Day 14

Thursday, August 18, 2011

This morning we decided to spend the day relaxing at the beach. Doing some quick research online, Jerry found that there were some deserted beaches in Kekaha Kai State Park. With the prospect of having our own, private beach, we set out on short, 20 minute drive from our hotel. On the way, we stopped at Blue Wilderness Dive Adventures at Queens Market Place in Waikoloa and rented some good snorkeling gear at a fraction of the price that our hotel charged.
 

Trail to Makalawena Beach through an a'a' lava field

When we reached the park entrance, we drove over an unpaved road through a'a' lava to get to the ocean. We were lucky we had the Jeep with its 4 wheel drive, as it was a bumpy ride over some rough terrain. We parked the car at a make shift parking area by the side of the road and set out on foot. 

 
 

We hiked for about 30 to 40 minutes over a rocky path that cut straight through an a'a' lava field. In hindsight, we should have been better prepared and worn proper shoes instead of our beach flip flops. When we finally reached our destination, we were rewarded with a stretch of maybe four or five white sand beaches, separated by rocky lava outcrops. The first beach was already occupied by a nude couple, so we continued walking to the next beach.
  

A series of beaches at Kekaha Kai State Park

We decided to set our stuff down at a beautiful stretch of white sand at Makalawena Beach. It wasn't quite "deserted," since we could see one other couple way off in the distance on the other end of the beach, but it seemed as private as a beach could get.

The deserted Makalawena Beach in Kekaha Kai State Park

As Jerry got down to the aqua marine water, he noticed a green sea turtle swimming by. It seemed huge, and looked to be about 2-1/2 feet long. Before he could put on his snorkel gear on, the Honu swam away.  
 

Lava outcrop on Makalawena Beach

Convincing Michelle to put on her snorkel gear, Jerry swam in the direction of the Honu, toward a large lava outcrop. There we found a reef, filled with maybe a dozen or so different species of reef fish, including some Convict Tangs and many varieties of Butterfly fish. We also saw a school of Trumpet Fish, swimming near the top of the water. We were astounded by the variety of fish at this random  reef on an undiscovered beach.
  

Later that evening we went to dinner at Norio's, a sushi restaurant on the first floor of our hotel. We both opted for the Omakase, where the sushi selection is left up to the chef. Usually this consists of the best and freshest items available that day. We were not disappointed. The sushi was amazing, especially the first course, which was a hamachi with slices of avocado in a ponzu sauce. We also ended up saving a considerable amount of money, getting a four-course meal at a fraction of the usual price.