Sojourn in the Sun, Part 7: Hilo 01/12

January 12, 2023

Visiting Pele

TSUNAMIS ARE SCARY. They're also very, very dangerous and destructive. This is the lesson we learn this morning, visiting the Tsunami Museum in Hilo. Hilo has been hit by at least four of the giant wave events since 1946, when it was inundated on the 1st of April by a 26-foot high monster more-or-less without warning. The waves had been triggered by an undersea earthquake off the Aleutian Islands of the Alaskan coast, and they killed over 170 people in Hilo alone.

This tree bears rings at various places, indicating the heights of several tsunamis that have struck Hilo. The highest one is visible just level with the top of the lowest-hanging frond of the palm tree in the background.

The top ring marks the height of the April Fools Day, 1946 waves. They destroyed the lower-lying areas of the city, including several residential areas populated mostly by people of Japanese descent.

Our visit to the Tsunami Museum begins at 10:15; to get there we've had a pleasant walk through the Lili'uokalani Gardens Park and Wailoa River State Recreation Area. These parks were created on the land formerly occupied by the neighborhoods destroyed by tsunamis, and present a much lower risk to future loss of life in the event of a repetition.

The Lili'oukalani Gardens are dotted with Japanese lanterns, small ponds, and massive banyan trees, making a pleasant environment for a leisurely, relaxing stroll. They also attract many birds, as does the adjoining Waiakea Pond that forms the "backbone" of the recreation area.

Checking this morning, I'm relieved to see Mauna Kea has not mysteriously vanished overnight.

This small black crab was scuttling along the top of the sea wall at our hotel. It blended in well with the dark volcanic rock of which the wall is constructed.

The ruddy turnstone, a new species to me. Perhaps it's hunting for a crab breakfast?

Another instance of our friend the yellow-billed cardinal.

The Japanese arch at the entry to Lili'uokalani Gardens.

There are numerous Japanese lanterns in the park, in all sorts of sizes and styles.

This attractive pavilion does double duty as a bridge.

There are a couple of these graceful, arching bridges crossing the watercourses that lace through the park.

There are several huge banyan trees here, amongst other types.

Some perspective, to show the scale of these monsters.

I'd heard of Muscovy ducks but this is the first time I think I've ever seen one.

I've never even heard of the duclair duck, but here is one for all to see.

And of course you have to see nene for your visit to count, don't you?

Okay I mean it this time. The is the last, the very last, photo of Mauna Kea I'll include. The observatories are still there, too. We were blessed with remarkably clear skies throughout our stay; I was especially impressed with how clear they were in Hilo.

Here's the statue of Kamehameha that was created when the original was lost. He stands looking out to sea, in the complex of waterfront green space through which we're walking. Two down, one more to go.

After leaving the Tsunami Museum we head back north, visiting the Hawai'i Tropical Bioreserve and Garden and stopping for a brief photo opportunity in front of the waterfall at Wailuku River State Park before our evening flight to Maui. Driving along I think I can hear faint echoes of the tires of Team Anderson, as they cycled here many years ago.

Don't be fooled by cheap imitations, friends: insist on the *real* thing, not imitations like this false bird of paradise.

Bromelia, says Google Lens. Who am I to argue?

Tapeinochilos ananassae, a.k.a Indonesian wax ginger. Lots of varieties of ginger; where's Mary Ann?

Aphelandra sinclairiana, says https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/Aphelandra_sinclairiana_Cairns.jpg. Perhaps you know it as "zebra plant"?

This is a moth orchid, one of over 28,000 orchid species known. That's a lot of orchids!

This might be torch ginger, unless it's something else.

Painter's-palette, or red anthurium in the faux-Latin of taxonomy.

We've seen lots of red flowers, so how about a yellow one for some variety? Justicia carnea, in this case.

Oh, oh, oh! This isn't a flower at all! It's a koi!

Back to the plant world, here's some shell ginger.

A swirl of rather out-of-focus croton leaves.

Another pretty moth orchid. Where are the other 27,999 species hiding?

If you're going to stick with just the one species, though, you can take solace knowing they come in a variety of hues.

Finally, something different: dendrobrium. That's from the Latin "dendro" meaning "tree", and "brium" meaning "I don't have a clue".

We're not big on the "this-is-us-in-front-of-X" style of photo, so you'll just have to take my word for it when I say we were actually here.

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