Anaeho'omalu Bay

There really is something special about Anaeho'omalu Bay (A-Bay).

The name comes from Ana'e (mullet) + ho'omalu (to protect) and were used as fishponds by ancient Hawaiians. So not only are they scenic, but historic as well. Here's a great video about A-bay hosted by none other than Lyman Medeiros (the voice of the Big Island...at least to me!) if you're interested.

On Monday, Ryan, my mother and I all took our first trip out to A-Bay on Monday for our much anticipated glass bottom boat ride. And we learned something very interesting once we got there. I had Googled for directions and found that the main parking lot for A-Bay is directly across the entrance to the King's Shops. However, when we tried to walk along the beach to the little huts to check in and pay for our ride, we saw that we would have to wade across 75 yards of water (waist deep) in order to do so! This is because when the tsunami hit earlier this year, it basically split the beach in two. Yikes. Wading across was soooo not gonna happen since we were lugging around two beach bags, two purses, a cooler, a boogie board and a Ryan. ;-) Thankfully, we found another route around the back of the bay that allowed my mom and Ryan to walk over (while I shlepped back to the car ladden down like a sherpa so I could move the car over to the parking lot on the other side of the bay).

Here's a picture where you can see the beach split in two, and the now open access to the fishponds. :-( I would love to see the original fishponds restored (by rebuilding the wall/beach) where the waves crashed through.

The fishpond and bay are just gorgeous! Check out the (somewhat coarse) mostly white sand beach and the fishpond behind it. I believe it's both a mixture of both ocean water and some fresh water flowing from the mountains under the ground. There are signs posted asking you to not swim in the bay (in order to protect the delicate underwater balance and the historic surrounding area), but as you can always expect, I saw a few bozo's wading around in it. Booooo. And no, they were not native Hawaiian practitioners practicing their craft. Unless they were albino, very hairy Hawaiians. :-)

Scoping out the giant fishpond with Nina (his buddy and seatmate on the boat).

After checking in for our ride, we had some time to cruise the beach with Grandma (who came along to drive us back home in case I got sick on the boat).

Our boat ride was with Ocean Sports at 10:00am. A few great things about this tour (aside from them very kindly and generously offering the Kona Mommies Group a fantastic deal to experience the fun):

• There is no pier. There is no tender (boat shuttling). You walk from the sand, up onto a little ramp...and you're on the boat! Easy as 1-2-3. No wasted time or fuel. It never ceases to amaze me how a boat can float in inches of water.
• The boat is small (26-feet), and therefore makes for an intimate experience. I believe it only accommodates 19 passengers, and they strictly adhere to that limit...thereby giving you tons of space to sit and roam around once on board.
• Even though it's steamin' hot there in North Kohala, the boat is well-shaded and the breezes make it very cool and comfy.
• The tour length (30 minutes). Initially it sounded like it might be too short, but because you waste no time getting on or off the boat, and you don't have to go very far to see the sea life, thirty minutes ended up being plenty of time.
• The crew...they're friendly, knowledgeable and fun. They exude the Aloha spirit!

Ryan walking on board, all by himself!

Waving goodbye to Grandma on shore...darnit! We forgot the toilet paper roll!

Ryan peering down below at the coral. In addition to the fish, a pair of very good-natured snorkelers (who happily waved back to my very enthusiastic toddler), I think we saw about a dozen turtles over the course of the tour. Some under the water, but most swimming alongside the boat!A view of beautiful Mauna Kea...a one million year-old, not quite yet dormant volcano. It's so tall (33,000 feet elevation), and measured from its oceanic base it's much taller than even Mt. Everest. As a result, its often snow covered during cooler months! I believe its the only place in the Hawaiian islands that gets snow. :-) We're special. It can be pretty surreal sitting on the beach in 85 degrees and looking up to see a snow-capped mountain.
One of the many turtles we saw that morning cruising around the bay...
The only proof I was at Anaeho'omalu Bay (I asked a daddy next to us to snap our picture), since I'm usually the Official Family Photographer. :-) Look how happy we are! You can't even tell how doped up I am on Bonine (and how it made me pass out before 8pm last night...even AFTER a thirty minute afternoon nap)!

There's always a big difference between Kona and Kohala. The Kona water was flat as a pancake that morning, but we were rockin' quite a bit in the windy Kohala breeze toward the end of our tour!
Grandma and Ryan (at the showers...yay! Love it when they're at beaches!) bidding a fond Aloha to the fishponds and bay.

We'll be back.