BIg Island & Place of Refuge

Our adventures continue here on the Big Island of Hawai'i.
We have taken a free-lance photojournalist job, which we are doing mainly for fun and not profit. As part of the "work," we travel around the island while we enjoy, write and photograph some of the amazing places found here.

We will start with a tour of our favorite place. . .Pu'uhonua o honaunau.





This national historic park is home to spectacular beaches, a recreated village, and most especially, to the Pu’uhonua, Hawai’ian for “place of refuge.” As soon as you enter the grounds you can feel its power and tranquility.

After stopping by the visitor center, embark on your self-guided walking tour. This starts with a reconstructed royal village where you will find a genuine historical experience. It teaches customs and culture of this complex society, free of tourist-based stereotypes.

Witness demonstrators practicing traditional skills then meander through postcard perfect coconut palms as you explore native buildings. Once home to chiefs, this area was kapu, meaning taboo and off limits to those outside of the ruling class.

Sit and relax in the dappled shade as you challenge a friend to a game of Konane, a traditional Hawai’ian game similar to checkers. Of course you’ll be playing a leisurely round instead of defending your life as the historical chiefs once did. These innocent-looking game pieces of black lava pebbles and white coral fragments on a chiseled stone table were used to settle disputes. Losing could mean the loss of your land, your wife, and your life.

Close by reside various fish species, being fattened for the King in his personal fish ponds.

Once a canoe landing for rulers, you can easily imagine these tapering waves gliding a chief’s outrigger onto the sandy shore. This gentle cove now provides a safe haven for the green sea turtles resting only a few meters from excited visitors.

Standing like sentinels, statues of Ohia wood mark the area as kapu. These Ki’i were mistakenly translated as Tiki by missionaries. Weathered and hand-carved, they watch over the peace of this place from the grounds of Hale o Keawe temple. Even today, offerings are still left on the lailai, the tiered platform. Some of the gifts are for the gods, some for the people, and some for the land. Some people say that adjacent to this temple lies one of Hawai’i’s intense vortexes of spiritual energy. . .

Behind this thatched structure stands a wall, 10 feet tall and 17 feet thick, separating the royal residence from the historical place of refuge beyond. People could find asylum here, if they had broken a strict kapu/law, or if they needed protection during a battle. Believed to be established in the 12^th century, it was once part of a system of 30 places of refuge dispersed across the islands. Most were disassembled after the arrival of the missionaries. Today, it is the only one of its kind remaining. This sacred site still emanates the peace it once protected.

Do not miss a visit to the tide-pools just West of the temple and wall, which are natural wonders alive with many life forms.

As you step out onto the hardened lava, yellow-gold flashes may catch your eye in the surrounding waves. As you near the smoother water of the tide pools, these wavering gems morph into yellow tang fish.

Black crabs dance on black rocks, seeming almost to defy gravity as they leap in their ballet among the swelling waves. Like the detectives of the sea, transparent shrimp investigate every crack and curiosity. During high tide, needlefish and parrotfish can be observed in the main tide pools’ channel. Almost anytime of day, threadfin butterflyfish, spectacular moorish idols and even moray eels are waiting to be discovered.

Established as a sanctuary for people, this place is also a haven of rest and peace for the honu, or sacred Hawaiian green sea turtle. They casually graze the algae in the water and rest in the sun on the warm black rocks of the pools. . .so watch your step as their polished shells can look like marbled stones. No single animal embodies the peace of this joining of land and sea better than these magnificent and ancient animals. They deserve our respect and to be given space.

A large rectangular rock beckons as an ideal place to sit for a spell and watch the rhythmic dance of the waves. Reportedly, this was the favorite resting place of the high chief of Kona. Look down and you can see the holes that may have held the canopy posts to provide shade during the era of its favor. (No, that's not Jen)

As you say goodbye to the place of refuge, be sure to take one last look at the basking Honu. Water lapping at their shells as they nap in the warm rays, these fellow creatures will leave you touched by a sense of deep peace and wisdom.

If you’re ready to do some basking of your own, or to explore other sea creatures up close and personal, walk the short road to Honaunau. Contrasting the sacred realm of Pu’uhonua, the atmosphere at this locale is both chill and exciting. Here you can join the lounging sunbathers, or jump into the turquoise waters for spectacular underwater gardens.

This was the first place we went snorkeling. I (Jen) had never snorkeled before, and from that moment I was hooked!