Big Island Enchantment

[Kim]

More views at the farmer's market. Steve had the opportunity to try an early morning kava -- tastes like dirty water. The first one is free. He was really mellow the rest of the day.

Later Bo drove us down to Pohoiki Beach. Well, it's not a sand beach, but it's a water entry point, you might say.

[Kim]

Caution is advised when swimming here.

This sequence will give you an idea how it's done...

Carefully walk out on the rocks..............wait for a wave

1) 2)

Jump on it!

3)

Kick your way out to the lineup.

4)

Then catch a wave!

Bo knows all the best photo opportunities. This tree-shaded road is magical.

[Kim]

Another of Bo's special places for photos -- a perfectly curved coconut on a lava beach with blue crashing surf behind you -- it doesn't get any better than this!

Also along this stretch is one of the few pocket beaches with sand, in this case, black sand, Kehena Beach. You must descend a short trail. The sand is very fine, but there are also many stones, and the surf is a bit crunchy. Clothing optional, but we didn't bring enough sunscreen...

[Kim]

Further along the coast, we come to an area where the most famous black sand beach used to be. Now it is a huge field of lava, the smoother pahoehoe type; ropey, or pillow-like. This is such a bizarre landscape to walk through, but ferns are already growing in the cracks and people have planted coconuts in an effort at reforestation. This flow took place in 1990, burying the village of Kalapana and its beach.

Notice the steaming lava in the background behind Bo's shoulder?

[Kim]

Most people walk through the lava field to the edge of the cliff, turn around and go back. But Bo knows about another pocket black sand beach you can reach by walking a bit further. We had it all to ourselves:

Check out this crazy split rock...

I promise there will be palms next time I post!

[epicure3]

Wow! What a fantsastic trip! The pics really did it justice. I love that ground hugging Archontophoenix. I never knew Point loma could be that lush.

The shot with all the broms was really spectacular as well. Did you head over to the Kona side as well?

[Peter]

More great photos-thanks Kim. And I also remember being blown away by those monstrous Metroxylons.

[Hilo Jason]

Hey Kim, Thanks for the photos! I'm hoping to head over there sometime next year with my wife. I wish I could just leave now after seeing those pictures!

[junglegalfla]

Outstanding thread so far Kim! I for one love the art shots! Can't wait for the next installment. Thanks!

[www.dadluvsu.com]

I'm ready to return... The pics are making me homesick - is that possible if I live in FL?

[Mark_NoVA]

Wow, what great photos of a beautiful area! You see why people keep wanting to move there.

The pig statue you asked about is likely of Zhu Bajie, a companion of the Monkey King in one of the most famous Chinese novels, Journey to the West. Also a well-known Chinese Opera, with multiple TV shows made of it. Very hard to find, but one of the most beautiful animated movies you can see, from the time soon after Snow White, is from China, the 1st part of this story.

[Walter John]

Fantastic Kim, and thanks to Bo for the out of way spots like this one. Close to my fav photo you've posted so far.

There's a romantic feel about some of these last pics I must say...

[bgl]

This is obviously Kim's thread, and I had no intention of posting anything but the occasional comment, but Wal's post above just pushed me over the edge...! So, here are a few more photos from that very unique location near Kalapana. And, now over to Kim...!

[amazondk]

Kim,

Thanks for the great pictures of Hawaii. I never get enough of them. I hope to see more.

dk

[Kim]

Mark, thanks for the info about the statue and the link with more details, that satifies my curiosity! The folks here have all sorts of hidden talents and interests!

Bren, glad you enjoyed the art shots.

John, this thread begins at Dean's place on the Kona side of the island. We did a complete circuit of the island, so you'll see more photos of the Kona side later.

Wal, I agree, Bo has excellent photo skills, and he is unsurpassed as 'tour guide' for his special corner of the island. So, Bo, feel free to interject any time with comments and photos -- or anyone else -- to round out the reporting.

Don - glad you are enjoying the Hawaii scenes, many more photos to come in a day or two...

[daxin]

Leaving Dean's place, we moved north along the coast to the Kohala area and checked into the Hilton Waikoloa Village for the full tourist experience. Coconut heads, this place is for you!

This place is so huge, it took 15 minutes to walk from the lobby to our room. It's really 3 separate very large hotel buildings on one property with additional buildings for meeting rooms, wedding facilities, several restaurants, ballroom, dolphin pools, and so on. There are also trains and boats to navigate the property, but we found it faster to walk. The public areas are packed with art, mostly asian, and the gardens, bridges, paths, and pools fill the space between the buildings. The whole thing is wrapped around a natural lava-encrusted lagoon. If you can imagine part Disneyland, part Las Vegas, shake it up with Hawaiian tourism, that's the Hilton Waikoloa Village.

Having spent most of the day visiting friends, we arrived late afternoon and had a sandwich and a couple of mai tais, then walked around the grounds. (Note to self: 2 mai tais is 1 too many.)

Steve enjoys a mai tai while watching the boats go by -- note the palm shaped swizzle sticks!

