Captain Cook Monument Trail Notes and Snorkeling Tips

    It seems like when ever we get young visitors, they want to go hiking.  A year ago, James and Tara visited.   They hiked the trail down from the Pololu Valley Lookout (near Hawi) to the beach and back.  We

James and Tara, Antediluvian and Ready to Hike

were going to leave them for a couple hours, but about fifteen minutes after we dropped them off the sky opened up and rain came down in a veritable torrent.   Thinking that they didn't want to stand around wet, we returned early and sure enough, they were waiting  to be retrieved.  As they were situating themselves in the car, James reported that the trail was ridiculously easy and that your humble reporter and his beautiful wife would have no difficulty.

     So let's turn the page a year or so ahead to the present.  Two days ago Sandra, Andrew and your's truly, hiked the trail.  It was a gorgeous day and the descent was very much like climbing down the Space Needle.  This isn't surprising, as from top to bottom the vertical distance is roughly the same.   At the bottom we lounged for a while in the shade of the casaurina trees, hard by the shingle beach.  The way back up was steep, dusty and hot.  Andy had made a point of bringing lots of water and a surprising quantity was consumed on this ascent.  The pertinent point is that the Redoubtable SKG and I made it back to the car by the skin on our teeth.  Suffice it to say, we have no

Sandra descending the Pololu Overlook Trail

intention of climbing the Space Needle or running up the stairs in the new and improved World Trade Center.

    Andrew, on the other hand, thought it was a breeze.  So much so that yesterday he decided that nothing would answer but to hike the trail to the Captain Cook Monument.   Every time we have driven to the city of Refuge, down old Napoopoo Road, we have passed the trail head.  Though it is poorly marked, we always know that it is there, and there are invariably a few cars parked, indicating that someone is hiking the trail.  As I get tired just driving back up the road from the beach to Hwy 11, I have assumed that the trail was only for the insane.  This just goes to show that I am, at heart, a non-hiker.

    From Andy's perspective, a young man who hiked into and out of the Grand Canyon in a day, the 1300 ft descent seemed less than daunting.  As the portion of Kealakekua Bay adjacent to the monument is a renowned spot for viewing reef fish, I thought you might be interested in the particulars of the hike. 

    We arrived at the trail head at about 9:30.  There were road workers right at the spot where our hiker needed to disembark, affording the opposing drivers the opportunity to flip us the Indian Good Luck Sign as we made the transfer. The following is my nephew's report on the hike.

Andrew on the Pololu Trail

    Amazingly, he found the hike less demanding than he expected, which is not to say that it wasn't demanding.  He made it to the bottom in a shade over an hour, carrying four liters of water and his snorkeling gear.   The footing was adequate, never treacherous.  The distance was two miles.  For the majority of this distance, the trail was was over lava, smoother at the top than the bottom.  There were no spots where he was forced to hike over loose stones.  Andy met several hikers at this early hour already on their way back up. 

    At the monument, Andrew met a few fellow hikers.  One couple pointed out a spot on the concrete jetty in front of the monument best for entry at low tide.  Another hiker had an app on his phone

Saddleback Butterflyfish, Kahalu'u, February 2013

that measured the two miles of the hike.  (What is this world coming too?)

     The most significant thing about the snorkeling, from our hero's perspective, was the large number of boats coming and going, and the mob of tourists disgorged by same.  They wore life vests, noodles and water wings.   They flopped furiously and exclaimed to each other about all the pretty fish.  Of course, Sandra and I could eat for a week on what just one of these people paid to swim at the monument.  Or to put it another way, they were highly motivated to enjoy themselves.   The water was very clear,  but just like everywhere else, the number and variety of fish was a bit disappointing.  The best fish Andy saw was a single Saddleback

The Trail to Captain Cook Monument AWH

 Butterfly, along with a nice variety of the usual triggerfish.   There were no sharks, eels, rays or mermaids.  Snorkeling in clear water is a real pleasure and Andy enjoyed his swim.

