January 28, 2011
Happy Friday to All from Maui,
Yesterday we made our way to La Perouse Bay which makes up part of the Ahihi-Kina'u Natural Area Preserve. Located at the very end of Makena Alanui Road in South Maui, this lava strewn, alien looking landscape is the result of the last volcanic eruption here. When the ocean is calm, snorkeling is excellent in this area due the rocky reef.
However, the trade winds frequently keep the waters choppy and churned up, especially later in the day. In ancient times, the area was known as a site where Huaka'i po, (night marchers), roamed. These are restless spirits who are trapped on earth causing mischief at night. Every island has its tales about sightings of Night Marchers.
I changed clothes to go for a swim… way too rocky.
Using the latitude and longitude notations in the photo above, Niamh and I "flew" to La Perouse Bay with Google Earth. We pinpointed the last lava flow with a yellow pin. Here is the picture we saved:
The bay's Hawaiian name is Keoneʻoʻio. Later it was named for the French explorer Captain Jean-François de Galaup, Comte de La Pérouse. In 1786, La Pérouse surveyed and mapped the prominent embayment near the southern cape of Maui opposite the island of Kahoʻolawe.
The bay is the site of Maui's most recent volcanic activity, which seems to be around 1790 or so. The rounded peninsula that dominates the northern half of the bay and extends up the coast a short distance was formed about 900,000 years ago by an eruption of basaltic lava.
La Perouse Bay lies directly south of the Ahihi-Kinau Natural Area Reserve. No fishing is allowed within the reserve, which is home to many endemic and other fish species, marine mammals, green sea turtles, and coastal plants. The area contains many archaeological sites, including fishing shrines, salt pans, and heiau, or religious platforms. The road ends at the parking lot/entrance to the seashore and marks the start of the King's Highway, a trail that circumnavigated the island, originally built by Pi'ilania, a political leader of ancient Hawaii. He ruled the island of Maui (and its smaller neighboring islands) as the 15th Moʻi of Maui. The time of King Piʻilani is synonymous with the Golden Age of Maui (16th–18th centuries).
This was a fun place to see and reminded me of what the surface of the moon might look like, minus an ocean of course.
Heading to Maalaea Bay & Harbor this morning, so will let you know more later.
Aloha,
Flat Niamh
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