This is Punaluu Black Sand Beach Park on the southeast tip of Hawaii, just around the southern most point. There is a small outdoor gift shop (more of a gift stand) on the beach which sells postcards, shell leis, and other tourist things. There are also Showers, restrooms, telephones, and a picnic pavilion there. Camping is allowed (with a permit).
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Black sand beaches, which evolve from ground lava, are located mostly on the southeast part of the island which is the most volcanically active part of the island. The black sand does not get your feet dirty or anything. When you pick it up it feels just like regular sand.
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Punaluu is supposed to be a good swimming beach, but it looked like rough water out there to me. The rocks at the waters edge are lava rocks where lava hardened flowing into the ocean.
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The endangered green sea turtle seems to love this beach. The turtles are protected by law, so touching them or harassing them is punishable by stiff fines. This sign is in English AND Japanese since Hawaii gets so many Japanese tourists. There is no lifeguard, but at the far end of the beach the turtles are watched over by an ever present picnic table of local residents, who sometimes have to remind tourists not to pick up the turtles for video shots!
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At Punaluu the turtles can be seen in great numbers, as it is a favored nesting area. Green sea turtles are calm, cute animals that are unafraid of humans, and spend their time munching away on the green algae growing on the lava rocks while snorkelers and children play around them. They sometimes bump into people out in the water and the people don't even notice it. |
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You will find the turtles up on the beach basking in the sun, on the rocks with waves splashing over them while eating algae, and popping their heads up for breath in the bay. In addition to the Green Sea Turtle the "honu'ea", or hawksbill turtle, sometimes enters the bay at night to crawl ashore and deposit its eggs in the black sand.
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Rainbow Falls in the city of Hilo, Hawaii. It's called Rainbow Falls because you can sometimes see rainbows there. I didn't see one. It looks like the falls are out in the middle of nowhere but they are actually located in the Island of Hawaii's biggest city, Hilo. They are right off a busy street. There is an office building behind them to the left that you can't see in the pic. |
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Another Rainbow Falls pic. The 80-foot Rainbow Falls is renowned for the rainbow formed from its mist many mornings. Legends say that the cave beneath the waterfall was the home of Hina, mother of the demigod Maui.
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A closer look at the falls.
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