Kohala Coast

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Back to Big IslandThe Kohala Coast

Ancient Hawaiian Fish Ponds

Like their Polynesian forebears, Hawaiians were among the first aquaculturists on the planet. Scientists still marvel at the ways they used the brackish ponds along the shoreline to stock and harvest fish. There are actually two different types of ancient fish ponds (or loko i'a). Closed ponds, located inshore, were closed off from the ocean. Open ponds used rock walls as a barrier to the ocean and sluice gates that connected the ponds to the ocean. The gates were woven vines, with just enough room for juvenile fish to swim in at high tide while keeping the bigger, fatter fish from swimming out. Generally, the Hawaiians kept and raised mullet, milkfish, and shrimp in these open ponds; juvenile manini, papio, eels, and barracuda occasionally found their way in, too.

The Kalahuipuaa Fish Ponds, at Mauna Lani Resort (tel. 808/885-6622), are great examples of both types of ponds in a lush tropical setting. South of the Mauna Lani Resort are Kuualii and Kahapapa Fish Ponds, at the Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort (tel. 808/885-6789). Both resorts have taken great pains to restore the ponds to their original states and to preserve them for future generations; call ahead to arrange a free guided tour.

Kohala Coast Petroglyphs

The Hawaiian petroglyphs are a great enigma of the Pacific -- no one knows who made them or why. They appear at 135 different sites on six inhabited islands, but most of them are found on the Big Island.

At first glance, the huge slate of pahoehoe looks like any other smooth black slate of lava on the seacoast of the Big Island -- until gradually, in slanting rays of the sun, a wonderful cast of characters leaps to life before your eyes. You might see dancers and paddlers, fishermen and chiefs, hundreds of marchers all in a row. Pictures of the tools of daily life are everywhere: fish hooks, spears, poi pounders, canoes. The most common representations are family groups. There are also post-European contact petroglyphs of ships, anchors, horses, and guns.

The largest concentration of these stone symbols in the Pacific lies within the 233-acre Puako Petroglyph Archaeological District, near Mauna Lani Resort. The 1.5-mile Malama Trail starts north of Mauna Lani Resort; take Highway 19 to the resort turnoff and drive toward the coast on North Kaniku Drive, which ends at a parking lot; the trail head is marked by a sign and interpretive kiosk. Go in the early morning or late afternoon, when it's cool. A total of 3,000 designs have been identified.

The Kings' Shops (tel. 808/886-8811), at the Waikoloa Beach Resort, offers a free tour of the surrounding petroglyphs Tuesday through Friday at 10:30am and Saturday at 8:30am; it meets in front of the Food Pavilion. For the best viewing, go Saturday morning.

Visitors with disabilities, as well as others, can explore petroglyphs at Kaupulehu Petroglyphs in the Kona Village Resort, Queen Kaahumanu Highway (tel. 808/325-5555). Free guided tours are offered three times a week, but reservations are required (or you won't get past the gatehouse). Here you can see some of the finest images in the Hawaiian Islands. There are many petroglyphs of sails, canoes, fish, and chiefs in headdresses, plus a burial scene. Kite motifs -- rare in rock art -- similar to those found in New Zealand are also here. This is Hawaii's only ADA-accessible petroglyph trial.

Warning: The petroglyphs are thousands of years old and easily destroyed. Do not walk on them or attempt to take a "rubbing" (there's a special area in the Puako Preserve for doing so). The best way to capture a petroglyph is with a photo in the late afternoon, when the shadows are long.