After we got groceries, unpacked and settled in, we decided to prioritize spending time at the ocean. The condo owner left a wonderful book called "The Big Island Revealed" that gave detailed directions and information about every beach and snorkeling spot. We followed the book and went north through the lava fields, past the airport and past most of the resorts on the Kohala coast. Our first stop was the furthest away, about 30 miles away from Kona. Hapuna Beach is regularly voted one of the most beautiful beaches in the US and we couldn't argue. A long white sand beach with lifeguards, showers, water and picnic tables greeted us.
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| The gorgeous white sand of Hapuna Beach in Kohala HI |
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| Big smile |
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| View |
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| Looking North |
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| First view of the Beach looking south |
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| South Hapuna Beach |
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| Ready to swim. I happily swam in the ocean almost every day. |
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| Headed for the waves |
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| AND, the inevitable Asian with selfie stick. |
Next we went to a beach called "A" Beach. It has a long Hawaiian name starting with the letter A, but it is unpronounceable. Anyway, This beach was in front of a fresh water fish pond which the ancient Hawaiians used to raise fish for the royalty. There was also a big resort there. To the right of the beach, some rocks were good for snorkeling. Adding to the beauty was the bright blue sky that followed a huge rain/thunder storm the night before.
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| Looking across the lava to the sea |
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| The volcano that spewed the lava |
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| Looking all the way to Haleakala on Maui |
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| Ready for more beaches |
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| "A" Beach snorkeling area |
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| "A" Beach looking north toward the resort |
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| The boat I swam to twice. |
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| J goes snorkeling |
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| I shot these with the water camera while swimming |
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| My goal |
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| The beach and volcano behind it (wreathed in clouds) |
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| A family of paddle-boarders |
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| Wet and happy! |
Our next beach adventure was to Beach 69, so designated because it used to be behind telephone pole #69. It's also called Waiamea Beach. It was just south of Hapuna Beach, in fact you had to drive through the Hapuna parking lot to get to the road. This beach had lots of trees and rocks and the waves breaking over the shore was a booming concert of sound. It was very laid back and peaceful.
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| Beach 69 |
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| Lots of rocks on the north end |
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| And crashing waves |
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| Our spot under the trees |
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| Little kids collecting shells and boogie boarding. | | It was much calmer on the south end of the beach |
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| Selfie before swimming |
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| AND....the inevitable Asians taking selfies |
The last beach we visited on the shore North of Kona was Kua Bay Beach. This spot was the closest to Kona and our condo and we visited it twice. To get to the beach we had to walk down a trail and over lava and it was a balancing challenge, but well worth the effort. This beach was perfect for boogie boarding and swimming out past the surf. The shore slopped away gradually. We even saw spouting and breeching humpback whales off-shore!
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| Kua Bay. Perfect waves |
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| And that gorgeous color |
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| Jeff is ready to Boogie Board. So much fun! |
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| Lots of swimmers and boogie boarders. |
The next posting will be of the beaches and attractions we visited driving south from Kona.
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