Art aficionados -- please explain this pig-headed figure, possibly Chinese.

The pig-headed figure could be Zhu Bajie, (Zhu means pig in Mandarin) one of the characters in the classic novel: "Journey to the West". It is a story about one human monk leading three immortals to travel from Xian, China all the way to Northern India to get Buddhist bibles inscribled on dried fronds of Corypha umbraculifera. His weapon of choice is a 9-tine rake that weighs more than 5000 pounds.

[DoomsDave]

Well, I'm too awed to scream!

More pictures . . ..

Of EVERYTHING!

[Mark_NoVA]

... inscribed on dried fronds of Corypha umbraculifera.

Now that's an interesting piece of information! We might get some interest in 'Journey to the West' from palmophiles now!

[John in Andalucia]

Beautiful, Kim! Thanks for sharing.

[JakeK]

Awesome photos from an awesome trip Kim. Keep posting those photos.

Btw, Dean your place looks amazing.

[Kim]

In the fine morning light, I took a twenty minute stroll in the Lundkvist Palm Garden, camera in hand. Stacked rocks make fine art here and there in the garden. Some of the stacks suggest human form, others are more abstract.

Large Alcantarea with 'rock people'...........................................path through sunlit Licuala

Red anthirium..............................Cyrtostachys renda..........................tall stand of Clinostigma samoense

Such a perfectly formed crown....

[Kim]

I've no intention of documenting Bo's entire collection, so if I left out your favorite palm, sorry! Beyond a collection, it is a well planned garden. The palms are grouped geographically and often planted in small groves of five or more. The mature palms seed and inevitably a number of offspring will sprout and try to fill in the voids -- actually sometimes hundreds of seedlings will form what appears to be a ground cover beneath the adult. The garden grows, changes. Sometimes a palm dies, or a tree must be removed and new fascinations fill their place. While the overriding focus is palms, a few accent plants are carefully placed, red being the chosen color.

Tall Pigafetta towers above........Licuala fan......................................Path................

Always something colorful and interesting to grab your attention

Walking through a shady grove of Verschaffeltia (I think) early in the morning is a special experience......looking up into the canopy....

Stilt roots shelter young palms. These roots are chest high, by the way.

That's all for tonight, lots more to come....

[KONADANTOM]

Aloha Kim, and Mahalo for sharing the great Big Island photos!

[Kim]

Aloha to you, Dan, it's good to see you visiting the forums more. I'm enjoying your comments elsewhere and your spirit of aloha.

Picking up where I left off, this is a closeup view of colorful Verschaffeltia spendida seedlings sheltering among the parent's stilt roots, and a view of a young plant, only about 6 or 7 ft. in height, displaying those big, beautiful leaves.

Again strolling through the shady garden, eye level view. There are so many palms, it's hard to completely register what I'm seeing. The silence is only broken by drops of water sliding off leaf tips and, very rarely, the crash of a shedding frond.

For Matt/Freakypalmguy: these are two versions of the same view. The left photo is shot in Auto mode. The right photo I have programmed the white balance for a cloudy day and adjusted the ISO to 1000, if I remember correctly, but on the photo detail it said the ISO was 1250. I'm just kooking around to find out what works. Which version do my readers prefer? Please weigh in with your opinion.

[Kim]

Look up to see a variegated Caryota; look down to find patterned vriesea tucked among mossy trunks...

Another red accent, a cordyline, contrasting with the green canopy much higher up...

Back up near the house, the striking coloration of a Dypsis lastelliana standing next to the footbridge...

The dark corridor draws me in...

[freakypalmguy]

For Matt/Freakypalmguy: these are two versions of the same view. The left photo is shot in Auto mode. The right photo I have programmed the white balance for a cloudy day and adjusted the ISO to 1000, if I remember correctly, but on the photo detail it said the IS) was 1250. I'm just kooking around to find out what works. Which version do my readers prefer? Please weigh in with your opinion.

I prefer the photo on the left, it has a more of a natural feel to it, whereas the photo on the right got a little "washed out" by the white balance adjustment. I've tinkered with some of the settings on my Nikon, but have never been able to improve upon the auto setting. I'm sure it can be done, I just have not taken the time to learn how to properly use it.

Looking forward to the rest of the pics in this thread,

Matt

[Kim]

This footbridge spans a deep crevasse on Bo's property, not unusual on the volcanic island. Looking down, you may make out the leaves of Pelagodoxa henryana. Although the palm is at least 10 feet in height, it only barely emerges from the crack. Oooo, don't fall in!

There are a group of Beccariophoenix madagascariensis on the other side of the bridge, perhaps a bit too shaded by more Dypsis lastelliana. Oddly, although all planted at the same time, their size varies tremendously. The leaf displays the characteristic 'windows'. Emerging from the bridge, to my left, some muscular Bismarckia nobilis, to my right, the fantastic whole vertical leaves of Marojejya darianii. Hmm, I must be in Madagascar...

