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Punalu’u Beach – a treasure

Posted on March 26, 2012 by lysmekah

The morning we left Hawaii we got up at 4am to eat breakfast and pack up the car.  Though a route through the middle of the island was the fastest, we opted for the route going south to Punalu’u Beach – the most famed Black Sand Beach on the Big Island of Hawaii.  Also, by taking the south route we managed to go as south as we can in the United States and complete the circle we began two weeks earlier – officially going around the entire island.  But those fell secondary to the GORGEOUS black sand beach.  We arrived at 6:30am – just after sunrise.  Apparently if you come mid-day the sea turtles nap on the beach – a sight I would have LOVED to have seen.  If I was ever to go to the Big Island again, I would have spent AT LEAST half of a day on this beach alone.  I love the feeling of sand between my toes – and I think this may be one of my favourites (closely tied with the Jockey Ridge Sand Dunes in North Carolina, and the Oregon Dunes in North Bend, Oregon).  It was the perfect end to our time in Hawaii.

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Friday feels like a Sunday Evening

Posted on March 25, 2012 by lysmekah

“You know that feeling you get on a Sunday where you just have the whole day to yourself, and it’s been great, and then you remember you have to go to school the next day, so it ruins the rest of the night? I have to go home tomorrow, and so I’ve got that feeling. It’s like Sunday night.” – One Tree Hill

I have a love/hate relationship with Sundays for just this reason.  And Friday, our last full day in Hawaii, was my Sunday.  I woke up, looked in the mirror and made a conscious decision NOT to let my day be reduced just because we had to leave the next day.  And I’m SO glad I did.

Friday was probably me and Ray’s favourite day of the trip – it was so mellow and relaxed and we got to experience the area of Pahoa and the beauty it had to offer.  I woke up early for my last chance at a sunrise (a little better than the last 2 days, but the clouds seem to be a permanent problem).  Me and Ray then took big blue into downtown Pahoa.  We checked out the used book store (looking for a book on Hawaiian tattoos for my friend Rob – ended up passing on one that was $100 – which seemed insane, until I got home and realized it was selling for $1000 on amazon…could have made good money!)  And passed a lot of the locals – most of who had dreadlocks, were hitchhiking, trying to sell us drugs or hanging out at the local souvenir shop (which sold a few hawaiian t-shirts, lots of incense, and a large selection of drug paraphernalia).  So Pahoa was a far way from touristy Kona.  We stopped at the grocery store to get Ray some authentic Poke (verdict – he doesn’t really like it).  After coming home, Chris and Sarah took big blue into Hilo to return the stroller (and then visited the Volcano Winery), so me and Ray walked down the street to snorkel in the Wai’Opae Tidal Pools – they were AMAZING!  We heard there was a turtle in the pools – and spent an hour searching with no luck.  But we did see so many AMAZING fish – including a school of angel fish (so beautiful) and parrot fish, and some other fish that I WISH I had a picture of because it may be the most beautiful colourful thing I’ve every seen.  We also warm through some intense warm/forceful water (lava vent) which was awesome/super scary.  It was amazing.  We came home and swam in the pool, relaxed in the hot tub, and kicked back to read books and work on my blog.  It was absolutely perfect, relaxing and restful – everything we wanted for our last day here.

After Chris & Sarah got home we took a few photos – including some matching photos of Ray and Amelia that are super cute.

We had fish and chips (amazing!  mahi mahi, ono and cod – all super yummy!) After packing, Me, Ray and Sarah played some lost cities while Sarah and Ray enjoyed some Volcano wine and ate Ray’s last bowl of fresh Pico de Gallo.  It was the perfect end to our 2 weeks on the island.

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Lava Glow at the Big Crater

Posted on March 25, 2012 by lysmekah

Thursday night I went to the top of Volcanoes National Park. At night, in the pitch dark of the park, it is possible to photograph the “glow” of lava from the crater.  It is GORGEOUS!!!  I would love to peer over the edge and look in – except for the heat, noxious volcanic gases, long hike and intense fear of death by volcano.

It was freezing cold out – and by the time I finally figured out how I wanted to shoot the picture, the clouds came in to cover the starry sky, wind picked up and it started to rain.  Chris had better luck than I did – think I may need a wide-angle lens next time :-)  In the meanwhile, this is what I ended up with:

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A Lazy Day

Posted on March 25, 2012 by lysmekah

Now that we’ve been here almost 2 weeks, I have finally managed to get lazy day!

Thursday Ray and Chris went up to Volcanoes National Park to hike into one of the craters (in the crazy freezing blowing sideways rain for hours on end).  Me and Sarah and Amelia were here, in the sun, enjoying some R&R.  The day consisted of me getting up early to try and shoot the sunrise (turned out ok…), going back to bed, getting up, staring at Pinterest, zoning out on the couch, taking Amelia in the pool, and then hot tub (which wasn’t working probably and therefore not really “hot” but nicely warm, and perfect for a baby), getting dry just in time for Ray & Chris to come home and go back into the hot tub with Amelia.  I watched the tide come in (and zoned out into the beautiful and rhythmic nature of crashing waves – one of my favourite things ever – hence all the pictures) and spotted 4 Gold Dust Day Geckos (so pretty).  After dinner me and Chris went back up to the Volcano to take some pictures of the lava glow (next post).

