Big Island Enchantment

[Justin]

Did you plant any coconuts at Kalapana?

[Kim]

Thanks Paul, I hope to post more photos this evening.

Bo, thanks for adding more palm names, I need all the help I can get.

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

I'm never sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing, I seem to do the 'different perspective' thing a lot... There will be more photos from a late afternoon walkabout with Bo as guide.

Justin, we did not bring any coconuts to plant at Kalapana, but I can report that some are getting some noticeable size to them, while others are looking rather fried. I was trying to estimate the success rate -- there were a lot of dead husks among the survivors -- but I can't report a percentage with any confidence. Wild guess, maybe 65% survivors?? It's a tough climate at that low elevation in the lava field, much less rain than elsewhere, and very exposed. But twenty years from now, there will definitely be a coconut grove and it will be groovy. It's amazing to see how quickly new sand is forming.

[bgl]

Kim,

Your perspective is ALWAYS a good one! And do we still say "groovy"?

Bo-Göran

[Jeff Searle]

Kim,

Beautiful pictures as usual, from what appears to be an exciting trip and probably a much needed time to get away. The beach scenes were very romantic, especially as the sun goes down, one could imagine.

Thanks for sharing!

Jeff

[Kim]

If you visit Bo and ask him where the volcano is, he is likely to point at your feet and say, "About five miles down there!" To live on the Big Island of Hawaii is to live on the volcano, and reminders of Madame Pele's restlessness are never far away. At the farmer's market Saturday, we had heard the viewing of the eruption was the best it had been in a long time, so Monday being our first opportunity, we entered the viewing area after 5:00 p.m. as prescribed, and hiked a modest distance across the old lava to the viewing point.

To us, who had never before seen hot boiling lava actively flowing into the ocean, this was pretty exciting. Where else in the world, we asked ourselves, could we so easily see this natural phenomenon? Still, we were at least 3/4 of a mile from the actual flow and could see boats approaching within 500 ft. of the lava dumping into the ocean where the huge steam cloud formed. Much of the orange glow we perceived was the reflection of the hot lava off the steam cloud. After having heard the predictions of a good viewing, this was somewhat disappointing for Bo, who has previously been within shoe-melting and leg-hair-singing distance of the flow.

The crowd gathers, cameras flashing in the darkness..

While we didn't get major fireworks, we did see occasional globs of molten lava explode into the air in small showers...

Bo explains the finer points of global volcanism to Steve...

[Kim]

The next morning we shifted ourselves to the house next door, a rental belonging to Steve (Urban Rainforest) and his wife Stephanie. Just another version of paradise... Steve's Mad Fox was kicking out more fronds. It rained in the morning, cleared for our daily forays, and rained again at night, and we came to expect the sound...

If it wasn't raining, the bees were buzzing around the Archontophoenix inflorescences, and it was quiet enough otherwise that the bees seemed quite loud...

The house was filled with cheerful aloha spirit and had all the comforts of home, but a much more awesome garden than at home -- I highly recommend it for an extended stay!

[Kim]

Entering Volcano National Park, we stopped at the Visitor Center for maps and information, and drove to the Jaeger museum where the view of the Kilauea crater was even better. After lunch we drove to a viewing area of Kilauea Iki crater, and seeing the trail at the bottom, we knew we had to walk it. This part of Kilauea went through a spectacular eruption in 1960, filling the crater with a lake of lava to a depth of 400 feet, while spewing as high as 1900 feet in the air, and sending curtains of lava up through extensive cracks along the surface. For some exciting viewing from 1960, complete with sci-fi sound track, click here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiPLXlaclng

Main Kilauea crater..........................................................Kilauea Iki crater

First we walked through the Thurston Lava Tube, then followed the 4-mile loop:

We made an easy descent through muddy forest, only to emerge at the bottom to a totally different environment:

[Kim]

Holding your hand over a steam vent is a lot like holding your hand over a pot of boiling water. Evidence remains of tumultuous volcanic activity.

On the far side, offerings to Madame Pele...

[paulgila]

those last shots remind me of the early days of the "lost in space" tv series.

awesome stuff,kim!

[MattyB]

Reminds me of the movie Nude on the Moon.

[paulgila]

everything reminds you of that since we got back from florida!

[Kim]

Next day we decided to do some exploring, starting with Lava Trees State Park. It's a small park where you can walk a loop and see lots of lava forms. The lava encases a wet tree, and cools. Eventually the dead tree rots away leaving the form of the tree inside. They make for some interesting topography. Also there are some deep fissures through the area.

We followed the road out to the end of a point in the Kapoho area where there is a "lighthouse" -- in this case a utility tower with a light on it -- and watched the waves crash against the lava. This flow dates from 1960, and is wickedly rough and sharp.

Just around the corner past the cinder pits, the terrain reverts to wet jungle again. We followed this road (Papaya Farms Road) just to see where it went -- lots of residences out here, some very fine, some on the creative side, some more rustic.

[Kim]

You cruise along past untended gardens, suddenly you meet a big bizzie, you know someone's paying attention to what's growing outside...

We turned around and went the other direction, toward Kapoho proper, and just into the tsunami zone we came upon this:

We had obviously stumbled onto Pauleen Sullivan's famous palm garden, now for sale.

Peering through the locked gates... Gawping at the sky...

[Kim]

My best guess IDs: Satakentia (corrected), Carpoxylon macrospermum, possibly a Cinostigma samoense behind that? As you can see, it's too dry here to depend on rainfall alone; all the palms are on drip.

