Sun. June 28th

Pu’uhonua o Honaunau (Place of Refuge) to the annual cultural festival.

Playing konane (Hawaiian checkers-like game), then they tasted sea urchin

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making traditional bamboo pipes

 

We learned how to weave bracelets from palm fronds

We learned how to weave bracelets from palm fronds

 

Kona Coffee Mill

Bruno shows us the trellis system of growing coffee trees

the sorting station

the roasting room

the roasting room

Luau time!

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Sat. June 27th

Final Exam Day!

Final exam in the dining hall

 

Let off a little steam on the snorkeling cruise now that all the hard work is over.

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Captain Cook monument

Captain Cook monument

A few of us went snorkeling instead of belly-flopping off the high dive.

A few of us went snorkeling instead of belly-flopping off the high dive.

Ian reels in the elusive "net fish"

Ian reels in the elusive “net fish”

 

Pizza in the dorm to celebrate our final exam. Then movie night. Only one more day on the big island.

The earthquake hit during our movie.  It was a 5.2.  Shook the dorm.  See more info.

earthquake

 

 

 

Fri. June26th

This morning’s class was about beaches, fisheries, whaling.  We made fish print t-shirts using a method called gyotaku.

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After lunch we headed to Puako for a Fish Feeding Guilds lab.

  Today’s classroom

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Looking for green sea turtles at the cleaning station

Looking for green sea turtles at the cleaning station

 

The rest of the afternoon and evening was study time for tomorrow’s final exam!!

Thurs. June 25th

We began the day, as always, with a study session.  Then off to class for our lessons on fish (classification, anatomy and physiology).

  morning study session

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After lunch we departed for Lapakahi State Park.  We had a tour and discussion about park history. We snorkeled for our Fish Identification Lab. This is a protected wildlife area, and we cannot wear sunscreen.  Click here for an article explaining the effects of sunscreen on delicate marine organisms such as corals and sea turtles.

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Kumu removes a crown of thorns from the reef

Kumu removes a crown of thorns from the reef

Then we were off to Hapuna Beach for some beach time and our last sunset dinner. The students were body surfing in the crashing waves as the sun went down.

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Wed. June 24th

We started this morning off with a Rocky Intertidal Transect Lab. We were blessed with a green sea turtle (honu) that followed us around like a puppy dog for over an hour.

Click here to see a short video:  DSCF0553  

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Its not all hard work :)

Its not all hard work 🙂

Our next stop was the Hamakua macadamia Nut Factory.  We tasted all sorts of flavored mac nuts, popcorn, ice cream, and Kona coffee.

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We had a special hula lesson at our Hawaiiana class tonight.  Vinani taught us a hula that included learning a lot of Hawaiian language.

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We capped the night off with studying in the dorm.

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Tues. June 23rd

We started the day off with a great coral zonation lab at Crystal Cove, a protected wildlife area that we are very lucky to see. Kumu set out 6 quadrats on the corals at different depths.  We identified coral types and counted the number of each type to see how depths affects coral type.

It's a tough climb down a steep hill, but worth it.

It’s a tough climb down a steep hill, but worth it.

Ivan has mastered his giant stride entry over the rocks. Uncle Dennis only has to give a small shove :)

Ivan has mastered his giant stride entry over the rocks. Uncle Dennis only has to give a small shove 🙂

Josie free dives to Id corals

Josie free dives to ID corals

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Jake is a great eel-spotter and found this big guy. Can you see him hiding in there?

We always try to leave the beach cleaner than how we found it by picking up trash - no matter how big!

We always try to leave the beach cleaner than how we found it by picking up trash – no matter how big!

 

Pu’ukohola Heaiu

Ranger George taught us a lot about Hawaiian history.

the heaiu temple

the heaiu temple

 

We ended the evening on Mauna Kea (white mountain) to stargaze. Since it was night and I was not allowed to use a flash, I only have pictures of the teacher “scouting excursion”. We discovered the bus would NEVER make it all the way to the top. Interesting side note: there is a plan for a 14th telescope to be built starting Wednesday. It will be the largest telescope in the world.  There are a lot of protests going on and people were awake at sunrise and laying in the middle of the road to stop the trucks going up to the top.  See the news info here.

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Hawaiian snow!

Hawaiian snow!

Stopping the convoy of construction vehicles (ABC news photo)

Protestors. Flying the state flag upside down represents how some feel about being illegally annexed as a state by the US. (ABC news photo)

 

Mon. June 22

Today’s classes were about Corals, Marine Birds, Reptiles, and Mammals. The students were excited to talk about organisms they were familiar with.

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Our first field trip was to see the Petroglyphs at Holoholokai Beach

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We had to hike through Maleficents forest of thorns and lava rocks to get there.

We had to hike through Maleficents forest of thorns and lava rocks to get there.

We then traveled over to the amazing Waikiloa Hilton Hotel to speak to a marine biologist at the Dolphin Quest.

Carmen tell us about the black tipped reef shark training.

Carmen tell us about the black tipped reef shark training.

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Ivy and Ivan learn about how a dolphin used echolocation

Ivy and Ivan learn about how a dolphin used echolocation

 

Students had the option of snorkeling with me around the rocky point at Hapuna Beach.  We have some die-hard snorkelers on this trip – yeah!

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They are free-diving experts now.

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After our sunset dinner, our Kumu’s daughter, Vinani, showed us how to make Plumeria leis and bougainvillea headbands.

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We topped the night off with a rousing game of volleyball.

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Sun. June 21st

Today was our longest day.  We drove around the island for 18 hours – it is the BIG island, remember.  Here are some of the highlights:

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Waipio Valley Overlook

Waipio Valley Overlook

Laupahoehoe Point - site of major tsunami

Laupahoehoe Point – site of major tsunami

The 3 "roomies" at Akaka Falls

The 3 “roomies” at Akaka Falls

Tasting sugar cane

Tasting sugar cane

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Very fresh mangoes

Watching the "swirling rocks" at Rainbow Falls

Watching the “swirling rocks” at Rainbow Falls

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Recent lava flow fields

Recent lava flow fields

Black sand beach

Black sand beach

Story time with Uncle Dennis

Story time with Uncle Dennis

Uncle Dennis shows us the lay of the land

Uncle Dennis shows us the lay of the land

At the Kiluea caldera

At the Kilauea caldera

lava tube

lava tube

Kilauea at night

Kilauea at night

 

 

 

 

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Sat. June 20th

We started off with a quiz and 3 hours of class this morning.  Today we learn about the geology of the Hawaiian Islands, tides, and chemical/physical oceanography.

Studying in the dorm.

Studying in the dorm.

 

We were able to do some SHOPPING! Then we were off for our submarine ride –

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Another all-time favorite Brebeuf activity – the MANTA RAY snorkel.  Tonight we saw only 1 ray – her name was Jana.  She was about 10 feet across. Our flashlights (yes, this is in the ocean when it is pitch black) attract the plankton the mantas feed on.

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Our manta briefing

Our manta briefing

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