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Punaluu Beach Park (Black Sand Beach) Review

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Punaluu Beach Park (Black Sand Beach)

Address: Hwy. 11, 27 mi south of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, HI | Map It
Phone: 808/961-8311

Category: Beaches
Location: Kau

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Fodor's Review:

The endangered Hawaiian green sea turtle nests in the black sand of this beautiful and easily accessible beach. You can see them feeding on the seaweed along the surf break or napping on the sand. You can even swim with the turtles; they're used to people and will swim along right next to you. (Resist the urge to touch them, though.) However, strong shoreward currents make being in the water here a hazard. Don't venture far out, and avoid going out past the boat ramp as very strong rip currents are active. It's quite rocky in the water, even close to shore—you might want to bring a pair of reef shoes if you plan to swim. The beach is a long black-sand crescent backed by low dunes with some rocky outcroppings at the shoreline. It's not usually a tranquil spot, though, since the turtles attract big groups of picture-snapping visitors. At its northern end, near the boat ramp, lie the ruins of Kaneeleele Heiau, an old Hawaiian temple. This area used to be a sugar port until the tidal wave of 1946 destroyed the buildings. Inland is a memorial to Henry Opukahaia. In 1809, when he was 17, Opukahaia swam out to a fur-trading ship in the harbor and asked to sign up as a cabin boy. When he reached New England, he entered the Foreign Mission School in Connecticut, but he died of typhoid fever in 1818. His dream of bringing Christianity to the Islands inspired the American Board of Missionaries to send the first Protestant missionaries to Hawaii in 1820.

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