There Are No Short Cuts Where Lava Beds Lie

Natives from this part of the world were incredibly smart. Did you know 300 years ago Hawaiians raised fish in ponds? If it was up to me, I'd take my Tom Hanks' volleyball, wade out in the water and try to bash them to death. But these people figured out it was smarter to build fish ponds and fish traps to raise their own fish. That's brilliant. My husband says I would have eventually figured it out, but what I suspect I would have figured out would have been how to beat on my husband and send him out to forage for food. Up to the day that he decides not to return home. Yup, wouldn't blame him -- went out looking for food and never came home again.

We went on an accidental hike yesterday that turned out to be much longer and a bit more ambitious than we expected. It's deceptive, this little path in front of the Visitor's Center at this national park on the Big Island. It's called Kaloko-Honokohau, and it's near Kailua-Kona. We thought we'd take a leisurely stroll to the fish trap and fish ponds and ended up hiking over long trails made up of chunks of lava, which required careful navigation, lest we'd kick a few rocks into our shins, scape our ankles or otherwise stumble over them. Thank goodness I wore Tevas. Hiking boots would be recommended.

The trail vanished at the fish ponds. This is not like hiking elsewhere. There are no short cuts. The only short cut is over miles of turned-over and twisted-up lava beds. It's a trip I would not even dare to attempt in boots much less barefoot. My husband interpreted my future planning of how we could beg for a ride back to our car once we crawled to the highway as a lack of confidence in his navigational abilities, but I prefer to think of my preemptive planning as an excellent example of my survival skills and ability to always have options at hand.

The funny thing is nobody we met along the way ever heard of the Hale Ho'okipa (Visitor's Center). That's because the path forms a Y at one part and veers off to the Visitor's Center. I guess everybody who comes to the ocean here traverses the same path and does not realize what lies beyond it, nor that the government has established a big system of trails and parkland on the premises.

If you ever decide to try this hike, my suggestion is head north first, to the right, and tackle the more ambitious part of the trail at the beginning. Then hike along the beach and turn back toward the Visitor's Center (Hale Ho'okipa), pass the Aimakapa Fishpond at the fish trap.

Here are some photos of the park area at Kaloko-Honokohau, by Elizabeth Weintraub: