Red sand beach Archives

Red Sand Beach of Maui

You don’t want to miss the Red Sand Beach while you are on Maui. It’s called Kaihalulu Beach in Hawaiian. Located just outside of Hana we made a stop after we went to the Black Sand Beach. It’s just a tiny beach tucked into a pocket cove. The rust colored sands of the beach are just that, rust. The lava that forms the Ka’uiki Head cinder cone is filled with iron which rusts. The lava breaks off and washes up onto the beach breaking down into the red sand.

Beaches of Many Colors

The Islands of Hawaii are blessed with many colored sands in their beaches. We visited both a black sand beach and a red sand beach on Maui. There’s a green sand beach on the Big Island. The green sand is created by a common mineral in Big Island lava called olivine,

All of these beaches get their colors from the lava rock that breaks down to form the sand. The exceptions are the beautiful white sand beaches. White sand beaches are actually fish poop. Shocking I know. But the parrot fish eat the coral to get the algae that grows there. Then the hard coral passes through their system to come out as , well, Fish poop. It then washes up onto shore to form beautiful white sand beaches. Parrot fish can poop up to 200 lbs of sand per year per fish! Think about that next time you spread your blanket on that pristine beach.

Stoplight Parrotfish (Sparisoma viride) at Salt Pier

Be Cautious at the Red Sand Beach

Like most of the beaches in Hawaii there are no life guards on duty so you swim at your own risk. Kaihalulu Beach is beautiful to visit and look at. The water is usually a deep blue with splashing white where it breaks against the rugged coastline. That very rugged coast creates currents and rip tides that can drag an unsuspecting swimmer out to sea or toss them against the sharp lava rocks. Either way the swimmer is likely toast so Beware.

Early on in our drive we stopped at a park. I wish I had written down the name for you. Sandy and I had found it the week before in our explorations. It’s on the left as you travel toward Hana. If you like big waves, this is a spot to check out. When we first found it, it was so wild that there weren’t any surfers but the waves were mesmerizing.

060

It was a calmer day when we stopped with the tour and surfers were out in force. Some were very young.

008

012

There were also vendors with things like jewelry and souvenirs on display.

We made a stop at a red sand beach. It gets its color from the iron in the sand. It rusts!

dsc_3809-copy

The little coral church we stopped at is Palapala Ho’omau Church, built in 1857, it’s known as the burial ground of prominent aviator, inventor, explorer, author and activist Charles Lindbergh.

045

Forty-one years after his infamous non-stop solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927, Charles moved to Maui and settled in the remote area of Kipahulu, seeking privacy, beauty and simplicity. You can find the grave of both Charles and his wife under the shade of a Java plum tree at the limestone coral church.

046

A small choral group was practicing when we arrived. It was beautiful. We all stood respectfully while they sang Amazing Grace.

047 Our guide skipped the Garden of Eden stop which surprised me. I’d heard a lot about this attraction. Maybe he skipped it because there is a fee.

Garden Of Eden Arboretum

“It’s worth paying to enjoy walking the grounds, which are immaculately kept up and offer all kinds of photo opportunities. Here you can see an 100 year-old mango tree, bamboo, ocean views and Puohokamoa Falls.”

You can find a list of stops online and many shops sell ‘Guided tour” CD’s but everything takes time.