Big Island Buyer's Brokers

As the days shorten and the evenings cool under sparkling stars, our thoughts turn to the wonders of winter on the Big Island.

To the unpracticed eye it may appear that the tropics change very little from season to season, but those of us who are enjoying life in paradise will beg to differ. For instance, the giant, charging Pacific Blue Marlin that lurk around our deep sea ledges have migrated away from our shores, following the vast schools of ahi south into warmer climes as the north Pacific leans away from the heat of the sun for a few months. Almost on cue we have seen the arrival of schools of mahimahi, streaking just under the waves in hot pursuit of flying fish as the Frigate Birds swoop and wheel just inches from the white caps. Instead of a summer menu of grilled ahi with Caesar salad and white rice, we are now looking forward to roasted red potatoes, and sauteed mahimahi in a silky meuniere sauce with fresh asparagus.

One of the most remarkable harbingers of the winter season, however, is the Kolea, or Pacific Golden Plover. These beautiful birds spend their summers in Alaska, where they rear their young very, very quickly before the iron vise of winter ice closes upon those rich tundra bogs, leaving just a few hardy arctic species to endure the darkness. The little fledglings must gain enough weight and strength to fly non-stop over the vast, blue face of the Pacific, 2000 miles, night and day, to reach Hawaii’s verdant pastures. Only the hardiest will survive, and no one seems to know how many are lost to fatigue in the blue folds of the sea.

Waimea, or “Kamuela” as our Post Office is named, is one of the favorite spots for the Kolea to winter, and you can see them now scooting through the pastures snagging succulent morsels or gliding swiftly across the face of the wind just a few feet above the waves of kikuyu grass that ripple down the slopes of our beautiful hills.

By late Spring the males will sport bright, golden feathers, as though reflecting the warm, Hawaiian sunlight for their long flight back to the arctic. Hawaii has been hosting winter-worn souls since long before the footfalls of the first weary travelers made deep prints in her sands. The years ahead will bring more and more as the weight of winters accumulates upon the Baby Boomers. We worry about over-crowding, traffic and fragile natural resources, while the Kolea worries only about her children and the empty reaches of the sea that lie between her two homes.

Imua!

Bill Jardine
Big Island Buyers Brokers – An Exclusive Buyers Agency

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