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“Pic of the Week”. May 3, 2013. Rainbow over West Maui
If you want to see lots of rainbows — almost too many to count — Maui is the place you should go. The frequent showers carried in by the trade-winds usually don’t last long and give way to brilliant sunshine. The sunlight is dispersed when it hits the water droplets in the air and, voila — a magical rainbow! Often Maui’s rainbows span a full hundred and eighty degrees and double rainbows are common.
I like this photo because you can see the lush green bulk of the West Maui Mountains (an eroded volcano) framed behind the rainbow, which seems to stretch to “infinity and beyond!”
(Click on thumbnails to enlarge, right arrow to advance)
May 2, 2013
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“Pic of the Week”. March 8, 2013. Pu`uhonua O Hōnaunau (The Place of Refuge), Big Island of Hawaii. Differing perspectives of sunlight at dusk
The Big Island is one of my favorite destinations, a place I can go to often and always feel at home. It’s a rugged land, newly created by it’s great volcanoes (and with new land formation continuing in the southern part of the island).
A special place I came across during my last visit to the Big Island was the “Place of Refuge” or, in Hawaiian, “Pu`uhonua O Hōnaunau”. It’s a smaller National Historic Park situated just south of Kona that was important to the Hawaiian people because it was a “safe zone” — a place where someone who had broken one of the many Hawaiian laws could seek refuge and escape their sentence (usually death), with no fear of …
Mar 7, 2013
Comments Off on “Pic of the Week”. March 8, 2013. Pu`uhonua O Hōnaunau (The Place of Refuge), Big Island of Hawaii. Differing perspectives of sunlight at dusk
“Pic of the Week”, bonus photo for February: Hawaii’s Nene. The rarest bird I’ve ever photographed
Some of my favorite experiences while traveling are encounters with wild animals, especially when these are unexpected. To stumble on extremely rare birds while traveling the roads of Hawaii was a treat!
My wife and I recently finished a fun week in Maui, one day of which was a trip to the summit of the dormant volcano, Haleakala, which occupies more than half the island’s land mass. As we were driving up the mountain, we saw two pair of nene eating grass beside the road, enjoying the mist and drizzle on the mountain. If you look carefully on an enlargement of the photo (below), you’ll see water beading on the nene’s back.
Hawaii’s great volcanoes (Volcanoes National Park on …
.All Trips / Hawaii / North America
The Valley Island of Maui: 3) Central, Upcountry and South Maui
The largest stretch of (relatively) flat land on Maui is the valley between the two volcanoes, Haleakala and the West Maui Mountains. This area is commonly called “Central Maui” and it’s here most locals live. “Upcountry Maui” refers to those communities that lie within a thousand meters or so of sea level on the lower slopes of Haleakala abutting Central Maui, an area that tends to be cooler and greener and that’s popular with cowboys and ranchers. “South Maui” refers to the stretch of coast on Haleakala’s southwestern rain-shadow, just south of Central Maui. South Maui is a very dry and popular tourist area with great beaches, upscale resorts and lots of golf.
Rainbow over sugar cane field, Central Maui
Besides its thousands of homes, Central Maui is mostly …
Tagged Aquarium, Hawaii, Maui, rainbow, sugar cane
.All Trips / Hawaii / North America
The Valley Island of Maui: 2) Haleakala National Park
Volcanoes never cease to fascinate me! Something about their massive size and primal earth shaping power appeals to my sense of curiosity and awe. So it’s not surprising that I find Haleakala to be Maui’s most interesting place to visit. There are no lodges or hotels in the park making it truly a day trip destination. It’s easily accessible and besides a massive crater and awe-inspiring views, offers the chance to see some rare species — namely the Nene (Hawaiian goose) and Silversword (silver-green cactus-like prickly plant).
Some background on Haleakala….
In Hawaiian, Haleakala means “House of the Sun” — a great name for a mountain that stretches to the heavens and dominates Maui’s landscapes! Haleakala National Park covers much of …
.All Trips / Hawaii / North America
The Valley Island of Maui: 1) Introduction and West Maui
There are few destinations that evoke more traveler’s fantasies than the Hawaiian islands; of these, Maui is thought by many as THE island to visit. I have a genuine fondness for the Big Island, one of my favorite travel destinations, but Maui certainly is in the same league. Most definitely worthy of your time and energy.
Hawaii is among the most remote places in the world, farther from any continent than most anywhere. As such, it always takes many hours of flying (or an incredibly long boat journey) to get there. For us it’s a six hour trip from Portland but it’s always a worthwhile trip. As our plane approaches Kahului Airport from the south — as do …
“Pic of the Week”. November 2, 2012 — Sunset, Hilo Bay, Big Island of Hawaii
John Steinbeck is one of my favorite writers. In his great book, Cannery Row, he devotes an entire chapter to the quality of light an hour before the sun sets — what he called, “the hour of the pearl”. This has become deeply embedded in my neural network and whenever possible I like to head out either just before sunset or just after sunrise to take photos because of the soft special quality of the light.
This remains one of my favorite sunset photos. The day was rainy and cloudy on the southeast side of the Big Island of Hawaii and I had low expectations for viewing a sunset. But with about 30 minutes left before dark, the clouds …
Nov 2, 2012
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.All Trips / Hawaii / North America
The Big Island of Hawaii (Part 4) Kohala & Saddle Road
My final blog post on the Big Island covers the driest (less than 10 inches of rain a year) and oldest parts of the island — the northwest and central regions.
The Kohala coast is a popular destination for tourists, with a string of resorts built beside beaches a half hour and more north of Kona. Many of the island’s best resorts and golf courses are located on this dry sunny lava plain. Most of my trips to the Big Island are centered around medical meetings which tend to be situated in Waikoloa so I’m most familiar with this part of the island. Because the Big Island is a fairly new piece of land, beaches are limited and the best beaches — Hapuna and Mauna Kea — are located …
Tagged Big Island, Hawaii, Kohala, Mauna Kea, Saddle Road, volcano
