.

Early Aug decreased activity in fissure 8 and event was defined as completed in September.

After my time gaining info at the visitors centre I headed to the Volcano Hotel for a great view of the now massively enlarged caldera. There was also a tour in progress so I listened in on the facts and the really small amount of time that this huge change had occurred over.Ā 

Ā 

I also visited the Volcano Art Gallery. It is interesting in that it is hosted in the old original building that was one of the first official accommodation set ups in this area. Viewing splattering lava was a tourist past time since the late 1800s. The hotel had 6 rooms (really quiet small) and the brochures advertise that it slept up to 18 people.

After a bit more exploring on foot I decided to head to my place for the night and come back to explore the next day- where the Craters Road was on the agenda.

This road is 50km in length one way and has multiple stops and lookouts to view the various craters, lava flow events and follow the lava all the way down to the coast. The multiple layers of lava are noticeable in that there are different types of lava that sit on top of one another- pahoehoe (ropy lava) on top of a-a and vice versa. You can also note the different events by colour.

The view is quiet out of this world for someone who is not from a volcanically active area. It is also amazing as to how relatively quickly vegetation is able to take on the lava once it has cooled. The first plants to take root are actually trees, the native ā€˜ohiā€™as. They have spiky pompom type flowers. Their roots break up the lava and start the creation of soil for other plants.

It is quiet common that you can be driving through lush tropical forest and then bam- barren lava flows for a few miles. Some of the large pahoehoe lava flows glisten a near bronze in the sunlight- its rather pretty.

I did two short walks along this route- quite a few are out of bounds. The 1st was Devastation Trail which goes past and alongside the large hill created after Kilauea Ikiā€™s explosion. The lava spurted out to a height of 579m!!! The explosion occurred on 14 Nov 1959. The explosion lasted for 37 days, in which approx. 102 million cu meters of lava erupted- more than half of which flowed back into the crater. Part of the new hill that was created (Gushing Hill) fell into the lava lake and now creates the uneven mounds at the bottom of the crater.

The trail also passes through an ā€˜ohiā€™a forest. So there is devastation on one side and a thriving forest on the other. ā€˜Ohiā€™as actually adapt to environments of poor air quality (such as during explosions) and grow roots from their branches if necessary.

The 2nd walk is a short trail (Napau) in the area where fissure 8 opened up and caused such devastation in 2018. There are great geological features here and Iā€™m really careful and aware of where I am stepping as I donā€™t want to fall into lava tunnel that has a thin ceiling.

As you drive down towards the coast you pass the multitude of lava flows as they headed down towards the ocean and cascaded down multiple levels. It is like a frozen, multi coloured solid lava flow. There is also a place you can stop and see where the lava took over the old road. A reminder, again, how nothing in this park is too permanent. 

The road used to carry on along the coast for a few more miles after what is now the ultimate stop and viewpoint- of the arch. However, some of the road has also been sacrificed to the lava. This has been the entry point for the lava flow from many fissures/ volcanoes of the past, the iconic photos of lava flowing into the ocean would have been taken here.

Categories
Hawaii North America USA

South Coast

An early morning and breakfast had me out headed towards the south of the island before 7am. My first goal, before it got very hot was to do the walk to Papakolea Green Sand Beach. I arrived at the start at 08h30. The walk is not difficult- it is all flat but the wind is pretty strong and picks up the loose sand/fine dust and gets it in the eyes etc. You can walk along any of the 4WD tracks. I chose the one closest to the sea to get some views. The coastline is rough lava and the waves breaking on it is pretty dramatic. There are only four places in the world with green sand beaches: here, Galapagos, Guam and Norway.

You can see the top part of the caldera which is where the sea broke into and created the green sand beach. The sand is green from a high concentration of olivine- which is olive green. You can walk down the old crater edge with the help of a ladder and ā€œstepsā€ cut into the soft rock by many peopleā€™s feet.

There were only 4 other people when I was there- which was great.

After the hike I travelled down to South Point- the southernmost point of Hawaii and also USA. There is also a cliff diving area here. With loads of signs forbidding it. However, there is a ladder and a 1st aid station as well as jumping platform. There were no ā€œtakersā€ so to speak when I was there though. Lots of fishermen here as the strong currents here bring in great catches apparently.

