Koki Beach

Today's post actually includes photos from two trips to Koki Beach, the first from a couple days ago with Zach, and the second with Zach and Keith, today.

Maui has a tendency to not sugarcoat its dangers. These dangers are real, but the sides seem overexaggerated. They are not.

From what I've read, Koki Beach changes radically throughout the year. In these summer months, a wide sandy beach is deposited, and surf and currents often mellow out to allow safe water use. In the winter, much of the sand is taken away by the ocean, leaving a mix of sand, cinder and boulders to accompany dangerous ocean conditions.

Zach contemplated whether the surf looked worth trying.

Look toward the ocean and you'll see the Leho'ula sea arch.

Cultural significance surrounds Koki Beach on all sides. To the north is Ka Iwi o Pele (literally "the bones of Pele"), which is a large red cinder hill where Hawaiian Mythology saysthe bones of Pele were left after a fatal battle with her older sister. (In more recent times, this hill now belongs to Oprah, as part of a 105 acre parcel that she bought from Hana Ranch in 2002.)

Zach and one other surfer, socially distant, waiting for a decent wave.

Enough for one day!

Well, maybe just a few more breakers…

The island visible across from the the south end of Koki Beach is ‘Alau Island—with its cap of coconut trees, it is a favorite place for 'iwa to flock. It is said that this island was once used by Hawaiians as a place of sacred study.

In the end, though, the waves were kind of patchy, breaking quickly then eroding just as quickly. However, even though this didn't turn out to be a great surfing bay, Zach felt the beach had promise and we decided in advance to try it out another day.

The new day is today. It's supposed to be sunny and hot, perfect beach weather.

By 3 PM we were there, both Keith and I as well as Zach; and Zach was already in the water.

Keith prefers to soak in quieter waters, so he wasn't quite sure what to make of the breakers.

We did both make it into the water, where Keith promptly lost his hat to the ocean gods. He didn't like it as much. But it reminded me of the beach and waves at St. Augustine Beach, where I grew up, so I rather enjoyed diving into the breakers.

My wedding ring gets slippery in ocean water, so I have to find a safe place for it while I swim. Today it was attached to my sandal.

Zach had better luck surfing today, but I didn't have any luck getting his picture doing it. Cellphone photos are amazing, but sometimes there's just no substitute for a good telephoto lens and a high vantage point.

Flowers, on the other hand, photograph perfectly.