Receiving our completion certificates
Off to Maui
Final Exam Day!
Let off a little steam on the snorkeling cruise now that all the hard work is over.
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.
We began the day, as always, with a study session. Then off to class for our lessons on fish (classification, anatomy and physiology).
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.
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.
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
Our next stop was the Hamakua macadamia Nut Factory. We tasted all sorts of flavored mac nuts, popcorn, ice cream, and Kona coffee.
We had a special hula lesson at our Hawaiiana class tonight. Vinani taught us a hula that included learning a lot of Hawaiian language.
We capped the night off with studying in the dorm.
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.
Pu’ukohola Heaiu
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.
Today’s classes were about Corals, Marine Birds, Reptiles, and Mammals. The students were excited to talk about organisms they were familiar with.
Our first field trip was to see the Petroglyphs at Holoholokai Beach
We then traveled over to the amazing Waikiloa Hilton Hotel to speak to a marine biologist at the Dolphin Quest.
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!
After our sunset dinner, our Kumu’s daughter, Vinani, showed us how to make Plumeria leis and bougainvillea headbands.
We topped the night off with a rousing game of volleyball.
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.
We were able to do some SHOPPING! Then we were off for our submarine ride –
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.