     The trail back up was steep but safe, and Andrew was able to manage the long steep walk in about 75 minutes.   So the bottom line here is, if you are fit enough for the steep two mile hike, there is no reason not to make this hike.  As we discovered at the Pololu Lookout, Andrew was right on: Take plenty of water!  If you are looking for a challenging hike through arid countryside to a beautiful bay, this may be for you.  But making this hike for superior snorkeling and fish watching is probably a mistake.  For this purpose, Ho'okena, the Dog Beach and even K Bay and the pier will probably yield a larger list of species.  Unless you keep track of every dilettante geek floating on a noodle.

The Flotilla at Captain Cook Monument.  Board the Sailboat for an Apres la Swim BBQ!

 jeff


      

Swimming With Andrew

    We received a visitor today up here at Casa Ono.  My nephew Andrew arrived on the big bird out of

Andrew and the Deep Blue Sea

SFO.  After situating him in his sumptuous lodgings up here in the Kailua highland, he and I headed off for our first snorkeling experience.

    Our first stop was Snorkel Bob's where, for something this side of a King's ransom, Andy rented a really good set that includes a shiny new mask with corrective lenses.  The nice man had a variety at hand, and was able to make a very good guess at the correction just by looking at Andy's glasses.  Perhaps he was an optometrist in a previous life.

    Equipment rented, we headed down to the Ironman side of the pier for our introductory swim.  Andrew has been swimming with us in Kona since he was a wee sprat, so it was more like a re-introduction. 

Regardless, no matter how good you are, if you have new equipment it behooves you to go to the safest place and make sure it works properly.  The retired optometrist at Bob's was not as careful fitting the mask to Andrew's face as I might have hoped, probably because he did not have a wide selection of masks already fitted with corrective lenses. Outside the shop we checked the fit, emphasizing that a really tight mask strap actually deforms the mask and creates leaks.  In this instance, the mask fit acceptably and Andy was soon swimming ahead with out problem.

    The water was pleasantly cool, much warmer than two days earlier, and only modestly cloudy.  Andrew swam with such grace and artistry that we were soon rubbing noses with the half mile buoy.  What a nice swim!

      Right in front of the restaurant, where it says Kona Inn on the handsome red roof, I spotted a Reticulated Butterflyfish in twenty feet of water.    I included the cropped and photo shopped picture above

Reticulated Butterflyfish,  Kailua Kona Pier, April 2013

to give you an idea of what the spot was like.  This is to say, that if you didn't have a good idea what this fish looks like, you would have passed it by.  I dove down to within ten feet of this single retic and here you see my best photographic effort.  This is the first Reticulated Butterflyfish I have seen at the pier!   If you happen to be swimming out on the Ironman course, you might want to be alert for this guy.

     Shortly after, a turtle swam by about twenty feet away.  Visibility was such that we could just see him at this distance.  We swam with him for an exhilarating fifty yards.  Having thought through turtle diving physiology, its much more interesting to swim near a turtle, puzzling about his carbon dioxide buffers and wondering about his stores of ATP.   While thinking about these things we were careful not to push the turtle.  He was a beautiful, strong swimmer.

    As you can see from the photo, this turtle had a couple whitish lesions on his shell and skin.  We'll try to find out what that is about and in the meantime hope that it isn't too serious.

Green Sea Turtle, Kailua Pier

   Its always fun to swim with someone new, especially so if you can find them a nice fish like the Reticulated Butterfly, not to mention a happy go lucky terrapin.  Doubly so if their equipment is working properly.

jeff
        

What's New at Kahalu'u

    Over the last five days, the water has been dramatically warmer at Kahalu'u than at the pier.  With that in

Raccoon Butterflyfish   Kahalu'u   April 2013

mind, we have been swimming the temperate waters of K Bay twice.  We didn't see anything earth shattering, but did run into opportunities to photograph a few of the regulars in favorable conditions. 
  
    Right off the bat, I'm going to show you two nice photos of the Raccoon Butterfly.  There was a school just hanging out in still clear water with the sun shining above.   Thank God that the raccoon is still a common fish.  They are handsome, distinctive and gregarious.  None of which makes them exempt to a population crash.  Just think of the once common Milletseed Butterflies!

Three Raccoons out for a Swim

    The first picture is a classic profile that would be right at home in any field guide.  Sandra liked the artistic grouping we see in the second picture.  What do you think?










     The same day we spotted an older juvenile Hawaiian Dascyllus.  This fish is significant because it is the closest thing we have to an anemonefish in these very Sandwich Islands.  Not that they are extremely closely related to anemonefish, beyond the fact that  both are damselfish.  But family groupings of immature dascyllus harbor in cauliflower coral in much

Hawaiian Dascyllus, older immature

the same way anemonefish employ their anemone as a safe haven from predators.  You'll note that this cooperative fellow has already lost the white spot on the forehead










      Next, I'm going to throw in a picture of an invertebrate.  The Spiny Brittle Star is uniformly black with numerous spiny projections.  I'm always reminded of a lady's hairbrush.  I have only seen this species in recesses of coral heads.  Although

Spiny Brittle Star

I have only seen it associated with coral, upon which it feeds, it is apparently found under rocks in the tidal shallows.  Will, a  ReefTeach acquaintance at K Bay, tells us that you can find them commonly on the seaward reef flat by turning over stones.  Perhaps it is time to break out the water shoes and go lookin'.  This is my best picture of the Spiny Brittle Star.  As you can see the animal is well inside the coral head.  Lucky for us that the Canon D10 was able to focus and adjust for available light while being held in front of the cavity!




     Finally (from the K Bay portfolio) we have a picture of a young man.  "What in the world does he have?"

Add caption

you may well ask.  Its not a spear.  Is he playing underwater golf?   Well, I  had the chance to accost the young fellow ashore.  That is a very small camera on the end of his collapsible stick.  He is unable to operate the camera from the proximal end of the wand.  Rather, he turns the thing on and takes a video.  Isn't it remarkable how small a camera can be and fulfill that function?  And under water, no less.  Best of all, when he gets to be my age, the young man can take the camera off his collapsible stick and use it as a cane.



       You've been a patient audience.  As your reward I'm going to leave you with a picture of the White Saddle Goatfish.  The WSG has the dubious

White Saddle Goatfish, Kailua Bay  2013

honor of being the tastiest goatfish.  I have never eaten a goatfish, but they are taken both by spear and angling.  Let's hope this handsome fellow made it out of the bay before he ended up on the business end of a frying pan. 

     And I hope that you and I can stay out of the frying pan, as well.

jeff

The Adventure of the Freckeld Snake Eel

       The title of this blog reminds me mightily of a tale woven by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.  Its tempting to write the blog in the manner of the short story written by the classical master.   However, there was very little

Mi Amigo Pepe

in the way of mystery, no one dies and I believe that Sandra would prefer not to be referred to as Watson.  So I'll play it straight.  Maybe not.
     
    The tale begins on a day earlier in the week, when the cruise ship was in.  The pier was crowded with tourists and various concessionaires were pandering to same.  I was swimming solo that day.  Dr. Watson, excuse me, Sandra doesn't share my strange voyeuristic attraction to the patrons of the Carnival Lines and frequently opts out of a trip to the pier and the ensuing swim on those days.  In this instance it was just as well.  The sea was bumpy, cloudy and there was a strong current.  The saving grace was a lady of  dark Hispanic visage and her super attractive pooch bedecked in shaded goggles.  I didn't get the dog's name, or her name either, for that matter.  But I was able to eaves drop while she tried to bargain with some Mexican tourists over a taxi tour of Kona.

    After they left,  I knocked her up (that's Sherlock Holmes speak for engaged her in conversation.) Her tale: She no longer speaks Spanish very well, being permanently separated from an ex-husband from

Guanajuato a Noche.