Walking among mature palms from Madagascar is a delight. I feel very small. Another Bismarckia behind a Dypsis madagascariensis, um, not sure about those two...but wow, look at this monster grove of Dypsis sp. bejofa!!

[Kim]

My version of Dave's Red Shoe for Scale -- couldn't resist! Pretty palms all in a row... a swath of Alcantarea imperialis line the path. Speaking of scale and paths, I should mention that any of the asphalt paths in the photos are large enough for a normal vehicle to drive on -- these are not narrow footpaths.

Bo happens to have a few of my new favorite, Metroxylon amicarum. The black rocks on the lawn mark a Tahina spectabilis. Note the privacy hedges grown with a variety of palms.

[BS Man about Palms]

I prefer the "top" pic, whichever that one is...

PS- luv the foot shot, but I think you cheated and sat down, Dave does it standing...and a dog does on 3 legs....NO! Shake hands! Sorry made me think of an old joke.

[Kim]

BS Man, this little baby's for you! Kentiopsis piersoniorum, young and sweet! The dear little Tahina, with lots of room to grow... Bristle-patterned trunk of Metroxylon amicarum backed by a screen of Cyrtostachys renda...

Just love the look of this palm!

On Bo's "Fifth Acre" the palms are much more widely spaced -- get a good look at the dark crownshafts on these Neoveitchia storckii and their thick, louvered leaflets.... For color, it's hard to beat the bright orange in this grove of Dypsis pilulifera...

I'm sure I'm holding up breakfast for everyone, and reluctantly force myself to leave the garden...

[Kim]

The name of the small palm with the emergent red leaf escapes me... glowing bromeliad...

...a coconut trunk leans across the frame of the palm-inundated path; bold Bismarckia leaves.

Retracing my footprints back to the house, feeling like Alice coming back out of the rabbit hole to reality...

Bo's utilitarian truck, and our silly red tourist rental, but wow, what a backdrop!

[Kim]

I prefer the "top" pic, whichever that one is...

PS- luv the foot shot, but I think you cheated and sat down, Dave does it standing...and a dog does on 3 legs....NO! Shake hands! Sorry made me think of an old joke.

I guarantee you I did not sit down on the wet ground...

About the two photos, neither is exactly right. The greens are more saturated than shown in the upper photo, but while the second is brighter, it is much too yellow. More experimentation is in order. Guess I'll have to go back to Hawaii and try again!

[Kim]

House entry 'palmy' detail. Karolyn has a knack for making every meal look fabulously elegant, but she does this effortlessly.

Wilbur or Orville? Resting comfortably in his chair nearby, he likes to be with company. The twin brother is sniffing hopefully under the table.

More photos still to come -- more palms than you can shake a stick at!

[BS Man about Palms]

Beautiful pix as usual Kim! And thanks for the pic of the Kentiopsis piersoniorum!

[doubravsky]

Kim,

fabulous shots. Keep 'em coming! I prefer the left photo with the Auto settings... although the place is so beautiful it's hard they both look great.

[KPL]

Aloha Kim,

It was a pleasure having you here, and talking with you this morning. You have a great eye for detail, as well as commentary. You're one talented young lady!

I want you to know that you and Steve are welcome here anytime, please remember that. I know that time is right around the corner.

BTW, I prefer the photos taken in auto. I find those to be much more natural looking. I enjoyed all the pictures and I admire seeing great work by one of our relatively few female contributors.

Keep up the great work. You have many talents!

Take care stay healthy and continue to do good work!

Karolyn

[Kim]

Aloha Kim,

It was a pleasure having you here, and talking with you this morning. You have a great eye for detail, as well as commentary. You're one talented young lady!

I want you to know that you and Steve are welcome here anytime, please remember that. I know that time is right around the corner.

BTW, I prefer the photos taken in auto. I find those to be much more natural looking. I enjoyed all the pictures and I admire seeing great work by one of our relatively few female contributors.

Keep up the great work. You have many talents!

Take care stay healthy and continue to do good work!

Karolyn

Thank you for the kind compliments, Karolyn! We had so much fun with you, of course we'll accept a return engagement. Thanks for the call, that was a pleasant surprise, always a pleasure to talk with you!

Cheers,

Kim

[paulgila]

awesome shots kim! nice to see bo's garden again!

[bgl]

Kim,

It was great to have you and Steve visit us, and I get to appreciate our property from a whole different perspective through this thread!

A few comments:

Post #62, photo #5 and 6: yes, most of those are Verschaffeltia splendida. Also a few Phoenicophorium borsigianum here and there!

Post #67, photo #5 - yes, indeed Dypsis madagascariensis. These are the ones that were sold under the D. ankaizanensis name. Recently discussed in another thread.

Post #71, photo #1, smaller palm underneath the Dypsis pilulifera is a Dypsis perrieri.

Post #73, photo #4, yes, this is Wilbur!

Looking forward to the rest!

Bo-Göran

[LJG]

Thanks Kim. Your pictures show a different veiw to Bo's amazing garden that I do not think anyone else has shot.