B.E.A.C.H. (Beach Environmental Awareness Campaign Hawai’i) put on a service project on Saturday at the beach in Kahuku. It’s a stretch just north of the golf course bordering private land, so it’s normally inaccessible to the public (unless you want to walk a looooong way from the golf course).
The beach was absolutely beautiful at 8 a.m. Because it’s so remote, volunteers were the only people present all morning.
A large group of approximately 150 community members (mostly members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ La’ie North Stake) and delegates from the Hawai’i Conservation Conference (the cleanup was also part of the International Year of the Reef) teamed up to clean up what B.E.A.C.H. founder Suzanne Frazer said is one of the worst coastlines on O’ahu for marine debris. Senator Clayton Hee and Rep Michael Magaoay also made appearances.
I’m a born and raised beach bum from this area, and I’d never been to this beach before–It was a wonderful experience that I’ll never forget.
Here is the sign-in tent, where all of the volunteers registered
Upon closer inspection, the beautiful rocky shoreline was infested with nets and debris. Three ‘net crews’ used knives, machetes, and even car jacks to try and get them free of the rocks.
One crew worked for over an hour to free this tangled mass from the rocks. It then took about 10 men to carry it up the beach to the container.
The tidepools at this beach are awesome. And look what these two found (below): a nice-size fish trapped when the tide went out! They threw it in one of the coolers and took it home.
Here’s the view mauka. Talk about a glimpse of O’ahu I’ve never seen before–and it’s in my own backyard!
We had some visitors at the main tent.
Volunteers tracked all of the types of rubbish they picked up on a clipboard, from toothbrushes to little unidentifiable plastic pieces. The data collected is used for research purposes.
Hot and hungry (but happy!) volunteers pose in front of their hard work at the end of the day.
Now that’s a lot of trash!
Thanks to B.E.A.C.H. for driving all the way out to Kahuku from Hawai’i Kai early on a Saturday morning to help out in our community! Thanks also to all of the community members who came out and were able to experience something very special–I may have been sweating and sunburned by the end, but I was definitely smiling, too.
This weekend, my family is on our yearly camping trip at Kekela Beach Park in Hau’ula. YAHOO! I have many lovely memories of camping out here, including the time that I was bit on the hand by a 6-inch centipede as I flung it across the tent at 3 a.m. (after waking up to it crawling up my neck and onto my face!).
First off, I need to show you the set up. We are camping with my uncle and his family, so we set up 2 EZ Corner tarps–one for eating and sleeping, and one for socializing.
Here is the ‘kitchen’ in the back corner:
And the pantry:
Take a few steps back and you can see the entire back tent, which covers our individual tents and the kitchen area:
Under the adjoining tent, we have the ‘living room,’ where we hang out, play mah jong by lamplight, and hang all of our wet beach towels and clothing: My dad says hi while cruising on an air mattress. We even have carpet…hmm, is this really camping, or just a really fancy, extended beach BBQ?
We set up camp on Friday and will break down early tomorrow. Because it is a State park, Kekela is closed to campers on Thursdays. It’s been great–lots of food, fun, and most especially, family:
My sisters and cousins eating dinner last night
My brother Evan playing ‘Portugese Horseshoes’ with some neighboring campers. My mom has decided that she wants a set for Christmas–basically, you toss thin metal disks into a hole cut out of the top of a box. Everyone got really into this game.
Two other exciting events took place while we camped out: my parents celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary, and my little sister Auri turned 11. Congrats!
So do you like our ‘cushy’ camping style, or do you prefer to rough it?
Ok, so I took off for Seattle this past weekend, and as a result, didn’t get to check out any of the Ko’olauloa eats that I promised last week. Bad planning on my part…oops! Anyway, to make it up to you, I wanted to tell you about my food adventures up in Edmonds, a sleepy port town about half an hour north of the city.
View of the Puget Sound from Edmonds. So pretty!
There is a ferry and docks there, and so we took out a boat and dropped ‘crab pots,’ hoping for some grinds. We were unlucky the first day, ending up with the largest, ugliest, most disgusting starfish I have ever seen:
It was so huge, all the crabs (undersized, unfortunately!) were cowering in the corners of the cage. Apparently, starfish like this one will eat any poor crustacean that gets too close…
Luck came the second day, when we pulled a couple of big, male–it’s illegal to catch undersized or female–Dungeness crabs. We boiled them for dinner that night and YUM! I was so excited to eat them, I forgot to take pictures of the final product–not to mention I had too much melted butter all over my fingers to handle a camera!
Here’s a picture of a Dungeness (right) and Red Rock Crab. We caught one of the rock crabs, but had to throw it back as it was too small. You can read more about the crabs at the Washington State dept of Fish & Wildlife site.
The Pacific Northwest version of catching crabs was a far cry from the experiences I had growing up and going ‘crabbing’ in Ko’olauloa. We’d go out at night during low tide with a bucket, a flashlight, and at least 20 energetic, screaming children. We’d all line up, and then the adult in charge would turn on the flashlight, illuminating dozens of crabs on the shore. GO TIME! Sand flew as kids sprinted and dove left and right, capturing crabs and putting them in the bucket.
Funny thing is, I don’t remember ever actually EATING the crabs we caught. I’m going to have to ask my dad what he did with that bucket–for us, the fun part was in the catching!