 Guanajuato.  That central Mexican puebla has held an interest for me, as it is the home of several schools where gringos may attempt to improve their Spanglish.  The Guanajuatans would have you believe that it is quite picturesque...a delightful town in which to spend a month.  Our friend disagreed; Guanajuato is a small town in a valley in the desert.  Lacking sufficient Spanish, she was unable to sell her taxi tour.  I travel to Mexico with a modest amount of Spanish language skill.  Why was I surprised that people form Mexico would travel to Hawaii with a similarly limited handle on the Queen's English?  (We're talkin' Elizabeth here, not Liliokalani.)   Such hubris us Hawaiian Americans possess!  At least I was able to nab a picture of her pooch.  I suggest we call him Pepe. 

      Just so you know that Watson is a true naturalist, I'll tell you that the following day she and I went birding in the highlands, searching (yet again in vain) for the Red Cheeked Cordonbleu.  We have looked for this

Erckel's Francolin,  Pu'u Lani Equestrian Estates  SKG

lovely African finch on several occasions, never with success.  This day we drove into Pu'u Waawaa Ranch and the Pu'u Lani Equestrian Estates.    There, where the Paniolo hangs his lariat, Watson captured this striking image of Frankel's Erkelmann.  (My editor promised me a kiss if I could employ a really good Spoonerism in today's blog.)  

     All of this leads up to Friday and our swim on the Ironman side of the pier.  I had forgotten my camera, so naturally the water was quite clear.  As I had already donned my Deerstalker Cap and Meerschaum Pipe, we proceeded, halfway hoping that we didn't spot something reportable as photographic evidence (a clue, as it were) would be impossible. 

    On the way out we saw an octopus in the shallows.   He was brick red, of moderate size and dodged quickly under a coral, peeking out in response to the snorkeled doxology.  I saw not a single octopus from November to March.  I have now had seven sightings involving at least four individuals in about five weeks.  Go figure.

     Watson and I made it all the way out to the Canoe Club, hoping for a ray and then turned for home.   She swam wiki wiki back to the peer while I dawdled.  As I was swimming in, still outside the swim buoys, I saw something protruding from the soft sand about fifteen feet below.   I dove it once and found it to be the head of a fish protruding from the sand, gulping continuously.  I dove it twice more and came away with little additional information.  It was about an inch or two in diameter, had some mottled markings around the face and was....gulping.  Contiuously.

Freckled Snake Eel

      I could not imagine what this might be.   At home, I looked at gobies, dart fish and blennies, but none of them would serve.  I then looked at Conger Eels.  I had seen only a single individual, not a garden full, but I was doing my best to convince myself when, somehow, my eye lit on the Speckled Snake Eel.  Both Randall and Hoover noted that it spent its days with its head protruding from the sand.  But John Hoover, bless his fishy heart, had this addition:  their constant, almost frenzied gulping creates continual puffs of sand next to their gill openings. 

   The borrowed picture shown here is very much like what I saw.  If  I hadn't been paying close attention and the water had been less than very clear, we never would have noticed this interesting fish.

    Mystery solved, I leave you with a picture of the delightful Watson searching out the wary Frankelmann in the Kohala Highlands.  Spring in Hawaii is the season for birds, fish and flowers.  Enjoy.

jeff

Cookie Cutter Sharks and Other Delights

    When we left the dolphins at Ho'okena last week, we had yet to hear from the people at NOAA and

Cookie Cutter Shark Bite

other resources.  We were left with the question, what makes a two inch, full thickness skin lesion on a Spinner Dolphin?
    The answer is in.   And it is Cookie Cutter Sharks. Cookie Cutters are dogfish, a variety of small shark.  The species is found in all tropical oceans, especially near islands.  They are rarely seen in Hawaii, as they spend the daylight hours in very deep water and migrate to the surface at night.  They feed primarily by biting marine mammals and large fish, creating suction with their round mouth while excising a round chunk of skin.

Cookie Cutter Shark

   The Cookie Cutter Shark is a relatively poor swimmer.  It ascends at night  and hovers in areas frequented by drowsy prey.   This strategy is known as ambush hunting.   Cookie cutters certainly appear to have the sleeping area of our dolphin pod staked out.  I'm including a picture of the Cookie Cutter shark borrowed from wikipedia.  He really is an ugly spud, is he not?  I'd include a picture of the suction mouth and teeth, but I don't want to give you nightmares.    The good news is that dolphins heal these incredibly large wounds with little difficulty.  What I had assumed were beginning lesions caused by flesh-eating bacteria are undoubtedly healing cookie cutter bites.

