We had to be out of the resort by 10am and our flight wasn’t supposed to depart until 2:30pm, so we had plenty of time to explore this morning before heading to the airport. It wasn’t as windy as it was on Wednesday, so we drove up to Pu’ukoholā Heiau National Historic Site and it was a great visit.
We started by watching “The Foundation of a Nation”, their 27-minute film on Kamehameha’s unification of Hawai’i Island, which culminated with the killing and sacrifice of his first cousin and rival, Keōua, here as he arrived for the dedication of the Heiau. It was excellent.
Then we walked around the site itself – there are two heiaus on the property, Pu’ukoholā at the top of the hill and the ruins of Mailekini nearer the water.
There’s also a third heiau underwater, Hale o Kapuni, although its exact size and location are unknown. It was dedicated to sharks, and the priest there would lean on a post on the land and watch as the sharks consumed their offerings. The post suffered an accident in 1937; it was repaired and moved to a new foundation further inland a mere 25 years later.
Access to the heiaus is limited to Park Service personnel and native Hawaiians performing “traditional religious practices”. Pu’ukoholā is visibly defended by kapu markers and a sign warning that trespassing is a Federal crime!
Pekelane is the beach where Keōua and his companions were killed. Anyone can walk on it (and, I guess, go swimming, although there’s a nice county beach park just a few hundred yards outside the historic site).
Diane and I walked up the hill to get as close to Pu’ukoholā Heiau itself as possible.
We stopped in the visitor center to enjoy the air conditioning, then headed to Kohala Burger and Taco for a light lunch, followed by shave ice at Original Big Island Shave Ice in King’s Shops (they claim to be the best on the island, but I was not impressed by the amount of ice that they left bare of syrup).
Then it was off to Kona Airport for our uneventful, if delayed, flight home.
We might have been a little too eager to bring Hawaiian goodies home!