To finish off our amazing week in O'ahu, we had planned to go out on the water to watch humpback whales on Saturday. Unfortunately, when we arrived at Pier 800 to depart, we found out that problems with the boat had arisen that morning. We decided that it would be best to not go out and risk a Coast Guard rescue. Though we were all disappointed about this development, we weren’t about to let it ruin our last day.
To replace the boat excursion, we took a trip in our trusty van up the Waianae coast to see if we could see spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris). Though we did not see any dolphins, we saw that there were many other people out looking as well - boats of tourists hoping to swim with dolphins. During the day, spinners rest in sandy-bottomed bays, which makes them easy to access for boaters, kayakers, and swimmers. Though there are guidelines for how people should interact with these marine mammals, many people now recognize that a set of voluntary guidelines may not be enough. Currently, the National Marine Fishery Service is in the process of creating regulation to govern dolphin interactions. They have proposed doing partial time or area closures of dolphin resting habitats during peak rest hours.
While whale-watching at Makapu'u point, a young woman approached me and we spoke for a while about things to do in Honolulu. Among other things, she recommended that I take a certain dolphin tour where you can swim, snorkel, or snuba with dolphins. I asked her how close she was able to get, and she excitedly blurted that you could touch them. Feigning disbelief, I asked if the tour guides had said touching was safe, and she said that it was “totally fine” and that the dolphins were “friendly.” Who knows whether the tour operator was the one to blame for either not educating against (or blatantly encouraging) these sorts of interactions, or if over-zealous tourists are simply ignoring the rules, but the class felt that some sort of regulation seemed necessary to protect dolphins!
While looking for dolphins, we drove all the way up Farrington Highway to the end of the road at Kaena Point State Park, on the other side of a ridge of mountains from the North Shore where we had seen Monk Seals and Laysan albatrosses. This coast is less developed, especially further away from Honolulu. The climate is drier and sunnier than some other areas on the island, since it is on the leeward side of the mountains and receives less rain. The landscapes were quite striking, with steep mountains covered in vegetation.
This trip did not prove completely marine mammal-less, though – we saw several humpbacks on the horizon, breathing and diving. So, even without our boat trip, we were able to see them once more before heading home!
After this, we headed back toward Honolulu, since several of us were flying home that afternoon and evening. Even as far away as we were, we ran into a good deal of traffic heading into the city. Many people who cannot afford to live in Honolulu live further out in these areas and commute in to town. Also, many people who cannot afford housing at all live on the beaches along the coast in tents and vehicles.
Before we left on this trip, Andy had challenged the class to find the first native bird. Though birds are very plentiful in O'ahu, the most common ones are all exotic species – including Common Mynahs, Java Finches, and Zebra Doves. I sighted the first native at Diamond Head – a relatively inconspicuous bird called the Pacific Golden Plover (Pluvialis fulva). These birds breed in open nests on the ground in the arctic tundra of northern Asia and Alaska, and then migrate for the winter to southern Asia, Australasia, Hawai'i, and California. We saw these birds often throughout the trip, usually in mowed grassy areas. I saw this one just an hour or so before my flight out.
Finally, there were no SPAM sightings today, but I thought I would drop one final, valuable reference: the official website www.spam.com. We realize that you may have been inspired by our trip to taste “Hawai'ian Steak” for yourself, so here you can learn all about it. One of my favorite tidbits of info from the FAQ is that in a perfect situation, SPAM could last forever – “its like meat with a pause button!” You may even wish to join the official fan club while you are there!
Aloha,
Sarah
