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Kapapa Island in Kaneohe Bay
Posted: July 11, 2008
I kayaked to Kapapa Island with some Hawaiian Trail & Mountain Club (HTMC) friends to prepare for our kayaking and hiking trip along the Na Pali Coast of Kauai. Kapapa Island is a small flat island about 2-miles offshore in the south central portion of Kaneohe Bay.
We launched our kayaks from Heeia Kea Boat Harbor and paddled towards the sand bar in the middle of Kaneohe Bay. There is usually a persistent head wind when paddling out towards the sand bar, but there was no wind that day which made the water calm and kayaking easy.
When we reached the middle of Kaneohe Bay, more than 20 boats were anchored on the edge of the sand bar. Since peak low-tide had past several hours earlier, the sand bar was no longer exposed and people were wading in shallow water. In the photo above, Kapapa Islet is the flat island on the horizon to the right.
There were a number of honu or Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles swimming in the clear waters of the bay as we paddled in the shallows over the sand bar. In the background are the Koolau Mountain peaks of Konahuanui, Lanihuli and Keahiakahoe from left to right.
Since there was no head wind to impede our progress, we reached Kapapa quickly and with little effort. Kapapa Islet encompasses an area of 9.5 acres and is a popular destination for fishing and kayaking. While we were on Kapapa, we were pleasantly surprised to see several fellow HTMC members pull up on the island in their kayaks.
Trails encircle and criss-cross Kapapa Island whose highest elevation is just 14 feet above sea level. As we made our way along the trails, we saw a number of native plants such as naupaka kahakai, ilima, kaunaoa, hinahina, pa’u-o-hi-iaka, and milo.
The prostrate form of ilima — known as ilima papa – thrives on Kapapa Island and produces large numbers of yellow-orange flowers as it crawls over the landscape.
Near the middle of the island we stumbled on a colony of wedge-tailed shearwaters or ‘ua’u kani in a grove of ironwood trees. Wedge-tailed shearwaters (Puffinus pacificus) are seabirds that are indigenous to the Hawaiian Islands.
Wedge-tailed shearwaters are dusty brown in color with white breast feathers. They have a hooked bill, long thin wings, and a wedge-shaped tail. A number of birds were nesting at the base of iron woods trees.
Other shearwaters had dug burrows in the sand to nest. The breeding season for wedge-tailed shearwaters is from February to November. Breeding pairs usually lay a single white egg in burrows or natural crevices.
For reasons unknown, we saw several of shearwater eggs lying unprotected on the ground under ironwood trees not far from a small fishing heiau made from limestone and coral rocks. Kapapa Island was an important fishing spot to the Hawaiians who used it as a base of operations when fishing off Kaneohe Bay.
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SOURCES:
Division of Forestry and Wildlife, Fact Sheet on Wedge-Tailed Shearwater, Dept of Land and Natural Resources, State of Hawaii, March 11, 2005
Division of Forestry and Wildlife, Oahu Offshore Island Seabird Habitat Restoration and Monitoring Program Progress Report, April 1, 2006, Dept of Land and Natural Resources, State of Hawaii, August 1006
Division of Forestry and Wildlife, Botanical Survey of Oahu Offshore Islets, Forest Starr and Kim Starr, Pg 66-77, Dept of Land and Natural Resources, State of Hawaii
Sites of Oahu by Elizabeth Sterling and Catherine Summers, pg. 196, Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1978
Nice pictures, did you know that there are only about 1/3 the iron wood trees left. I have been going to Kapapa since the mid 70′s and have seen campers cut down the trees because they did not think to bring their own firewood. I have also seen many times where campers have left large amounts of trash on the island, and I have hauled some of it back to be disposed of. It is a fantastic place, I just wish people would be respectful of it and not cut down the trees. Maybe some signs could be posted.
I too wonder why there are so many eggs out in the open this year.
Anyway, I enjoyed your photos.
Glad you enjoyed the photos. It’s too bad irresponsible people cut down the trees for firewood and trash the place. Good thing people like you clean up after them and take care of the island. There wasn’t much trash when we were there. You’re right… Kapapa Island is a fantastic place and needs to respected.