Cave exploration

No morning walk before breakfast but instead Heather, Norm and I set out afterwards for a hike. We went past the Hyatt and followed the coastline walking along sand dunes. What an incredible vista! 

First is Shipwreck beach where I mentioned people have jumped off. Along the coast you can see the rich red rock.

We continued on past Hawaiian burial sites to Gillin's Beach. What Heather didn't tell us that on the way we would come to Makauwani Cave Reserve. Here is a natural amphitheatre carved by ground water and eroded by the elements. 

Volunteers have been cleaning out the area of non-native plants and we were fortunate to be able to go to the cave today. 

After crawling on our hands and knees we entered the sink hole.

You can see stalagmites and stalactites forming. 

There have been archeological digs finding items from long ago. 

The cave may actually empty into the ocean some distance away.

Next we came to a tortoise enclosure. I learned that a turtle can swim and a tortoise stays on land. Yellow Bunny loved the tortoise. 

A little further to see Gillin's Beach before we started our return trip. We saw humpback whales far out spouting water but not close enough to see clearly unfortunately. 

What a great three-hour adventure. 

You can see the coastline that we covered. Once back we managed a quick lunch before heading to Kalaheo where Heather, Brad, Wanda and Warren played golf on a local municipal nine-hole course for only $9 plus rental of clubs and a cart. Such a deal and such a great course. Norm and I instead had coffee/tea, visited a very small farmers' market of  four vendors before hiking to the golf course to catch a ride back with Heather and Brad.

Even Yellow Bunny got in on the action.

We stopped at Wanda and Warren's place near by in Lawai for a beer and ice cream before catching the sunset and heading home for pizza bagels for a late dinner. 

Perfect!