Hawaii 2015: Coloured beaches
Monday, 7 December 2015 21:06![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
iguana
While beaches are usually the first thing anybody thinks of when you mention Hawaii, I didn't know beforehand what a great range they would have. We visited beaches of many different colours!
Red
We visited Red Sand Beach while on Maui and it was very pretty. It's formed from an iron-rich cinder cone which is still being eroded, though slowed by a natural sea wall a good couple of metres tall.
You get there from a smaller red sand beach, via a tricky scramble over along a raised ledge, which then descends into the bay. We were lucky enough to get it to ourselves.
We visited Red Sand Beach while on Maui and it was very pretty. It's formed from an iron-rich cinder cone which is still being eroded, though slowed by a natural sea wall a good couple of metres tall.
You get there from a smaller red sand beach, via a tricky scramble over along a raised ledge, which then descends into the bay. We were lucky enough to get it to ourselves.
Yellow
There are of course more yellow beaches than you can shake a fist at on the Hawaiian Islands. I've shown you most of the ones we went to in other posts, but here's another one I haven't mentioned yet: Manini Beach near Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau Historical Park. There's a lovely grassy area there as well as some black lava rock pebbles and white coral pebbles. We also saw a beautiful sunset.
There are of course more yellow beaches than you can shake a fist at on the Hawaiian Islands. I've shown you most of the ones we went to in other posts, but here's another one I haven't mentioned yet: Manini Beach near Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau Historical Park. There's a lovely grassy area there as well as some black lava rock pebbles and white coral pebbles. We also saw a beautiful sunset.
Green
The Green Sand Beach on Big Island is a 2.5 mile walk from a car park near South Point, the southernmost place in the United States of America, but because there are always high winds along that particular stretch of coast, it feels a lot further. There are some enterprising individuals with very unsafe-looking trucks that will offer to cart you there, explaining why the beach is busier than you would otherwise expect.
However, it is beautiful. Beware of photoshopped photos enhancing the green though; while the locals claim it used to be greener, the beach is formed from eroded olivine crystals, which are, as their name suggests, olive green in colour. Here's a shot I took:
Getting down onto the beach involves a bit of a scramble, and there is exactly one rock that provides any cover from the scorching sun, but it is really worth the trip. The sea is a beautiful colour too, and while swimming in the sea is recommended against (there is nothing between here and Antarctica), it's difficult to resist after such a long trek.
After a refreshing dip in the ocean, it's time to walk back to the car. Remember to reapply your sun cream after swimming or you'll suffer the same sunburn as us!
Delightfully, at the car park there are also locals making some cash by selling you an ice cold Mountain Dew (or your favourite soda here) which is just about everything you could wish for at that point. So cool!
The Green Sand Beach on Big Island is a 2.5 mile walk from a car park near South Point, the southernmost place in the United States of America, but because there are always high winds along that particular stretch of coast, it feels a lot further. There are some enterprising individuals with very unsafe-looking trucks that will offer to cart you there, explaining why the beach is busier than you would otherwise expect.
However, it is beautiful. Beware of photoshopped photos enhancing the green though; while the locals claim it used to be greener, the beach is formed from eroded olivine crystals, which are, as their name suggests, olive green in colour. Here's a shot I took:
Getting down onto the beach involves a bit of a scramble, and there is exactly one rock that provides any cover from the scorching sun, but it is really worth the trip. The sea is a beautiful colour too, and while swimming in the sea is recommended against (there is nothing between here and Antarctica), it's difficult to resist after such a long trek.
After a refreshing dip in the ocean, it's time to walk back to the car. Remember to reapply your sun cream after swimming or you'll suffer the same sunburn as us!
Delightfully, at the car park there are also locals making some cash by selling you an ice cold Mountain Dew (or your favourite soda here) which is just about everything you could wish for at that point. So cool!
Black
There are a lot of black sand beaches in Hawaii thanks to the lava rock that is eroded to form them. However, a very special type of black sand isn't formed from eroding solid lava rock; it's actually formed when molten lava hits the water and shatters into sand-sized particles. The only beach like this I know of is Kaimū Beach Park, which is a lovely walk across some lava rock and some young coconut trees, which have been planted by locals since 2009 in the hope of eventually restoring the appearance of the previous black sand beach that was there before the current eruption of Kīlauea covered it.
The beach itself is jet black, and much finer than the other black sand beaches.
There are a lot of black sand beaches in Hawaii thanks to the lava rock that is eroded to form them. However, a very special type of black sand isn't formed from eroding solid lava rock; it's actually formed when molten lava hits the water and shatters into sand-sized particles. The only beach like this I know of is Kaimū Beach Park, which is a lovely walk across some lava rock and some young coconut trees, which have been planted by locals since 2009 in the hope of eventually restoring the appearance of the previous black sand beach that was there before the current eruption of Kīlauea covered it.
The beach itself is jet black, and much finer than the other black sand beaches.
Glass
I covered the glass beach, remnants of Kauaʻi's more industrial past, in my Kauaʻi post, but I've included another photo here for completeness.
I think this counts as a coloured beach as the glass was definitely multicoloured :)
I covered the glass beach, remnants of Kauaʻi's more industrial past, in my Kauaʻi post, but I've included another photo here for completeness.
I think this counts as a coloured beach as the glass was definitely multicoloured :)
