Wednesday 11 December 2013

Let there be ENERGY (NELHA & wind turbines on day 7 )

It's hard to miss those solar-panel-covered structures on the way form the airport to town.  They are the home of the 

Hawaii Ocean Science & Technology Park


And they give a 2 hour Energy Tour & Presentation on Tuesdays at 10 am.  So at their door I am at 9:55 ;-)
There I am informed that the Energy Tour happens every Tuesday, EXCEPT today.  The German expression 'in die Roehre gucken' literally translates as "to look into the pipe/tube'. It means 'to look for something that one had expected but is not there' and fittingly there is a very large pipe for me to look into right next to the visitor's centre ;-)
What a nice way to camouflage metal railings

staring into the tube !


So here I am at 10:05 with a full tank of gas. Ah well, let's see what kind of beach they have here at NELHA
Not quite a beach, but still VERY pretty ;-)
and then head towards the wind turbines in Hawi, I think.
North Kohala in the background

Maui in the distance

Mauna Kea in the distance



But this time I decide to head to Waimea first, to get something to eat and to take the mountain road to Hawi. The road from the coast to Waimea is one of the windiest places I have been in my whole life.

  Already during our stint here last year we had trouble opening the car doors. And it is not any different this year.









 I was TRYING to keep a straight face, but it was TOO WINDY  ;-)













In Waimea I get FABULOUS Mahi-Mahi Teriyaki in the food court of a local mini-mall.
Thus strengthened, I head into the hills.  
NOT THESE HILLs!
The REAL HILLS:




Even the telescopes look closer even though that's a different hill ;-)

But every hill has to become a valley again at some point ;-)  I head down into the lush GREEN eastern parts (they scoop up the rain)




Ever seen Twin Peaks ?
Bulls & Ocean

Think Michael Jackson with backup singers !

 On the way back to the highway, a brief terror of stampeding cows.  Cowboys these days work on 4-wheelers !

 After the fabulous visitor centre I kind of expected to be able to visit the temple, but those ghost-like sticks tell me otherwise. 



a spectacular unspectacular sunset 

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