A great view and a new perspective of old Kailua Town is revealed! With the vog shrouded Hualalai
Volcano (elevation 8,275) looming behind, Old Kailua town suddenly shrinks as it clings to the shore of Kailua Bay! What is wonderful about this vista from the pier is that the historical buildings and structures become distinctive and are not lost amongst the shops and restaurants. The pier itself, the seawall, the Royal Palace (Hulihe'e), the first Christian Church in Hawaii (Moku'aikaua), the pre-contact Hawaiian temple at Ahu'ena Heiau and the old Kona Inn all have a fascinating history.
In March 1920 Congregationalist missionaries from Boston sailed into Kailua Bay and landed at Kamakahonu Rock, the "Plymouth Rock" of Hawaii.
The pier was first constructed in 1900 and then rebuilt in 1950. The stones for the pier and the seawall that runs from the pier to the Old Kona Inn, were taken from the huge stonewall that once surrounded Ahu'ena Heiau Temple complex, and from the massive stone fort erected after the destruction of the heiau during the reign of Kamehameha II. The huge stone fort once boasted 18, 32 inch naval cannons and was nicknamed by passing whalers as the "The Rock". Today that term is used by locals for the whole of the Big Island.
The pier was originally built to make it easy to load cattle onto steam freighters bound for Honolulu.
It sat on Kamakahonu Rock and pilings until 1950 when concrete pylons replaced them. From around 1900 until the 1970's the pier was covered in sheds and warehouses that protected coffee bags, sugar and other goods ready for shipment. Trees were planted along the pier in 1950 to beautify the downtown area. In 2003 - 4 the pier was renovated resulting in the pier we view and walk on today.
The biggest business in Kona at the turn of the century, H. Hackfield and Company, sat at the entrance to the pier and consisted of the company's headquarters, a general store, post office, coffee mill and an ice factory. Standard Oil stock tanks sat on the shore of Kamakahonu Beach in the 1950s and 1960s until construction of the original Hotel King Kamehameha in the 1960s. In 1970 the current King Kamehameha Beach Resort was built.
In several places along the seawall - about 20-60 feet offshore, you can see the "boil" associated with undersea fresh water springs discharging into the ocean. These springs are from aquifers that collect fresh water from up the mountain slopes and transport it down to where they intersect the seafloor. Hawaiian's use to dive and fill gourds with water as fresh water springs where scarce in Kona. Today sea turtles (honu) swim through the springs trying to kill algae and parasites that grow on their shells and skin.
Today, Kamakahonu Rock (eye of the turtle) lies underneath the modern-day Kailua Pier, serving as a footing.
Dolphins, sea turtles and whales are often seen off the pier. The triathletes love it when the dolphin pod joins them when they are doing their pre race swim training in the Bay.
The pier is always a hive of activity. Many commercial ocean-going enterprises use the pier as their departure point, lighters and the large cruise ships land here, and fishing charter boats bring their catches (marlin ad tuna) here to be weighed at the scale at the pier. It's always great fishing along the pier and the seawall, the best spots being behind Hulihe'e Palace and the Old Kona Inn.
And of course, the pier serves as the staging grounds for the first leg - the swim, and the finish line for
The World Championship Triathlon held in the 2nd and 3rd week of October. This is the reason why we are here holidaying in Kona! What an exciting and spectacular event to spectate!
During heavy seas and big storms, waves up to 20 feet high explode over the seawall and surge across All'i Drive. We were getting a bit of action today with the high tide and big waves!
The views from the pier are great and it's a fantastic spot to watch the stunning Kona sunsets from.
From the pier we headed back to the pool, churned out our laps and then rode home.
A very interesting day looking at Kona and Old Kailua Town from a new perspective - from Kailua Pier! Definitely worth a stroll when you are in Kona!
The lovely and interesting vistas from the Kailua Pier............................................
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| The historic Old Kona Inn Today it also houses the Kona Inn Shopping Village, and the The Kona Inn Restaurant which has spectacular views over the Bay and is a perfect setting for dine, especially at sunset. The Old Kona Inn also has an interesting history.... Kona Inn...Restaurant in Kona. Hawaii... |
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| Surfing behind the Royal Palace A smooth lava outcropping at the base of the seawall is named Ali'inui (High Chief) |
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| Niumala or Kanuha Beach ( in the shade of the coconut trees) The waves were quite big today and were smashing into the seawall making it exciting walking along the seawall side of Alii Drive |
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| The Royal Palace and the first Christian Church in Hawaii |
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| Kaiakeakua Beach (the god of the sea) This is where the triathletes start and exit on the swim leg of the challenging and gruelling event |
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| Not long now until October 13th! |
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| Swimming, snorkelling and board paddling where the order of today and what a perfect day to be enjoying this lovely art of the Bay! |
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| Kamakahona Beach in front of the King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel. |
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| Ahu'ena Heiau Enjoy beautiful coral garden and abundant fish as you snorkel along the shoreline here |
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| The Royal Kona Hotel with Huggo's nestled on its left |
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| The Atlantis submarine ferry boat coming in to dock after a mornings outing to view the underwater delights in the Bay |
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| Anyone for Coffee!? Swim out to the Coffees of Hawaii platform- a floating island in the Bay! |
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| Ahu'ena Heiau, the King Kam Hotel and Kamakahona Beach |
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| Water activities galore - stroll along the pier and choose your favourite |
Our daily visitors at Alii Lani have returned! Meet our Kona pets.
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| Ginger was here last year - good to see her again "Thanks for the food, now I'm going to sit and watch you through the screen door But don't come near me!" |
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| This is Bruiser - a handsome fellow! but very serious! |
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| The Mongoose is back - had the family as well last year but on its lonesome at the moment A very polite and dainty eater! |
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| I'm hiding in the grass! A beautiful colourful tiny finch - lots of them bouncing around the lawns. |
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