NIHOKU — Andy Hamano had his sights set on the horizon Friday morning during a four-hour hike through Nihoku, or Crater Hill, at Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge.
He’s a volunteer with Save Our Shearwaters and has an admitted love for birds, but it wasn’t the Newell’s shearwaters, frigates, red-footed boobies, or tropicbirds, that he wanted to experience.
“You can’t get here anymore, unless it’s through this hike,” he said as he stood at the edge of a cliff overlooking a red-footed booby colony, where dozens of birds were perched in trees and diving overhead in wide arches.
He continued: “There used to be people up here all the time, they even had tours. But, they stopped once they realized how much it was affecting the birds.”
Tom Bovee of Lihue was taking advantage of a chance to see one of his favorite places too, and said he’s been on the annual hike several times.
“I just love this area,” he said. “It’s good they have this hike so we can be up here.”
The Nihoku hike happens annually in October as part of the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge’s celebration of National Wildlife Refuge Week.
It’s a fairly difficult hike, but those who took on the challenge said the views and the birds made it rewarding.
“This is heaven on earth,” said Sally Magnuson, visiting from Kodiak, Alaska. “We’ve been trying to get onto this hike for years and haven’t been able to do it until now.”
Staff members with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife and volunteers with KPNWR led hikers to a good spot to photo the booby colony before climbing to the crest of Nihoku, or Crater Hill, for views of the Daniel K Inouye Kilauea Point Lighthouse.
Then the trail took hikers to an overlook for views of Mokolea Point and cliffs, where seabirds dart in and out and soar over white sandy beaches.
The place is important to Kilauea Town, said KPNWR’s Jennifer Waipa, because it was the entry point for supplies as well as the landing for visitors and some plantation immigrants.
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Jessica Else, environment reporter, can be reached at 245-0452 or at jelse@thegardenisland.com
