In addition to spectacular white sand and black sand beaches, the Big Island of Hawaii boasts a unique green sand beach. Green sand is formed from the gemstone olivine, or peridot. Through volcanic action the olivine is brought to the earth surface. As the olivine weathers, it is broken into small fragments, which eventually becomes …
The west side of the Big Island offers protected bays teaming with sea life. Snorkeling at Pu’uhonua O Honaunau, or two-step as it is commonly referred to is some of the best adventure the Island has to offer. Last Friday the students and staff set out to explore and learn about the unique underwater ecosystem. …
The Honomolino Outing started off with the group loading up the cars and heading to the old village of Milolii. We parked the cars in the village and hiked south along the coast for about a mile or so across dry lava fields. The hike ended at a large bay, coconut grove and a 100 …
For this outing we drove north to keaau. On the journey we talked about Hawaiian native plants in the national park as we drove through, about the volcanic activity at Halema’uma’u and Pu’u O’o, the legend of Ohia and Lehua and a brief history of sugar in Hawaii, and its influence on the town of …
Rainy day at Volcanoes National Park! It was coming down pretty heavily when the group departed. By the time the group arrived at the national park the rain let up a bit. As the group approached the park they talked about general geology of the area, highlighting the formation of the landscape and the fault …
The group started the outing by first visiting the black sand beach at Punaluu. The weather turned out to be cold and windy near the coastline so the students were not too enthused about going swimming. The group spent most of the day hiking around “talking story” (a Hawaiian term) about the history of the …
The weather was a bit voggy (an island term used to describe volcanic emissions – like fog) but the sky was clear and sunny. On the drive, the group discussed volcanes, volcano formation and unique stories about previous eruptions in recent history. We first stopped at the tree molds so everyone could get an idea …
The group was able to visit Green Sands Beach. This was one of those days that makes living in Hawaii so worth it! We started out the day by driving down to South Point. Along the way the group discussed local history, and in particular how the area was probably the first in Hawaii to …
Mauna Kea, planet Earth’s tallest mountain (when measured from sea floor to summit) rises 13,796 feet above sea level. It is arguably the best place in the world to look at the stars. On Tuesday afternoon, Pacific Quest’s Malama students had the rare opportunity to don long-johns and winter hats, as they made the trip …
Ka ‘Ohana O Honu’apo motto is three fold: malama ‘aina (care for the land), kupono (honesty) and kuleana (responsibility). The organization was formed to help steward the land at the old village site of Honu’apo (literally caught turtle) after the community banded together to raise monies to purchase the land to ensure it was not …