I really don't know what this curly thing is...(edit: Allagoptera arenaria) View from the road..

[Kim]

We drove all the way around the property, admiring the vast amount of palmage contained within the fences. This barn lies across the back road, and the outward slant of the walls and unusual proportions intrigued me. It was just a barn, but a very finely designed barn, and had a fine Eucalyptus deglupta beside it.

Continuing into the knot of residential homes in Kapoho and a Kapoho Kat...

These fishponds are supposed to be good snorkeling, but they are so shallow, I didn't quite get it. Maybe at higher tide? Maybe they are deeper in certian areas? Reef booties required!

[Kim]

Returning to Leilani Estates, I requested yet another garden tour with Bo, hoping to use the late afternoon light to show off the palms. I didn't have to twist his arm.

Pigafetta elata.... Bright lime crownshafts of Clinostigma samoense... Sunlit Marojejya darianii...

Hmmm...Dypsis carlsmithii? edit: No, Dypsis sp. bejofa.

Excuse me while I indulge myself with Metroxylon amicarum -- I can't help staring.

[Kim]

Just one more... ...... Can you pick up the hint of metallic blue to the frond of the Kentiopsis piersoniorum?

In this series of shots, Bo is having fun showing off his gorgeous avatar palms, Dypsis pilulifera, and I am getting a big thrill watching the moment unfold. (That is a huge frond, by the way!)

Yum, freshly peeled orange!

[Kim]

Here's an interesting symbiotic relationship Bo noticed -- small palms germinating in the base of a Bismarckia nobilis petiole -- and obviously not Bismarckia. The seed donor is way above, Dypsis pembana. (edited)

Truly a noble palm, isn't it...

[Kim]

Dictyocaryum lamarckianum happens to be my favorite color -- purple! The contrast of purple against the orange is just too beautiful for only one photo! I think Bo agrees. This is where we had a discussion about using flash while photographing palms. I tested the purple with and without flash, and I had to agree, the extra light really showed the crownshaft to its full advantage, no matter the background.

Roystonea oleracea in ranks...

Euterpe precatoria for MattyB

Fireworks display...

[Kim]

This palm putting on the display is a South American something... (Prestoea acuminata)

More nice color happening here... (this is where the names started to run together -- but this one is worth knowing!!)

From ridiculously large, Borassodendron machadonis...... to the small and sublime....

[Kim]

Kerriodoxia elegans was high on my list for our walk this afternoon. How many ways can you photograph this superlative fan palm with its soft white undersides and shiny black petioles?

In this shot you can see the curvature of the earth...

It's more difficult to frame than you might think...

Getting arty............... Something makes me think he's done this before...

[Peter]

Great photos Kim!

[Kim]

I never get tired of colorful Areca vestiaria... And how about some colorful roots?

Calyptrocalyx pachystachys, so many shades of red on one diminutive palm...

Another red emergent frond...

[Kim]

Probably Clinostigma roots... Johannesteijsmannia altifrons perfection...

More stupefying color and form, and back to the luxuriantly planted entrance again as the light begins to fail...

Thanks to Bo and Karolyn for their generosity with their time and extra special palm hospitality. Our visit was unforgettable.

Moon over Clinostigma...

[bgl]

Kim,

Wow, seems like you had a busy afternoon! Great pictures - as always! BTW, not sure if I mentioned it in an earlier post (probably not) but I preferred the "natural"

look, even though I could certainly appreciate the special settings from an art point of view!

A few comments:

Post #92: last photo, this is the road that will take you to Kapoho Palms (name recently changed to Kipuka Palms), about 3/4 of a mile up from the "main" road

Post #94: first photo is a Satakentia. The "curly" one at the bottom of the post is an Allagoptera arenaria

Post #96: 4th photo - actually, these are the infamous Dypsis sp. bejofa!

Post #98: Tall Dypsis above the Bismarckia that's the seed donor is a D. pembana

Post #100, first and second photo: Prestoea acuminata and 3 & 4 Pinanga insignis.

Thoroughly enjoyed our garden tour. Too bad you didn't get to see ALL the palms! But, there's always a next time...

Bo-Göran

[BS Man about Palms]

WOW.

[Urban Rainforest]

Kim, Steph and I are so glad you and Steve enjoyed your stay at our place in Leilani. And thanks for posting that pic of my Mad Fox opening a new red frond. It made my day . That pic of Bo's Dictyocaryum is almost surreal. I need to plant 100 of those next time . Great pics!

Stevo

[RainForestt Robert]

Kim,

Lovely photos, great commentary and awesome palms. Makes me want to start planning a trip over to Hawaii. This threat is special. Thanks for sharing.

Robert

[fiji jim]

Absolutely awesome Kim.

As always your pics are splendid and some of the best palm photos ever.

Love that one with the Dictyocaryum and have to mention the Kerriodoxa also.

Glad you both enjoyed your trip and it makes me want to spend some time there

as I have only breezed through briefly but not in recent years.

Jim

[amazondk]

Kim,

Thanks for the great pictures. They make me want to expand my horizons on palm collecting.

dk

[Al in Kona]

Kim, thanks for sharing your views of portions of our Big Island, Hawaii Island. It is a special place and that's why we live here. Looks like you two had a pretty busy schedule while here. Hope you can drop by our area on your next trip.

[paulgila]

wow,some more incredible stuff was added since last time i was here!!!

i mean photos.