Up north

Today we drove up to the north end of the island.  The coast line is rather abrupt up there, with steep lava cliffs dropping into the sea, without many accessible beaches.  Here the island looks rather raw and untamed.  We went to the Pololu Valley Lookout.  Here is the view from there.

We also stopped in Kapa'au, to visit the statue of King Kamehameha the Great.  His image graces historical markers across the island.

We drove through the verdant pasture land and woodlands along Kohala Mountain Road.

And of course, we saw chickens.  There are free-range birds all over the place over here.  This rooster was in Waimea.

Chasing unicorns -- fish that is

Unicornfish belong to the surgeonfish family (Acanthuridae).  There are several species of unicornfish that occur here in Hawaii.  We have been trying to photograph two species.

The orangespine unicornfish (umaumalei) has no "unicorn" horn, and grows up to about 18 inches.  Adult males have long filaments running from each corner of the tail fin.  This fish is an adult male.

The buespine unicornfish (kala) has a horn, and grows up to 27 inches.

Two Turtle Tuesday

This morning, we had the great fortune to encounter at least two (maybe 3) sea turtles as we snorkeled.

The smaller one was out swimming around, and had a fairly clean shell.  These two photos are the same turtle, with different cameras, hence different white balance.

The larger turtle was resting under a coral head where we have found turtles in previous years.

Bori and the coral head with the turtle resting beneath it

Bori's photo of the resting turtle

Deep blue sea

We spent 7 hours out on the deep blue sea today, fishing in water that was 5,000 feet deep, not far offshore.

We left the harbor way before the sun rose, fished for live bait, then fished for something bigger for the rest of the time.

The sea is truly deep blue out there.  We were graced by the presence of quite a few dolphins, but they are not super predictable about when or where they appear, so not as easy to photograph as you might think.

Two dolphins just to the right of the rod, by the splashes

Dolphin back and fin

Starry eyed

There are many species of parrotfish here in Hawaii, but the stareye parrotfish (ponuhunuhu) is one of the most striking in appearance.

These are terminal phase males, 16 to 18 inches long.  Seeing the pink star bands radiating out from their eyes really depends on the light conditions.

Chasing butterflies

Often, we chase butterflyfish around with our cameras, but on our most recent snorkel, a couple of pairs of butterflyfish seemed to be chasing us, for 15 or 20 minutes: lined butterflyfish, and threadfin butterflyfish (both are known as kikakapu).

The two species have very similar color patterns, but on close review they appear as permutations on a color theme.

Lined butterflyfish

Threadfin butterflyfish

Another day, another puffer

Today, we encountered a charming fish that I don't recall ever seeing before, the stripebelly puffer (o'opu hue).  It was about 10 inches long.  The sweet face and beautiful eyes of this fish remind us of the balloonfish, a Caribbean species that we frequently encountered in Bonaire.

A puffer

We often encounter the Hawaiian whitespotted toby, a small puffer, as we swim about the reef.  They are rather shy, so photographing them is a challenge.  Their maximum size in 3.5 inches.

With live pencil urchins

With the broken shell of a pencil urchin

Heading down the coral head

Old airport garden

This morning, for a change, I opted to walk around the old Kona airport state recreation area.  The old runway now provides access to some nice beaches, and to a pretty garden.  A band was rehearsing in the old terminal building.

The garden features some tropical plants as well as desert plants.  And I encountered at least a half dozen mongooses.

First, a mongoose.

Some tropical plants:

Plumeria (aka frangipani)

Bougainvillea

Some desert plants:

Flowering cactus

Desert plants seeming to rise out of lava

Three colors of trumpetfish

This morning, we encountered 3 color forms of trumpetfish (nunu).

The yellow one was the brightest and easiest to see (heading to the left).

The gray-brown one, with white stripes, was a little harder to see (heading to the left), but in certainly didn't blend in with the abundant yellow tang (lauipala).

The dark brown one was the hardest to get a clear view of (heading to the upper right).

And now for something on land

What's not to love about the local geckos.  They are really more charming that the animated one that sells insurance on TV.

Here's one from our lanai.

Shades of black

Today, I encountered several black durgon (humuhumu ele ele) in various color phases.  Most often this triggerfish looks basically black, with pale blue bands at the base of the dorsal and anal fins.  But when the fish are in the right mood, and the light conditions are favorable, a gorgeous array of Maori-like, blue markings show up on the face and body.

Always a treat to see their blue and gold tones and graceful swimming.

Shades of blue

This morning while snorkeling, I was fortunate to snap photos of 2 lovely blue fish.  The current was pretty strong, and my mask was fogging up, but I just kept aiming the camera and hoping that something would be in focus.

Both fish are terminal-phase males, which means they represent the brightest colors displayed by these species.

First, the bird wrasse (hinalea iiwi).  This fish was about 8 inches long.

Second, the redlip parrotfish (palukaluka).  This fish was about 20 inches long.

Aloha 2020

Winter storms are hitting the island, including snow in the mountains and heavy rain with flooding on the other side, but we are mostly high and dry, except when we jump into the water to swim or snorkel.

Here are two shots of the same fish, a saddleback butterflyfish (kikakapu).  On the big island.

Stay warm and dry! More another day.