Upward I Look: Coconut Island

When our friends asked us if we wanted to go on a private tour of Coconut Island (located in the middle of Kaneohe Bay), I had to think about it... NOPE! I instantly said yes. I would have cleared the calendar! It is a private research area and you can only tour it if you pay for a tour or overnight excursion, or if you are invited by someone who works there. What a blessing to be invited!

This island has a very interesting history. For starters, it is the island in the opening credits of Gilligan's Island! We literally went on a three hour tour :) Haha!

We had to wait for the boat ferry to take us over from this dock.

This is my friend "P". She is such a sweet friend.

And Cambria enjoys playing with her daughter.

They loved the boat ride even though it only took about 45 seconds :).

Here is M, one of the scientists doing research on the island. She works with sponges and coral in the bay and on the reefs around the islands and around the world. She regularly goes to Fiji as well!

This is a barge that goes out to the coral and sucks off bad algae from the coral with a giant vacuum. Then they separate the bad algae from the good and reintroduce it.

The island used to entertain the queen before it was sold to the heir to the Fleishman's Yeast company, Christian Holmes. He also used to have a tuna company called Coral Tuna. He made the island much larger by taking the coral and sand that was dredged from the bay and adding it to the existing land to shape it into the island he wanted. He made tuna holding ponds,

swimming pools for his kids,

and areas for his multiple exotic animals like his pet elephant to play.... When he died in 1944, almost all of the exotic animals went to start up the Honolulu Zoo. After he died, it became a military rest and relaxation retreat. Then in 1947 a group of 5 wealthy investors bought it and shared it, before one of them purchased it from the rest and owned it all. His name was Edwin Pauley. He hosted many famous people on the island including Harry Truman, Lyndon B. Johnson, Red Skelton, Richard Nixon, and Ronald Reagan.

In 1951, Pauley gave part of the island to the University of Hawaii for a research station. And in the 1980's, a Japanese investor purchased half of the land. In 1995, the Pauley estate gave UH the necessary money to buy the rest of the island from the investor.

This lawn was the sight of the first Japanese shelling right before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The planes came directly over this part of Coconut Island where a worker was cleaning up from a party. When he saw all the planes and looked over at the Marine Corps Base (with all of its planes grounded), he realized that they didn't belong to the US and he started to run. They saw him running and started to shoot at him in case he would try to alert Pearl Harbor. He was able to avoid death by diving behind a drink bar.

We finally saw a Hammerhead! They have a few in one of the ponds for research. Apparently this species doesn't often attack humans. There are few if any stories of hammerheads attacking people in Hawaii. Most of the shark attacks come from Tiger sharks.

We were able to see and touch many of the organisms in the bay in this little tide pool.

And we learned you DO NOT touch these pretty shells. Apparently they are very poisonous. One woman touched one and was paralyzed for 6 months! Good to know.

These corals are part of M's research. She helps optimize their fertilization process. She has to come to the facility at just the right time (like three days after the full moon, in just the right conditions. Apparently they are particular about when they release their sperm and eggs. She collects them and causes the chances of fertilization to be optimally successful. I told her I wanted to be a marine biologist for most of my childhood. She wanted to know what changed my mind, and we talked about that for a while. I think I wanted a career that was more needed worldwide. And I know I wouldn't have been able to do all that she does with her traveling and late night while having a family. She doesn't have kids. There's always a tradeoff. She was very encouraging though and said that I could jump back in anytime and that there are always volunteer positions available to counting or helping scientists there. Maybe someday then! I thought all of it sounded very interesting.