There are sooooo many remote and beautiful places in Hawaii that most of our days entail a hike to one or more of them. Many of these hikes entail a beach and swimming/snorkeling, so in this post I will take you to some of those wild and picturesque places.

The first is Kua Bay, which was a pretty easy hike that ended on a small bluff overlooking bay.  This was a pretty easy day since we really pushed our limits the last two, and I only mention it because it gives a flavor of the life here.  We sat on our bluff overlooking the bay and ate the lunch we had packed while watching the antics of the “cliff diver” wanabes and the whales spouting in the distance. If you look very closely at the picture of the rock sans boy (thee center picture), in the distance very near the horizon directly behind the rock, you can see a small white spot which is a whale spouting.  I was pretty excited to catch it.

  

What a great way to relax.

The next day we traveled to the Place of Refuge. It is a beautiful national park and a place of reverence to the ancient Hawaiians.  The guide book first led us on a pretty wild and rough hike across a large lava flow along  the coast.

It is riddled with arches and blowholes – formations where the lava rock has been eaten away by the pounding waves and form underwater caverns which occasionally break through the surface of the lava flow.  As the waves rush in, the water rushes through the tubes and to the surface then rushes out again.  The sights and sounds are wondrous and amazing.

It was a pretty tough hike, but well worth the effort. 

We then went into the park area and found a picnic table and had our lunch while watching the ocean and the whales blowing and breaching in the distance – lovely.

From there we went on another short hike to the ancient city

and back to the reconstructed village. It seems that in ancient times the Place of Refuge was just that.  It was an area where people who had broken the law, were wounded in battle, or needed refuge for any reason could go to be safe.  It is now a quiet and beautiful national park.

  

Before we left we visited some of the tide pools along the edge of the beach area – the  perfect end of another adventure.