Hawaii adventure – six

Since we were scheduled to fly out early the next morning we decided to spend time locally which would allow us time to pack for our early morning departure to Portland. Our first destination was to a beach not far north of Kona known as a best kept secret. We could see the palm trees in the distance but the road to the area was rather rough, across a lot of lava. The story goes that a small farm was located on the beach and a corporation bought the property intending to build a resort. Locals blocked the construction of the resort and eventually the land was donated to the state for a park. After a drive of about 2 miles over very rough terrain that probably took over half an hour, we arrived at the beautiful beach with hardly any people. It had a nice parking lot and modern toilets which really surprised us after such a slow bumpy ride to the site. We relaxed and enjoyed the area before moving on in search of some native fish ponds which we heard were well-preserved. After some misadventures we finally found the elusive ponds tucked between two resorts. The ponds were low areas along the coast that the native population had worked into a series of ponds that connected to the ocean with a gate that allowed small fish to enter but as they grew they could not get out. We were really impressed with the ingenuity and also the beauty of the area. We snapped a picture of this turtle resting on the beach not far from the fish ponds. It was a perfect afternoon and we then worked our way back to the condo where we learned there was a dance group doing a demonstration of native dances at a small shopping area. We found the area and were pleased to see not only the dances but very informative descriptions and history of the hula dance's origins and how it had been banned by the early missionaries in the islands. By then we were hungry so we ate at a local Hawaiian fast food restaurant so we could then go over to the Hyatt resort to see the manta rays feeding in the evening. They put on very bright lights that apparently attract natural foods that the manta rays feed on. We were a bit late for the biggest feeding scene but enjoyed seeing a few working along the rather rugged coastline to eat their fill. We arrived back at the condo and packed our bags for our early morning departure. A stop at Walmart which had a McDonald’s for breakfast also provided a chance to purchase some last minute souvenirs. We even decided to get a meal to go as we knew we were not going to get a meal on the plane. Back in Portland we found our way home so we could relax and recuperate from our fun week in Hawaii.