Sunrise attempt #2

Morning Waves

First attempt in the hot tub (with the ocean in the background).

Rolling Ocean Waves

Gold Dust Day Gecko

Second round in the hot tub – boys trying to warm up after a day of hiking

Amelia – using the force

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Downtown Hilo & the Farmer’s Market

Posted on March 23, 2012 by lysmekah

On Wednesday (I know…I’m behind) we all got up and went into Hilo for most of the day.  We got in to town and split up with Chris and Sarah – they wandered trough the Park and in to town, me and Ray started and Hilo Hattie and then hit the farmer’s market (which we LOVE LOVE LOVE) and an amazing bookstore.

Started my day with an attempt at a sunrise shot – I woke up after the sun had already started to rise (missing the GOOD colour) and had to settle for a quick shot from the lanai outside my bedroom.

On our way into Hilo, we all stopped at the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Factory for the self-guided tour…and to buy some chocolate covered nuts and other goodies. The tour itself was rather lacklustre.  You just walk outside the factory and look through windows at what they are doing.  There are a few TVs to which you can press “play” and learn a few things – but most of them were out of operation when we were there.  I wouldn’t go out of your way – everything they sell can be purchased at Hilo Hattie for the same price.

Hilo Farmer’s Market has about 200 stalls in total (on it’s fullest days) – one side of the street is only fresh produce and food stuffs, and the other side is crafts, jewellery, flowers, paintings and souvenirs for the tourists. I think markets are one of my favourite places to shop…ever.  I love the uniqueness of the items found, the quality of the produce, and experience of the people and simplicity of the process.  Also, I love the COLOURS.  The market was under a dark tent – otherwise I would have taken a lot more photos.  But I was too busy buying the fruits and veggies (we had a long list) to take as many pictures as I would have liked.

Ray bought an ice cold young coconut from the market.  The vendor hacks it open with a machete and then gives you a straw.  Coconut’s are not actually filled with coconut milk (myth) but coconut WATER – which is nature’s gatorade.  Coconut water is known to balance your electrolytes (high potassium and mineral content).  It is super hydrating and super rich in nutrients.  Apparently in certain countries, it has been known (in medical emergencies) to replace saline.  Ray found it very refreshing.

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North Hilo and the Hamakua Coast

Posted on March 22, 2012 by lysmekah

Yesterday (Tuesday) me and Sarah started our day with a 2 hour Hawaiian massage that we book at Banyan Massage Hale (absolutely wonderful). It was such a treat and a wonderfully relaxing way to start our day. Of course from the moment we stepped out of the spa and back on to the side walk things went back to GO GO GO mode!

While we were busy getting our massage on, the boys were wandering around Hilo, eating shave ice (with Amelia) and waiting for us to get out so that we could drive North to check out many of the amazing waterfalls the rainforest has to offer.

We started at the North end of our trip at the World Botanical Gardens and Waterfalls.  The gardens were the only tourist site we have visited this trip that had an entry fee ($13 per person).  And while the gardens were lovely, none of us felt it was worth the $13 for the 40 minutes we spent touring the entire place.  Of course they want you to pay another $75 to rent a segway, or to try their zip line adventure (many of these in the northeast end of Hawaii).  We weren’t really interested.

I did see a few lovely plants (as I’d hoped to) and we were entertained for 10 minutes or so by the herbaceous maze.

Lovely Colours:

Paper Tree (though aren’t all trees technically paper…?)

Cool cactus:

I’m a sucker for contrasting colours…and red…and green…

Ray – working his way through the maze.  He made it through twice as fast as the rest of us.  Then again, Sarah was pushing a stroller and Chris stopped to take pictures and I was taking pictures elsewhere and started 5 minutes later than everyone else…

Kamae’e Falls.  This fall is part of the Botanical Garden, but actually 2km up the road from it.  Looked impressive – but that waned once we got to Akaka Falls (next).

Once we finished at the Botanical Gardens we headed to Akaka Falls – probably the most famous of waterfalls on the island.  This waterfall is over 500 feet tall, and, according to the signage, apparently there are some shrimp and fish that are capable of swimming up the waterfall to spawn on the top (that is a lot of work to procreate!)

Akaka Falls (in its glory) (requires quite a few stairs to do the loop and get to this view point.  Probably wouldn’t have felt like so many if it wasn’t for the trip to the lava field the day before…and the day before that…)

Ray – toting a passenger – with the waterfalls in the background

Photo of Me & Ray (I know they have been far and few between) + the baby we borrowed from Chris and Sarah.  Oh, and the waterfall.

After Akaka we came all the way back into the North end of Hilo to visit the Rainbow Falls.  Apparently if you go first thing in the morning it catches the light just right to see a rainbow…but we were there at 4:00pm, so no such luck.

