Green Sand Beach & South Point, November 26, 2011

Where's Waldo? Where am I?

  We headed out sort of early this morning to go to Green Sand Beach at the southern-most part of the island. It's an 89 mile drive that takes 2.5 hours without any stops. Of course, we have to stop at Punalu`u Bakery in Na`alehu though, for perhaps the best malasadas on the island. As we were eating our malasadas, Valerie heard someone say something about 9-1-1 and somebody getting ran over by a tour bus. She went quickly outside to use her first responder skills. As I was walking out there, I could see that Valerie was trying to do what she could to help a man on the ground. An EMS person was just walking onto the scene as well. Valerie and I both wondered how EMS got there so soon. Come to find out, EMS was right across the street. Anyway, with EMS there, I went back in and got the malasadas. The man that got run over was a mechanic and he said that he was working on an air line when the bus rolled over his leg. The Roberts Hawaii bus had broken down yesterday right in front of the bakery. He was there to try to fix it. As we were driving home from our adventures we saw a tow truck hooked up to it and beginning to tow it away. I was proud of Valerie for using her first responder skills to help.
  Anyhow, the final 2.7 mile portion of the trip to Green Sand Beach either has to be walked, or traversed with a 4-wheel drive. The road is very bumpy and it takes a minimum of 25 minutes to go that 2.7 miles. Green Sand Beach has to be one of my favorite beaches. It's very small, but it's all sand. You don't have to worry about stubbing your toe on rocks in the surf zone. The green sand comes from olivine in the rock. Although it was hazy today and very windy, we still enjoyed the time we were able to spend there. And, nobody hurt themselves this time.
  After leaving Green Sand Beach, we went to an area just north of South Point. The water in the area is spectacular. It's magnificently clear and beautifully blue. I had wanted to get in the water here ever since we visited this place a little over a week ago. In most of this area, the only way to get down is to jump off the cliff--my guess is 50 to 60 ft. In one place you can get back up by climbing up a ladder. Another place to enter--which is where I got in--allows you to climb down boulders where a road fell away.
  The snorkeling was amazing. The fish were abundant. The water was super clear. It was just wonderful. Because the water was so clear, the only way I knew I was diving deep was because I had to clear my ears 4 or 5 times, and then upon looking up, the distance to the surface was a long way up.
  While I was doing my thing in the water, Ke`olani and Valerie were finding and pulling nice-sized nuggets of olivine out of the rock on top of the cliff. Kimo was doing his usual thing of playing, getting very filthy, and having fun doing it.
  The snorkeling at South Point has to rate as one of my favorite places to snorkel. The water is deep, super clear, calm (the cliffs protect it from the ever-constant winds blowing from the east), and abundant with fish.