On my way towards Volcanoes National Park I took a diversion and stopped by Punaluā€™u Black Sand Beach. It was a different sight altogether (I have been to one black sand beach before, close to Auckland, NZ). What was also great were the seven sea turtles that were resting on the beach. It is interesting to note that black sand beaches can be created instantly when lava flows into cold ocean waters and cools at such a rapid rate that it creates crystals which become the sea sand.

Categories
Hawaii North America USA

Kona Coast

I had a full day to explore the Kona coast and surrounds on the Big Island. The plan was to have a snorkelling day as many good snorkelling spots are on this side of the island and I was advised by a Swiss friend I met in Colombia, of a few spots that I may meet up with some dolphins.

My first stop was in Kahaluā€™u Bay- at 07h30 in the morning- so there were very few people here. The entry into the water is a bit rocky and slippery here, but taking it easy got you great rewards. The water was lovely and clear and I spotted 80% of the fish species that were popular here- I took photos of the identification guide as I still donā€™t have an underwater camera. Right next to this bay is also the tiny church of St Peter, nestled between some palm trees. It only seats something like 12 people.

The next bay was a considerably further drive down a winding road Kealakekua Bay- I was planning to swim if the dolphins were in the bay or to check them from the shore if they were playing further out. However, the dolphins were reported to be a far way out of the bay and so I gave the swim a miss and decided to head to Two Step Beach.  

Arriving via a very narrow road, down the coastline, I did a loop of the one-way road around two step but didnā€™t find any parking. So I decided to visit the Puā€™uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park (15USD entry) and leave the car there when I was finished and then snorkel in the bay. The park literally borders the bay. It is an interesting combination of Royal Grounds that are bordered by a Great Wall, with a Refuge on the other side. The Great Wall is a huge structure: 900ft long, 10ft high and 18 ft wide. 80% of it is original!!! That is a huge feat considering the storms and hurricanes that pass through here! The wall is a dry wall (no mortar in joints between the lava rock); this allows large waves to pass through.

Going back to the purpose of a refuge. In ancient Hawaiian times if you broke the law (called kapu) ā€“irrelevant of how small the transgression- you would be sentenced to death. However, if you could get away from the warriors that chased you down, and get to a refuge, then you would be safe there. There was a priest there that could forgive your transgression, and you could live your new life from there. 

The Keawe is a reconstruction from the 1960s and now is being revived again but there is an interesting similarity between the tikis and the Moai heads on Easter Island. After the Queen ate meals together with her son and nothing happened (men eating with woman was against the kapu too!!)  in order to punish the islands or its people they started to question their beliefs. Since nothing bad happened (earthquake, tsunami or volcanic eruption) they determined that their tikis had no power and started pulling down their statues. This was the same as in Easter Island. 

The fish in this area were quiet plentiful- especially the large schools of yellow tang. It was a bit tricky to get over the rocky outcrops as the tide was a little low but I just scraped over the tops of the rocks. There was also a small honu (Green Hawaiian sea turtle) in the shallows of the bay.

In between beaches I took a quick detour to see the painted church. It serves as the local Catholic church. It was built in 1842 in a different location and moved in 1880. One of the parish priests- Belgian, Father Jean Berchmans Velghe. The paintings are depictions from the bible or of saints as the Hawaiians did not have a written language- so it was easier to teach them using pictures. The church is compact- it originally served a small fishing village, but the paintings are beautiful.

My final stop for the day was Hoā€™okena Bay- also at the end of a narrow and winding road. It is a known dolphin rest area so I was hoping to see them. Dolphins actually rest half of their brains at a time- fun fact šŸ™‚ However there were none around when I was there swimming- so no success with dolphins today šŸ™ . I did swim right over a sea snake/ eel looking thing in the shallows and it looked a big frightened- to which I was also frightened as I did not want to scare it into biting me, luckily we both made it out of there unscathed! Another interesting sight, that I didnā€™t see earlier was a yellow trumpet fish.