Turn Your Own Wheels

My last post was getting lengthy, so I cut it short, but I still have to tell you about the sea turtles at Coconut Island.

First, let me give you a little back story on this little town of Hilo.

Honolulu might be metropolitan, but Hilo has history. It was the first government seat under King Kamehameha, who was the first king of a united Hawaii, and it is where his son, Kamehameha II was born. It is actually the oldest city on the Hawaiian islands. With the arrival of Captain Cook, Hawaii was opened to Western influence, and by the mid-19th century, sugar and fruit plantations were operating in full swing. Japanese and Polynesian immigrants began coming in by the thousands and a distinctly blended Hawaiian culture was blooming. After a hundred years of playing host to immigrants, industrialists and missionaries, Hilo developed into a thriving town by the beginning of the 20th century.

Then the tsunami of 1946 changed the direction of history. On April 1st, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit the Aleutian Islands and created a 14 meter high wave that hit Hilo Bay five hours later. One hundred and sixty people died in the disaster and many more were injured. It destroyed large portions of the town and brought an end to the rail system on the island.

In response, the Hawaiian government created a state-of-the-art early warning system and established the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. They rebuilt what they could and resumed living life.

But it happened again. On May 23, 1960, another earthquake (9.5 magnitude) off the coast of Chile, caused another tsunami that claimed 61 lives.

Aftermath of the 1960 Tsunami in Hilo

This time around, the city decided not to rebuild the bay-front areas of the city on the Waiakea peninsula and along Hilo Bay. Where there were once thriving neighborhoods, the city built parks and left open space. It was the beginning of a transformation that would leave Hilo as a quiet little town known for its parks instead of its energy.

Now, as I mentioned previously, it is quaint and quiet here. You can see the relics of some industry, but in general it looks like time stopped in 1950. And, while I don’t necessarily want to live here, these parks have their benefits too.

So, we left off at the Japanese Gardens. These gardens are built on one of the parks that the city built over the ruins of the old town. It’s a peaceful area filled with Banyan trees, and interconnected ponds. You can see the pictures in the post below.

What I really want to tell you about is Coconut Island- well not the island itself, as that is actually a manicured little tourist trap filled with screaming kids. I want to share some pictures of who met at Coconut Island.

Breathing Turtle

These guys were kind of amazing.