Part 2: Coffee and Manta Rays
After breakfast on Thursday morning, it was time for a swim and play at Magic Sands Beach and then a drive up the side of the old Hualalai Volcano, to 3200 feet of elevation, to Mountain Thunder Coffee Plantation. Here we tasted their different coffees, took a tour of the processing area, and learned about their coffee making. It takes about two years for their coffee to get to market, including Co-Operative growing of the year’s crop, harvesting the beans, then sorting, roasting, and packaging of the coffee. The company harvests about 60,000 pounds of coffee per year, with only 60% of the beans ever making it into their coffee products. Their coffee has a shelf life of about one year and their blonde coffee is the strongest of their coffees. We then walked their nature trail in the cloud forest ecosystem, seeing rows of coffee trees with beans in various stages of growth. Mixed into the foliage was the Hawaiian Ti plant, (the “Good Luck” plant), with its colorful leaves that were used by the Hawaiian Chiefs and worn around their neck during rituals. The large leaves are also used to thatch roofs. Only 2.5% of the world’s forests are similar to this Cloud Forest. The Cloud Forest is characterized by persistent, low-level cloud cover, and abundant moss-covered ground and vegetation. At the Mountain Thunder Coffee Farms, the current annual rainfall exceeds 100 inches a year, and that amount of moisture gives rise to huge Hawaiian ferns. Among the branches were chameleons, cockatoos, and apapanes (bright red birds also known as “the Hawaiian Honeycreeper”), Ōhi‘a lehua trees, (the dominant tree above 1,300 ft. and principal colonizer of recent lava flows), and a local lava tube which is 40 feet deep and 60 feet wide.
At the end of the trail, we reached an observation deck overlooking the 7-acre farm of all organic coffee and a small amount of tea. Hawaii is the only U.S. state to commercially grow and harvest coffee. Although coffee is grown on several Hawaii Islands, Kona Coffee is the most-sought after and highly prized. All of their coffee is grown in the cloud forest and is picked by hand. After leaving, we stopped in town at the Kona Farmers market and looked at all the produce, crafts, and wares. Then we returned to the house for lunch and swim time.
After a restful afternoon and a snack, early that evening we set off for our evening snorkel with the Manta Rays! We drove a short ways north of town to the Marina at Honokohau Bay where we met the “Bite Me Sport Fishing Company” for their sunset Manta Ray viewing. Everyone put on wetsuits, climbed onto their boat, and took a 25-minutes ride north until we were just offshore of the airport and in shallow water (20 ft.) We entered the water with snorkels and masks, and the crew deployed 3 surfboards, each equipped with batteries, downward facing floodlights, and hold-on loops. The lights attract plankton which attracts the Manta Rays. In the growing darkness, one holds onto the rope loop on the surf board and uses a floatation “noodle” to keep your legs at or near the surface. Then we wait and watch with our face masks in the water. Soon, the Manta Rays came and they began to slowly cruise beneath us. Once they were used to us the manta started swimming somersaults, turning over, swallowing plankton, and showing off all their beauty. There were males and females of various sizes, but most were between 6-10 ft. wide. The longer we stayed the more Manta Rays came with some mirroring each other in a spontaneous, elegant dance. It was truly fantastic! After an hour more of viewing, we got back on the boat for warm showers and snacks and then returned to marina. Then it was back to the house to shower, grab a snack, and relax.