Fishing from a boat–with a real motor!–was also a new experience for me. Growing up, we either participated in the Hukilau (we’ll have to save that for another post!), or I went diving with my dad.
Equipment:
-mask and snorkel
-fins
-three-prong spear
-empty detergent bottle (for a float!)
-wire hanger (for stringing up the fish)
-a mesh bag (to hold squid/tako or lobster)
I love free diving, even though I’m a terrible shot with a three-prong. One day I’ll have to try a spear gun and see if that helps! My dad taught me to identify a tako hideout and pointed out the different types of fish that are good for eating: uhu, weke, kumu, aholehole, nenue…ahhh I’m getting HUNGRY right now!
Anyone have any good spearfishing stories? All I know is that I’m too scared to try night diving–too claustrophobic, not to mention you can’t see the sharks and who-knows-what-else creeping up silently behind you in the pitch blackness….
Some of my favorite memories are of camping here in Ko’olauloa…no, not da kine backpack in the mountains, sleep on the ground camping, but the cushy camp on the beach with an EZ corner, air matress/cot, and full kitchen set up. You know, the kind where you live so close to the campgrounds that you go home to use the bathroom and shower, and you bring the T.V. and hook it up to a generator for the kids to watch movies at night. =)
I’ve camped with family and friends at most of the beaches out here on our side, and I say that nothing beats camping on the beach. Which one is the best, though?
I used to prefer Hukilau Beach in La’ie, because it’s within walking distance of my house, and I grew up swimming in La’ie Bay. The drawback is that the ground is dirt, so you get extremely muddy on your way back to the tent after swimming. Besides, who likes using port-a-potties?
I have also camped at Kahana, but I remember it being hard to get cell phone reception, and you have to double, sometimes triple park. There’s also a lot of runoff from all the rain in the valley, so it’s rare that you get a day with clear ocean water for swimming.
Malaekahana is fun, and there are even a bunch of cute cabins and campsites set up on the Kahuku end of the park that you can rent for a weekend. We rented out the big house once for a family reunion–the adults got to sleep inside, and we kids spent the night in tents in the yard.
Now, we usually go to Kekela (Kokololio Beach Park) in Hau’ula because it has lots of grass, open space, and REAL bathrooms. Not to mention plenty parking!
My aunt recently wrote the following about camping at Kekela as a child in our monthly family newsletter about “The Best Summer Ever”:
From the time we set up the excitement would build. Getting the right spot, and everything set up, and then having the freedom to go and swim, play and life just didn’t get any better…I would be so tired by the time I hit whatever spot there was in the tent, I would just crash…sunburned, sandy and all….passing out from total exhaustion. And then to awake to another fun filled day… (That’s if you didn’t get egged or shaving cream put on you during the night). Those summers were the greatest. The only sad thing was that they came to an end, only to build up our hopes and anticipation for the next summer.
It’s funny how I share the exact same feelings about camping–an entire generation later! Late nights talking story over pani keke (Samoan pancake) and koko rice (the Samoan version of hot chocolate), swimming all day long, eating all day long, and going to bed happily exhausted. I can’t wait for this year’s camp, which will take place in mid-July.
Where do you like to camp out in Ko’olauloa? Any good memories from camp you’d like to share?
If you’ve visited La’ie Bay this month, you’ve seen the wa’a kaulua (Hawaiian double-hulled canoe) ‘Iosepa floating offshore at Hukilau Beach.
Look for the ‘Iosepa, anchored in La’ie Bay, the next time you’re at Hukilau Beach. Photo by Feki Po’uha
The ‘Iosepa, first launched in 2001, was funded by a grant from the W.K.Kellog Foundation and built by community members and students from BYUH’s Hawaiian Studies program.
Most of the community showed up for the ‘Iosepa’s first launch in November of 2001. Photo: Advertiser File
It is currently being used as a ‘floating classroom,’ with possible trips to the Big Island and along O’ahu’s coastline scheduled over the next few weeks.
The ‘Iosepa, built of Fijian dakua wood, was brought to life by area residents and master carvers Sione Tui’one Pulotu and Kawika Eskaran. It was truly a community project, with residents and students lending helping hands, providing meals, and performing small chores.
In addition to providing invaluable cultural experiences for Hawaiian Studies students, the program hopes to use this sailing to expand its base of experienced crew members through training.
When the ‘Iosepa returns to land at the the end of June, it will move into its new home, a halau wa’a currently under construction at the Polynesian Cultural Center. The dedication will take place on June 27th, and PCC will hold a Family Day on the 29th, where members of the public can visit the exhibit and participate in cultural activities.
This halau wa’a is currently under construction at the Polynesian Cultural Center to become the ‘Iosepa’s new home at the end of June. Photo by Feki Po’uha
For more information on the ‘Iosepa, or to share your experience with the canoe, check out part of BYUH Hawaiian Studies senior Feki Po’uha’s Senior Project. He started three blogs to help him with his project, which involves collecting photographs and oral histories from crew members and the community:
The ‘Iosepa project is one that the community holds great pride in–and one that has helped to strengthen ties between the large Hawaiian community in Ko’olauloa and BYUH. Best of luck to the crew as they sail over the next few weeks!
