Popping the Rocks at Kealakekua Bay (Big Island, Hawaii)
After visiting Kahaluu Beach Park, we headed further down the coast to see what we could find. After following some road signs, we happen to come upon Kealakekua Bay. The story goes that Captain James Cook, of British decent, was the first European to visit the Hawaiian Islands on January 19, 1778.
Mr. Cook and his crew were thought to be a deity (associated with the God Lono) by the Hawaiian people. During their visit in 1779, one of Captain Cook’s crew members, William Watman, had a stroke and died. The grave site we visited had a plaque with the inscription “In this Heiau, January 28, 1779, Captain James Cook R.N. read the English burial service over William Watman, Seaman. The first recorded Christian Service in the Hawaiian Islands. Erected by the Kona Civic Club, 1928.”
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When Captain James Cook and his crew set sail several months later in February, they were met with rough seas and suffered from a broken mast. Upon returning to Kealakekua Bay, the Hawaiian people were in the midst of war season (God Ku). Relations quickly soured and the Hawaiian people eventually killed Captain James Cook over a confrontation of boat theft.
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During our visit, we saw the Hikiau Heiau, which is a burial temple of the ancient Hawaiian people. There, unfortunately, was not a lot to view or learn from the site.
As was typical for anywhere you visit in Hawaii, the water, just a couple feet away from the historic sites was the ocean. The water surges were rough, and the beach made of rounded, lava boulders. We did not venture anywhere near the water, especially with the boys, but the views were terrific.
It is said that the snorkeling and reefs at Kealakekua Bay are spectacular, yet I am not sure even in my younger days if I would have ventured out into the water with the waves that high.
What I really tried to capture in the video was the remarkable popping sound the water made rushing in and out of the lava rocks. Listen carefully, and you should hear the tranquil sound unlike anything I had ever heard before at a beach.
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