Haena beach access or the lack of it

[Carey]

Kimo, yes there is STILL a Shipman heir at the estate.... we have met them voting (that's right, they are using their influence to cast their vote!) there also are heirs managing some of the other holdings they have.

Oh, and you would be surprised how there actually may be public interest in YOUR land.... depends on the public.... I know that there are many research projects at the university that need access on private lands.... so since you are willing.... I can hook you up with researcher (many are just studying the soils profiles, alien plants & insects....) many different projects that need many points of reference, but many people are not as willing as you to allow public interests onto their private lands.

The walk into the beach is not always an easy path to follow.... it can get overgrown fairly quickly in rainy weather like we are having.... and bring lots of mosquito repellant during rainy times, as there are some monster puddles on the way.

As I mentioned, there are county sponsored walks to the beach, one is coming up this fall. To find the different parks programs, go to:
http://www.hawaii-county.com/parks/recreation.htm

and click on the pdf of the rec center.

[missydog1]

When I was told about the beach I was also told that it was a word of mouth thing, as in one person to another, not something to be posted on the internet. I respected that. There are not many places that aren't in the guide books and I liked that this one isn't. I wish people would quit writing it up and let people discover it on their own. Send directions by email. But not post it and blog it. YMMV

[Devany]

Kathy,

While I have met many people (including Hawaiians) that have told me about and posted about this beach,I have never heard that it was not something that was supposed to be posted about on the internet. Aside from that, the internet is now "our word of mouth", like it or not. I tend to disagree with your opinion (obviously) and it is my thought that that rumor was probably started by THE SHIPMANS!

I wonder who would be so selfish to not want to share about any beautiful or special place on this island. The beaches, even the land here belongs to all of us. I learned this from Alberta Mock Chu, who is a 5th generation taro farmer in Waipio Valley. Someone was asking her if they could come back to the farm and take pictures on another date and Alberta looked at her and said, "Of course! These are all your trees and flowers too! They don't belong to just me, they belong to all of us!" I like that a lot better than the uppity elitist feeling that we are not allowed to share things with others unless privately because then more people will come. How can we be so stingy with something that is here for all of us to enjoy?

Believe me, unless they bulldoze the path/road and allow people to drive back there it is NEVER going to get crowded! The hike is not for the faint of heart or those that mind getting dirty or need a chair to sit on at the end of the hike in. No bathrooms,no picnic table, not even a trash can there. There were only 2 other people there on the last saturday that we visited and the weather was beautiful.


Aloha au i Hawai`i,
devany

www.myhawaiianhome.blogspot.com
www.eastbaypotters.blogspot.com

[Devany]

PS. I guess the county did not get the "memo" either. Thanks for telling us about it Carey![]

Aloha au i Hawai`i,
devany

www.myhawaiianhome.blogspot.com
www.eastbaypotters.blogspot.com

[kimo wires]

There is nothing interesting, unusual, or special about my property and I don't own thousands of acres where I would never even notice anyone on it.

I have lots of Rocks, Coqui frogs, Ohia trees, Ferns.
Nothing special.

I don't understand why some people want to play Devil's Advocate, make excuses for, and go to bat for the Rich and Shameless. Especially when they are so all self important and uncaring about the majority of Public opinion.

Corrupt, egotistical, unwavering, BOGUS...

They're all going to HELL.

I imagine WH spinning in his grave.

I Bet he wouldn't be such a Bogart if he was still alive.



One Thing I can always be sure of is that things will never go as expected.

[Carey]

Kimo, I know that it sounds like I am playing devils advocate, but I am not.... I have experienced the unwillingness to allow others onto private land in smaller subdivisions here, when I was doing research at the University. Very few landowners contacted would allow research students onto their land.

In my Senior Field Methods class, I helped the University in a study, just 2 years ago this month, sampling coqui frogs in a subdivision here, and yes, we were on small 1 acre properties, not thousand acres parcels, as that is where the impact of the little frogs is most felt.... amazing how few of the landowners would actually give permission for research students to collect samples of frogs from their yards.... As I have mentioned, your willingness to allow others onto your property for public interest is not shared by everyone. I am not making excuses, just showing that each of us has limits, and most of us put those limits on what WE own.

For anyone that is willing to allow research to be done on their property, there are many studies at the university, like the coqui study, the red ant study & such that need people to be willing to allow research students onto their lands, even small subdivision land.

There are also programs that bring research students from schools around the world that need 'crash' space for students that are studying the unique ecosystems here. When I did my Field Methods field trip, we traveled around the island for 3 weeks, and even had our senior class 'crash' for 2 nights at a home in Hawaiian Beaches (so even the smaller plots of land can help!).

If you really do feel that you are willing to allow people on your land (or should allow people on your land) contact any of the profs in the TCBES program at the university with your offer: http://tcbes.uhh.hawaii.edu/

[kimo wires]

Alright well said Carey.

No positive progress made though.

If UH students ask to gain entry to my property to do field research then no problem.

I think I'm done here.

[Iju]

Thank you, Devany. I've bookmarked your article, very detailed and well-written and nice photos. Thanks to Carey too for warning about the mosquito and the link to County's Rec webpage.

Val

[Youser]

When we hiked in some time back we saw a monk seal on the way there sunning himself on the lava and when we got there we walked right by a turtle near the rock wall. He was having a deep sleep and we only noticed him as we walked by. There were just a few other people there, local kids giggling and playing in the water. It was magical and I am very glad it's remote and hard to get to. We don't go often as it's a long and difficult walk.

The beach is tiny and would never survive as a public beach accessible by road to everyone. It should stay as it is.

[Laughing_girl]

We used to go in around 2002-2004 in a 4WD (before big rocks) - even in that it was not an easy road to get in. Most of the time, we let the truck go in ahead of us with our camping stuff and we walked - about a hr walk.

Okay so the present - you can contact Roberta Brashear-Kalufers at brashear@hawaii.edu - she works on many project involving that area and path clearing for walking in. I would suggest you put in the subject "shipman land" so she knows what is in your email (and not spam). Roberta is also a wealth of info on the flora and fauna in that area along with just being a excellent raconteur.

I also believe if you check at the Shipman office in Keaau they will give you key to the gate for the road for special projects - like to researchers, etc. Just not to every one who wants a key for the weekend - and definately arrangements ahead of time!