Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park

 

Visited: Sept 2023

Nearby town: Kona, HI

Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park is an archaeological site on the western shore of the Big Island of Hawaii. The Park was established in 1978 for the preservation and interpretation of traditional Hawaiian culture.

The site is just a few miles south of the Kona Airport. 

entrance sign

Stop at the visitor's center here to learn about how the ancient Hawaiians used this land. This area of the Big Island is particularly arid, almost a desert. There is also a lot of lava rock. There wasn't a lot of fresh water here, but there was abundant sea life that helped sustain the traditional village for hundreds of years.

From the visitor's center, take the 1-mile long trail to the Honokohau beach. 

lots of lava rock near the Visitor's center

cool sculpture of a sea turtle

Traditional Hawaiian chiefs divided the island into large tracts of land called ahupua'a. The ahupua'a were relatively narrow tracts that stretched from high on top the volcano in the center of the island, down to the coast of the sea. They generally followed the boundary of a stream drainage. The ahupua'a provided food, water, and other resources for the local communities living on that land. The ahupua'a boundaries were marked with a large pile of stones, where villagers would make offerings, usually a pig, to the high chief.

The Park covers the coastal portions of two traditional ahupua'a, Kaloko (meaning "the pond") and Honokohau (meaning "bay drawing dew"). As you travel along the trail, you will pass by some old cattle ranch structures built in the late 19th century, shortly after the islanders' contact with Westerners. There are also some petroglyphs and rock-art to see as well. 

petroglyphs

Once you get to the ocean, you will see fishponds and fish traps. Fishponds were brackish waters (mix of both saltwater from the ocean and freshwater that would flow down from the mountain during heavy rains) where Hawaiians would farm fish. Fish traps were built by constructing stone walls in the ocean with a small gate or opening pointed towards the sea. During high tide, fish would swim through the opening into the fish trap, as the tide lowered, fish would be caught in the walls of the trap and could be easily harvested with nets. 

This spot along the ocean was beautiful.

Honokohau Beach

the 'Aimakapa fishpond 

the fish pond also served as a nesting area for native birds such as the ae'o and the 'alae ke'oke'o

the submerged walls of the 'Ai'opio fish trap

In the background you can see the ruins of the Pu'uoina Heiau. A heiau ("temple") served as a place of worship and religious ceremony

the Halau Wa'a ("canoe house")

We had a great time exploring Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park. It was very peaceful and tranquil and provided insight into the lives of ancient Hawaiians. It's convenient location near the Kona Airport makes it well-worth a visit.

Learn more here: https://www.nps.gov/kaho/index.htm