And of course this was a VERY common site on our trip (not just today, but for the past 10 days)

Our last stop after the rainbow falls was up the hill at the Boiling Pots.  Ice melts and flows down Mauna Kea (the dormant volcano), and eventually ends up in the boiling pots – a series of waterfalls/streams.  The water falls so fast and hard over the edge that the water in the original pool looks like it is boiling – and it continually gathers in “pots” or tiny pools as it works downhill (it eventually flows into rainbow falls, then the river, and then into Hilo Bay).  The large waterfall here is called Pe’epe’e Falls.  You can see it in the far back left corner behind Ray.  The fence made it difficult to get the kind of angles we wanted, so you’ll have to trust me when I say it was beautiful.

On the positive side, though the waterfalls were not co-operating, there were a pair of (geckos) *green anoles * that were – including this one who was more than happy to show his throat to me (I’m sure there is a technical name – but it isn’t coming to me right now).  I probably shot almost 80 pictures of just the geckos – they were pretty awesome.

It was an excellent and exhausting day.  I think given a longer period of time on the island I would have been able to shoot the waterfalls morning, noon and night (and depending on the waterfall, certain times of day are better than others).  But my time is limited and I’m grateful for what I have – so no complaining here!  Just another day to remind me what a beautiful place the world is!

 

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Amelia vs. the Lei

Posted on March 22, 2012 by lysmekah

Video courtesy of Chris!!

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Lava Tree and Lava

Posted on March 21, 2012 by lysmekah

Yesterday was a lazy day.  The goal was to stay home, let Amelia catch up on sleep, let Raymond sleep in (his one request) and just take it easy.  As you can see from the last post, this involved time to take Amelia into the pool as well.  But of course, our household had a pair of D7000′s screaming to get out of there bags and out into the area to shoot something.  So me and Chris took a couple small adventures into the surrounding area.

First we went to Lava Tree State Park.  A lava tree is one that forms when lava surrounds an existing tree and starts to flow upwards, and burns the tree inside, leaving tall pointing tree like structures of black lava.  The park was also rich in giant trees and ferns and overall lovely views.  Though it must be said, that some of that lava trees has some…um…interesting shapes….

Only a few hours following our afternoon jaunt to the Lava tree state park, we went for an actual trip out to try and photograph some lava flows – as in the bright red, visible at night, boiling hot, flowing lava.  Turn out there is a lava viewing site that is privately owned that is outside the park and only 25 minutes from here.  So we left just before sunset to find this site, and then planning to drive up to the crater shortly after.  When we got to Kalapana (the private site) and went to park the first thing we were asked is if we brought flashlights…um…no.  Didn’t think of it.  Apparently the walking from the parking lot to the viewing site is 10 – 15 minutes, and it’s pitch black.  ”Luckily” there was a guy standing at the beginning of the walk selling flashlights and headlamps.  So we bought out headlamps (that definitly came in handy) and headed out to the fields.  We were there among a series of photographers and their tripods, trying to find a good spot to view, and waiting for the sunset.  I was very VERY fortunate to have a good friend and colleague Tony lend me his 150 – 500mm lens – because you needed the full 500mm to get close enough to make the pictures worth it.  The lava we set up on was just 1 year old.  The whole field we walked through was covered in houses – apparently for 25$/year in taxes people can build houses on the lava.  They are totally off the grid – they just pick the flattest piece of land and build. I don’t know if it would be my first choice….

Anyway, so we get out there and get set up and wait for the sun to set while working through a trial and error of finding the best settings to shoot this burning lava in the distance.  I couldn’t figure out why my pictures kept coming up blurry when I used long exposures until the Polish couple from Chicago pointed out the IS was still set on the lens…felt pretty stupid about that one.  After that it was snap snap snap and Voila!  My first decent lava shots.  Course then I shared the lens with Chris so he could do the same.  It was a spectacular view!  Course by the time we packed up it was PITCH black (needed the headlamps just to put the cameras away…and of course to find the car!) and late and we had been there for 2 hours!  So we didn’t make it up to the crater…but are planning on it for Wednesday night.

SO this is what I have so far (they look better if you click on them to open them up in a larger size)…hopefully I’ll shoot some more this week before we have to go home.

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Amelia vs. the Pool

Posted on March 20, 2012 by lysmekah

This post is for the grandmas (and all others who love and appreciate Amelia’s cuteness)

So, for the very first time, Chris and Sarah took Amelia into the POOL (not just our pool…..ANY pool).  So I was there to capture the moments.  Enjoy the pictures and videos that follow!

All dressed up and ready for the pool.  She hated having her swimsuit put on (there were some pretty loud screams)!  She was hesitant getting in, first just putting her hand in.  There was a wind, so her teeth/jaw kept chattering.  But then came the SMILES…and things got even better when Chris got in the pool!

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Mika Alua

Posted on March 19, 2012 by lysmekah

Me and Sarah thought we would give you a tour of our awesome rental on the east side of the island.  It’s my first attempt posting a video on the blog (and only my second video shot with the D7000), so I did my best.


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