Just around the corner
from where I am living
in Princeville Kauai
is a steep path
that descends to the ocean
Daily dozens of car loads of tourists
come to bathe
in the Queen's Bath
Curious, I thought it was time
I took a look at the Queen's bath
so early one morning
I made my way
down the red dirt track
passing little waterfalls
tumbling over lava rock boulders
that made their way into small pools
but hardly what you would call
a regal bath
and finally emerging at the ocean
mindful of the fact
that it was almost a year to the day
that I broke my left ankle
I decided not to clamber over
the rugged lava rock
in search of royal ablutions
but it appears that in the past
others have taken
greater risks than me
so I returned up the pathway
under the pandanus trees
and following the call
of little brown birds
I walked along the bluff
above the ocean
hoping I could see what it was
that enticed the holiday makers
down onto the hot black rocks
I could not see much
other than the brown nameless birds
and the plainer coloured females
and then I noticed that I was in
Wedge-tailed Shearwater territory
I skirted a patch of cactus
and almost fell down a hole
the Shearwaters nest in burrows
up to two feet long
that the birds make
in the cliff top
They are a dusky brown bird
with white breast feathers,
thin wings, a hooked bill
and wedge shaped tail
They lay a single egg in June
and take turns at incubation stints
The father does the honours first
while the mother goes to sea to fish
for about 10 days at a time
Hawaii Information Image
The chick hatches after 50 days
and initially is fed stomach oil then solids
At 3.5 months the parents stop feeding the chick
For two weeks they go without food
testing their wings and learning to fly
When they have all their adult feathers they fledge
and go off to to sea
to find their own food
the neighbourhood dogs are a problem
in this colony
The birds cannot stand upright on their legs
and have difficulty moving about on land
The Hawaiian name
for the Wedge-tailed Shearwater is ua'u kani
which means calling or moaning sea bird/petrel
due to their long oooo-errr call
I cautiously return to the ascending path
grateful that it is a dry day
and the red dirt is not slippery clay-mud
through the jungle
and home
No, this is not my house
but I love the gardens...
and proceeded to look up Mr Google
for pictures of the Queen's Bath
which does look rather enticing
on a calm day
but the sea is unpredictable
and the waves
can come crashing through
I think I'll do my swimming
in the safety of Hanalei Bay
*