Dragon Wrasse,  Kailua Kona Pier,  March 2013

    Well, I guess that will give you pause the next time you take a moonlight swim in a warm tropical location!  To get your mind off the hideous cookie cutter, I'm closing with a picture I recently nabbed while snorkeling at the pier.  A sweet little Dragon Wrasse is looking up at us.  This is a bit of an unusual location for Dragon Wrasse...I usually see them at Kahalu'u where the adult Rockmover is more common.  Now you have something to look for the next time you take a dip on the Ironman course.

jeff

Hen's Teeth at Honokohau!

    Yesterday was a beautiful day in Hawaii.  Guy Hagi, the beloved meteorologist on Channel 7,  said we

Bubba and Todd at the Kailua Pier

had the best weather on the planet.  It was cool, dry and blue skies.  Sandra and I enjoyed the day by going to Costco for pupus and party supplies.  After shopping, we tucked her purchases into the large cooler, as it isn't safe to leave anything unprotected in a sweltering car.  With the groceries safe,  we back tracked just a little to the Dog Beach near the Honokohau Marina. 

    On our way over the rough lava trail, we encountered our friends Todd and Bubba (the Blue and Yellow Macaw).  On this day Todd introduced us to his wife, Marilyn.  They not only had their parrot, but a dog, as well.  Todd told us he puts Bubba on a branch near the beach while they play with their hound in the lagoon.   Pretty cool, I'd say.

    Shortly there after, Sandra and I were in the water.  the conditions were not nearly as mild as the storm wave app had predicted, and we found ourselves swimming through  breaking waves as we left the lagoon. 

Yellowtail Filefish,  Pervagor aspricaudus,  Honokohau

(Good thing Sandra is such an intrepid swimmer!)  On the outside, we were just getting ourselves situated when I spotted a pair of Yellowtail Filefish.  They were in an area of rich coral growth about twelve feet deep.  I watched them for about ten seconds before making sure Sandra was on them, as well.   They were a beautiful pair, swimming together with their handsome orange tails fully extended.

    By the time I got my camera out, the pair had split.  One had totally disappeared and the other was taking evasive action.  Getting a picture in this deep, turbulent water was a bit of a trick.  However, between the fish dodging in and out of the coral, the deep water and the wave action, I seem to have come up with a couple serviceable pictures.  Maybe not suitable for framing, but their is no doubt as to the identification.

Yellowtail Filefish,  Honokohau,  April 2013

    The only other time I have, with complete certainty, seen aspricaudus in Hawaii, it was here at the Honokohau dive site.  That fish was harboring amid the boulders, providing peek a boo view.  The water that day was calm and clear, but their was no hope of photographing that shy individual.  Isn't it delightful that today we saw a pair?  One can only hope that this pair is part of a breeding population at this site.  I regret that I was not quick enough on the draw, to capture a photo of the pair for science. 

     In a blog in January, I showed you a couple pictures of the immature Barred Filefish,  C. dumerlii.  In that blog,  we saw the dark chocolate fish with the orange tail.  A novice could easily be forgiven some confusion, especially if he was using a guide book that didn't show the Barred immature.  Note here what a different profile the Pervagor presents. 

Immature Barred Filefish

 In my second picture, with the fish adjacent to a sea urchin, you get a clear idea of just how small these fish are.  I was struck by that in Bali, especially when looking at my photographs.  Randall states that this species attains less than five inches, while the Barred Filefish can reach 15!  Even the immature barred, pictured here again for your perusal, was  twice as large as the yellowtail.

     In that January blog, I noted that in Hawaii the Yellowtail Filefish is rare as hen's teeth.  Perhaps this finding of a pair at Honokohau will change that status just a little.  And now I have a picture of my own  to show my loyal readers!

jeff