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  1. TRAVEL 2012
  2. HAWAII, 2012

JANUARY, 2012 HAWAII, VOL. II: SOUTH POINT AND OLIVINE BEACH

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Bev and I rented a jeep and did some 4-wheeling.  We took a little road, paved most of the way, down to South Point -- which is the furthest south point on Big Island, and also the furthest south point in the 50 states (to say it's the furthest south point in the U.S., as many books say, is actually incorrect:  I live in a territory which is part of the U.S., and I live further south than South Point.  Guam, of course, is further south yet).<br />
<br />
Anyhow, the road becomes a miserable excuse for a paved road a few miles north of here.  Then the pavement stops and you're on a fairly decent dirt / gravel road until you come to the parking area just before the 4-wheel-drive / hiking trail heading east toward Olivine Beach.<br />
<br />
Once you head onto the "trail" there are actually several (often as many as six -- maybe more) parallel sets of tracks worn by the thousands of 4-wheel drive vehicles through the recent ages which preceded you.  Often the tracks are separated by high natural walls, randomly spared the erosive forces of the vehicles as the drivers, for whatever reason, stayed on the previous paths.  However, sometimes the track which looks the smoothest where one starts driving on it becomes virtually unpassable, while at least one of the others remains fairly decent (or at least reasonably safe to travel with a good 4-wheeler).  Usually one did not have to backtrack far to find a place where he could maneuver from his chosen track over the natural wall and onto the more pleasantly-smooth track.<br />
<br />
You can see some examples of the parallel tracks on the hill just to your right from Bev's arm.
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Bev and I rented a jeep and did some 4-wheeling. We took a little road, paved most of the way, down to South Point -- which is the furthest south point on Big Island, and also the furthest south point in the 50 states (to say it's the furthest south point in the U.S., as many books say, is actually incorrect: I live in a territory which is part of the U.S., and I live further south than South Point. Guam, of course, is further south yet).

Anyhow, the road becomes a miserable excuse for a paved road a few miles north of here. Then the pavement stops and you're on a fairly decent dirt / gravel road until you come to the parking area just before the 4-wheel-drive / hiking trail heading east toward Olivine Beach.

Once you head onto the "trail" there are actually several (often as many as six -- maybe more) parallel sets of tracks worn by the thousands of 4-wheel drive vehicles through the recent ages which preceded you. Often the tracks are separated by high natural walls, randomly spared the erosive forces of the vehicles as the drivers, for whatever reason, stayed on the previous paths. However, sometimes the track which looks the smoothest where one starts driving on it becomes virtually unpassable, while at least one of the others remains fairly decent (or at least reasonably safe to travel with a good 4-wheeler). Usually one did not have to backtrack far to find a place where he could maneuver from his chosen track over the natural wall and onto the more pleasantly-smooth track.

You can see some examples of the parallel tracks on the hill just to your right from Bev's arm.

olivinebeach

  • Bev and I rented a jeep and did some 4-wheeling.  We took a little road, paved most of the way, down to South Point -- which is the furthest south point on Big Island, and also the furthest south point in the 50 states (to say it's the furthest south point in the U.S., as many books say, is actually incorrect:  I live in a territory which is part of the U.S., and I live further south than South Point.  Guam, of course, is further south yet).<br />
<br />
Anyhow, the road becomes a miserable excuse for a paved road a few miles north of here.  Then the pavement stops and you're on a fairly decent dirt / gravel road until you come to the parking area just before the 4-wheel-drive / hiking trail heading east toward Olivine Beach.<br />
<br />
Once you head onto the "trail" there are actually several (often as many as six -- maybe more) parallel sets of tracks worn by the thousands of 4-wheel drive vehicles through the recent ages which preceded you.  Often the tracks are separated by high natural walls, randomly spared the erosive forces of the vehicles as the drivers, for whatever reason, stayed on the previous paths.  However, sometimes the track which looks the smoothest where one starts driving on it becomes virtually unpassable, while at least one of the others remains fairly decent (or at least reasonably safe to travel with a good 4-wheeler).  Usually one did not have to backtrack far to find a place where he could maneuver from his chosen track over the natural wall and onto the more pleasantly-smooth track.<br />
<br />
You can see some examples of the parallel tracks on the hill just to your right from Bev's arm.
  • We are approaching Olivine Beach, also called "the green beach."  It is made of sand which arises from a mixture of lava (mostly black) and olivine, a green precious stone.  I'll admit I was slightly disappointed in the color:  The guide books make it sound like it's a strikingly green beach.  However, I was not disappointed at the overall experience:  This is a strikingly beautiful and fascinating place, even if the green is, while noticeable, a bit more subdued than what the guide books claim.
  • The colors do seem to change a lot under different lighting.  The green is much more noticeable when the sun is shining directly onto the beach, which is over in the distance (below the high orange cliffs).
  • Untitled video
  • As it turned out, there was a much shorter and more well-trodden path down to the beach than what we took.  I guess we took the scenic route.
  • Bev is pointing out the small olivine granules embedded in the lava rock.  It's my understanding that people do rarely find specimens here which are large enough to be of considerable value.
  • Untitled photo
  • When we got there, the beach was pretty much empty (although you can see some people at the top of the cliff).
  • The green does show here pretty well.  It is definitely unique among beach colors.
  • It didn't take long for other people to join us.
  • The cliff formation on the east side of the beach is pretty interesting.
  • Another name for olivine is perdiot.
  • Untitled photo
  • We took the shorter (but steeper) trail from the beach up to the ridge.<br />
<br />
Music by Kevin MacLeod of <a href="http://incompetech.com/">http://incompetech.com/</a>
  • From atop the ridge just east of Olivine Beach.  This is a panorama of 17 photos, starting with a view to the northeast (to your left), turning through a view straight south (near the center of the photo) and ending looking northwest (to your right).  Feel free to hover your cursor over the photo and click "original" on the pop-up menu if you would like to study the details a bit more.  Can you find Bev?<br />
<br />
As you can see, the soil is quite colorful, from stark orange to bright yellow above and the green of the beach below.  Yes, there is a lot of gray, too.  Add to that the refreshing blues and aquas of the ocean and sky, and you've got a pretty full palette.
  • Music by Kevin MacLeod of <a href="http://incompetech.com/">http://incompetech.com/</a><br />
<br />
Here you will see people coming down the trail Bev and I ascended (we descended to the beach from a trail along the far wall).  Then you will see a turtle basking in the sun a bit before submerging to the depths.
  • Another panorama.  This one consists of 14 photos and does not cover quite the range of the previous one.  Southeast is to your left, and probably about due west is to your right.
  • We hiked back to our jeep and started back to the trail head.  This is part of the gorgeous shoreline between Olivine Beach and South Point.
  • Old drift wood.
  • Here, Bev shows what the sand is like at this place.
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