Exploring Day

Makalawena Beach

So Ken picked up a map of beaches to explore the other day and yesterday we decided to check out Makalawena Beach, a so-called 15-20 minute walk from where you park.  Mmhm.  Sure.

At the beginning of our walk we came across a Hawaiian monk seal just laying at the edge of the water.  Their status is 'Endangered' as their numbers have been steadily decreasing.

There was a volunteer wildlife protection fellow there who was very informative, advising us that this monk seal is nine years old and that they believe she may be pregnant.  Hawaiian monk seals are mostly solitary and don't live in colonies like sea lions or other seals.  But they do sometimes lie near each other - usually not close enough to make physical contact - in small groups.  They usually sleep on beaches, sometimes for days at a time.  

After stopping there we continued on our trek passing various beautiful bays and beaches on our way to our destination.

It's so gorgeous here, you can't help stop and stare

And then it was back onto the track where we went through an area that looked like there had been a fire there at one time.

Eventually we got to Makalawena Beach where the sand is incredibly soft and deep, and the water is beautiful tones of green and turquoise blue.

Ken and Steve (Shirley's cousin who was also vacationing here) continued walking up the beach a little ways to look across the hill, where they saw some Jeeps parked - if you have a 4X4 you can drive right down there.

After sitting in the sun and then swimming, boogie boarding and body surfing to cool ourselves down we began our journey back to our vehicle, which was probably closer to thirty minutes but it was indeed worth the trip!