The weather finally cleared overnight. Although the other islands are suffering from heavy rain and thunderstorms, the windward Big Island was glorious this morning, so I finally bit the bullet and got out of bed well before sunrise to take a few shots at the nearby cliffs. I've been wanting to do this for several weeks but the weather has been so poor the opportunities have been somewhat limited. So Mr Mad Guy here was on the cliffs to watch the pre-dawn sky on a Saturday morning.
This panorama is of the ocean and Puna coastline just south of Kaloli Point in Hawaiian Paradise Park. It's also one of my whale watching spots although I saw none this morning. It's coming towards the end of the whale season here in Hawai`i although there are still whales around. I saw one yesterday just as I arrived at the cliffs for sunset but it disappeared into the ocean depths before I'd got the camera out.
Looking north from my spot you can see all the new housing that has been built in the last few years. Most of these houses didn't exist when I first moved here over a decade ago. The views are wonderful, especially in the morning when the sun rises and you can really understand why people want to live here. Apparently, the housing here is relatively cheap, although I don't think so. The 0.5-acre plots of land on the cliffs are selling for $250,000 (and that's for a quick sale) and remember, that's without the house. I think my half-acre plot cost $15,000 a decade ago although I'm a few hundred yards back from the cliffs.
I would love to live in a little place like this right on the cliffs, although I'd be continually scared about a tsunami. The only thing lacking here is a beach - perhaps one day, if enough rich and retired Californians continue to move here, they'll build one! Given the economic climate these days though, that's probably not going to happen...
The weather finally cleared overnight. Although the other islands are suffering from heavy rain and thunderstorms, the windward Big Island was glorious this morning, so I finally bit the bullet and got out of bed well before sunrise to take a few shots at the nearby cliffs. I've been wanting to do this for several weeks but the weather has been so poor the opportunities have been somewhat limited. So Mr Mad Guy here was on the cliffs to watch the pre-dawn sky on a Saturday morning.
This panorama is of the ocean and Puna coastline just south of Kaloli Point in Hawaiian Paradise Park. It's also one of my whale watching spots although I saw none this morning. It's coming towards the end of the whale season here in Hawai`i although there are still whales around. I saw one yesterday just as I arrived at the cliffs for sunset but it disappeared into the ocean depths before I'd got the camera out.
Looking north from my spot you can see all the new housing that has been built in the last few years. Most of these houses didn't exist when I first moved here over a decade ago. The views are wonderful, especially in the morning when the sun rises and you can really understand why people want to live here. Apparently, the housing here is relatively cheap, although I don't think so. The 0.5-acre plots of land on the cliffs are selling for $250,000 (and that's for a quick sale) and remember, that's without the house. I think my half-acre plot cost $15,000 a decade ago although I'm a few hundred yards back from the cliffs.
I would love to live in a little place like this right on the cliffs, although I'd be continually scared about a tsunami. The only thing lacking here is a beach - perhaps one day, if enough rich and retired Californians continue to move here, they'll build one! Given the economic climate these days though, that's probably not going to happen...
7 comments:
A Californian here, but unfortunately not one of the rich ones. I'm sure rich Californians will be relocating somewhere in the coming decades, since our state isn't doing so well with water supplies:
http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE52C07R20090313
Maybe your state could sell us some of that excess rainfall you were describing earlier.
Speaking of early, I'm sorry you had to experience getting up so early, but the pictures do seem worth it! What a glorious sunrise! Thank you for sharing it with those of us who were admittedly sloths today and slept through the morning...
I'm glad you got up early! Lovely sunrise and lovely photographs! The light is amazing.
As for Californias building beaches: We don't. From us you can expect swimming pools. It's the Floridians you want; they build beaches.
Beep, that report is rather disturbing news but I have one solution: Ban swimming pools.
Keera: Swimming is my only feasible exercise so I say support the tech industry and let ag move to where the water is; that is our main water usage anyway--ag dwarfs personal usage by a great amount. I do think we need to keep growing food in this country instead of importing so much of it as we are doing now, but I don't think we should be trying to do it in the areas which are turning to desert...unless some fantastic alternative energy is developed which would power the desal plants everyone is talking about that would permit us to obtain our water from the ocean :)
Stunning pictures!
Even though I am not myself a landscape guy, I must say, Tom, last one is lovely. It would look great on canvas printed large I think, as it already looks very un-photograph.
All: thanks for the comments and compliments, I really liked the first and especially the last picture!
I have to be honest, parv, what happened is that my camera battery died so I got my travelling canvas out and painted the scene instead! Seriously, I agree it looks more like a painting than a photo - it must have to do with the colours as I got this just as the sun appeared above the horizon. I really like it!
PS. parv - I went to your flickr site and saw that spider picture taken in Hilo this month. It's a wolf spider (I think you probably know that already) but I don't recognize the sub-species. It's a great picture though!
Thanks much Tom for identifying the green spider as a wolf spider. I had forgotten general shape & size of a wolf spider.
I need to make a third trip so that I could get rest of the six eyes too.
Post a Comment