Sunday 12 February 2012

A cloudy Ka'u coastline

This was the view looking south from Whittington Beach Park in Ka'u this afternoon. I've never been here before and can't figure out why. I know the view from atop the cliffs but for some reason never saw the turn-off into the beach park. A tad of research suggests the real name is Honu'apo Bay and Fish Ponds and there appears to be a lot of history behind this place although the view above is technically outside the park (as ever click on the picture to see a larger version).

I was up at 4am today and drove down to the Kalapana coast hoping to take some sunrise shots but when I got there it was still pitch black and the surf was high. The place I intended to use was being overrun by the waves and since there was only moonlight to go by I thought it a little too dangerous - "Astronomer goes missing in mysterious circumstances - only his flip-flops and lense cover found on a remote Puna beach" is a headline I've been trying to avoid over the years.

Thinking I'd find another spot I drove around for a bit but this is the east coast of Hawaii, so it started to rain and rain hard. Off home and back to bed then.

Anyway, come this afternoon I just wanted to get out for a bit so drove south into Ka'u and found some interesting places which I'll have to revisit. It felt wrong not taking a picture so there you have it, the one above.

This would be a fantastic place for photos at sunrise but it'd be a 3am start from my place to do that, so don't expect any too soon...

PS. It's actually a panorama and was a pain to put together, but didn't think that was worth mentioning!

PPS. The picture looks much nicer than I imagined here.

4 comments:

Tom Bradley Jr. said...

I just discovered your blog and wanted to say, your photography is absolutely AMAZING. You take the kind of pics I can only wish I could take, and hope I CAN take when my wife and I vacation on the Big Island next month. Mahalo for your talents and the beautiful shots and please keep them coming.

Tom said...

Dear Tom,

Thank you for your very kind comment! I hope you and your wife have a wonderful vacation on the Big Island next month - it is a very special place and I hope the weather remains as good as it has been for the last couple of months!

Tom

Tom Bradley Jr. said...

Thank you, Tom. This will be our fourth visit to the Big Island and our first since 2008, so we're excited -- it happens to be our favorite island. The added bonus on this trip is we're going to the Kona Brewers Festival -- but the thought of just being on Hawai'i does wonders for my soul.

Tom said...

Tom - you'll likely bump into a bunch of colleagues and friends of mine at the festival! I'd love to be there but will be off-island in March.

Hope you have a wonderful time and watch out for the drunk British astronomers at the brew fest...

Tom