Kaua‘i’s South Shore coastline, features a
fascinating hike along the Māhā‘ulepū Heritage Trail, a 4-mile round trip stretching
from Keoneloa Bay to Kawailoa Bay.
Along the way, there are natural and cultural features
and tons of scenic sites – the following summarizes some of the:
1. Keoneloa Bay - “Long Sand, Long Beach”
This is a long stretch of sandy beach on the far
eastern end of the Po‘ipū resort area, fronted by The Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort
& Spa and a county park facility.
It is also known as Shipwreck Beach, named for the
wreckage an old, wooden fishing boat on the beach back in the 1970s (that has
long since disappeared.)
2. Makahuena - “Rough Face” & Makawehi - “Calm
Face”
The unusual cliff formations were formed from sand
dunes that have been weathered by wind and surf over the centuries. These
ancient limestone sea cliffs have been virtually sandblasted by a combination
of wind, salt and water.
Today Makawehi point is being undercut by continual
wave erosion. The huge blocks of limestone that lie at the base of these cliffs
are examples of that erosion.
3. Pā‘ā
Dunes – “Fence of Lava Rock” or “Dry and Rocky”
About 8,000 years ago, dunes began forming atop
Makawehi as sections of the sandy shoreline accumulated a reddish fossil soil
overlay.
The tradewinds blowing from the northeast or mauka
(mountain) side of this area have had the most dominant influence determining
the shape of the dunes along this section of coast, with kona winds from the
southwest having a minor influence.
4. Pinnacles
Sandstone-limestone pinnacles are usually formed by
rain-water washing down along vertical fractures in the limestone. Pinnacles can be seen in stark formation to
the right of a small bay just before the climb to the golf course.
5. Heiau Ho‘ouluia - “Fishing Temple”
This site is thought to have been a place of
worship where fish were offered to the god of the sea, to ensure good fishing.
6. Punahoa - “To Bind or Lash”
Punahoa is composed of a very thick accumulation of
coastal sand dunes that formed around 350,000 years ago. They are the oldest
sand dunes of this region, carved by the tradewinds which formed all the dunes
of this coast.
Along this area are short pieces of pipe anchored
into the lava rock to hold fishing poles. This shoreline has been popular for
centuries among local fishermen, catching primarily shoreline game fish such as
ulua, papio (juvenile ulua) and oio.
7. Makauwahi Sinkhole - “Fear, Break Through”
The Makauwahi Sinkhole is a small portion of the
largest limestone cave found in Hawaii. Paleoecological and archaeological
excavations of the sediment that has filled the pond in the sinkhole put its
age at some 10,000 years, and have revealed at least 45 species of bird life.
More importantly, the findings of this study show
how the first humans that inhabited Kauai affected the pre-human natural
environment. It is one of only a handful of sites in the world that show such
impact.
8. Māhā‘ulepū Beach-“And Falling Together”
Māhā‘ulepū’s name comes from a legendary battle
that occurred in the 1300s when Kalaunuio Hua, a Big Island ruler, made an
attempt to take over all the Hawaiian islands.
By nightfall, it was evident that Kalaunuio Hua had
lost the battle and became a prisoner to Kukona. Thus began the historical
distinction of Kauai as an island that was never conquered.
9. Wai‘ōpili Petroglyphs - “Water Against”
In 1887, Kauai resident JK Farley discovered carved
drawings or petroglyphs on a rock at Māhā‘ulepū Beach near the mouth of the Wai‘ōpili
Stream. The carvings are normally
covered by beach sand, but if tides and ocean conditions are right the petroglyphs
can occasionally be seen.
North of Māhā‘ulepū Beach is a large petroglyph
boulder which contains two cup-like carvings at the top. One of the carvings
contains a pecked out groove from the cup and runs along the edge of the
boulder.
The image shows the trail layout. The Māhā‘ulepū Heritage Trail is a project of the Po‘ipū
Beach Foundation. In addition, I have added images of sites
along the trail in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook
page.
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