Papakōlea - Green Sand Beach

When I say things are different in Hawaii, trust me.....it's just about with everything. Who has "green sand' beaches right?

Well, they do here in Hawaii. While they boast some of the most beautiful white sand beaches in the world, they also have a 'green sand beach' and a 'black sand beach'.

The green sand beach is crystal green sand, formed because of the olivine green crystals from the Mauna Lea volcano lava flow of 49000 years ago. This is actually a vent or cone from one of it's ruptures.

The green sand beach, located at the southern most point of the island, was a long drive from home.......over two hours..... and was then a five mile trek. There was a lot of contemplation and discussion at home on who all would go, as it's not just a long ride, but a rigorous trek.

Aunty inspiring whoever would listen, was like "this is on the list of top ten beaches in the world, you should go".

We set off fairly early, 6 am,  in the hope of avoiding some of the heat.

Some trivia: it is believed that taking sand from the beach makes Pele, the goddess of the volcanoes, angry. I actually wanted to get back some green sand as souvenir, but in deference to Bablus saying that I need to respect local folklore and belief, I didn't. 

And what an experience again. It's not just the beach...... but even the trek, almost all alongside the ocean, that was quite spectacular.

Rest in pictures;

At the parking lot....getting set, and in picture are Jessa, Seneca, Diksha, Jimmy, Tejas, Isaac and Nammu.

On the walk

In about ten minutes you come to the ocean and after that we're pretty much walking alongside the ocean. It was pretty much just us.....this is no touristy beach.

 Bablu and Seneca

Diksha and Seneca

Nammu and me

Just the ocean

A cute candid picture..dikshas shoelace got undone

A picture with her, as I got a chance to catch up, thanks to the shoe lace above

The green sand beach. It's this really small little bay, set within the cone of an ancient volcanic cone.......so the green sand..... and super big and rough waves

 Going down looked so treacherous, that I initially decided I wouldn't go down

That's the way down

After about twenty minutes of sitting alone on top, and getting a couple of pictures of myself, I was just too hot....there's zero shade, and I saw that no one seemed intent on getting back up anytime soon, so I figured I'd try.

That's one part of the path down

And this path. I even grazed my elbows in one place where I thought I would slip right down, and in that moment the fear was so intense, as I knew I had to walk back that whole way :) (the smile's only in retrospect :)

The green sand. And I must add, way back, I was so washed out, I found myself someone to give me a ride back, though nammu said I'd cheated :)

Aparna, Deech, Isaac and Senaca

The waves are so huge that at times they seemed to cover the entire beach till the cliff end....and with really strong suction back....scary waves

Jessa, Tejas, Nammu and me....we were happy to sit by the cliff face and watch...managing the wind was bad enough 

A picture that so clearly brings out the difference between the deep blue of the larger ocean and the turquoise blue of the bay

Way back we stopped for lunch here, a place that claims it's the southern most restaurant of the USA...... 'Hana Hou', in Hawaiin meaning 'come back again'.

That's the whole lot of us. Aparna, Isaac, Jessa, Jim, Nammu, Bablu, Seneca, Diksha, and Tejas. I had the best ever 'fish and chips' here.

Well aunty, one top ten beaches of the world done..... nine more to go :):)