Shoreline Park North

Check out these aerial photos of Hokulia’s Shoreline Park North.

Kuleana Consulting LLC has been working since 2018 with the Hokulia Development and the State of Hawaii to create a world-class archaeological park along the shoreline adjacent to the Hokulia project. This collaboration is enhancing preservation efforts as well as recreational opportunities for the community as a whole.

The park features a public-access trail running the full length of the property, as well as rest areas to sit and enjoy the ocean breeze and views of the cultural landscape as it once existed throughout the Kona coast. Pu’u Ohau, a sacred hill and prominent landmark that divides the districts of North and South Kona, marks the center of the park, creating a Shoreline Park North and Shoreline Park South.

We are presently working in Shoreline Park South, clearing the way for the public-access trail and several spur trails to afford travelers close-up views of dozens of preserved ancient sites. The north side has come a long way since we started our work. Four years ago, our team faced a wall of invasive overgrowth that had hidden these sacred sites from view since the area was abandoned to ranching in the early 1800s. All of our work is done with utmost care under the watchful eye of archaeological monitors, using hand tools to avoid damaging ancient sites.

Thanks to Bob Cowell for these drone photos of the park and surrounding environs.

This October 2018 photo, looking north toward Kailua-Kona, shows the north side in the early months of development.

In October 2018, Hokukano Village still lay hidden beneath a thick overgrowth of Kiawe, Hale Koa, Opiuma and other invasive species.

In this photo taken in September 2020, the newly constructed public access trail meanders through the lava landscape toward Pu’u Ohau.

The public-access trail skirts the base of the north slope of Pu’u Ohau. The upper wall is a buffer meant to dissuade travelers from leaving the trail. The lower wall is a rock underlayment, giving the trail a secure base while transcending the slope. The walls are all fashioned by hand, Hawaiian style, by our excellent crew of dedicated artisans.

Hokukano Village is visible in this September 2020 aerial photo, after clearing of the overgrowth. The village was a vibrant center of Hawaiian coastal culture from the 1500s through the late 1800s. The village area is owned by the State of Hawaii and leased to the park. One hundred percent of the sites within the Shoreline Park are preserved and protected. The Park was designed to ensure a respectful distance between park patrons and the protected ancient sites. Visitors are encouraged to stay on the trails when enjoying the park. Mahalo!

April 12, 2022 0

Protection

Protective traditional rock wall buffers that enhance the landscape while protecting the highly sensitive materials within. Often these permanent buffers are placed where further construction is going to occur nearby, even up close to the buffer itself. The site could be large like this one that protects an entire lava tube with entombed remains present, or it could be small like on a residential lot. Typically the buffers are placed twenty feet from the perimeter of the site to be preserved. Hawaiians of old buried there dead in caves, lava blisters, next to a tree, in the cinder cones of Mauna Kea, with the full expectation that their ancestor’s bones would be safe and secure for all time. Helping to secure that safety has been our lifetime mission and why we created Kuleana Consulting, LLC. In the Hawaiian world this type of work feeds the soul. Working to preserve and protect, keep the culture alive and teach the children well. Jim Medeiros Jr. is our wall master craftsman and our crew’s skills are constantly growing under his direction. Nice work, kid.

April 27, 2021 0

An Old Path Meets A New Road

The Ala Loa Stepping Stone Trail once traversed the entire island of Hawaii. Built in the early 1500s, the trail in some areas was made of singular water-worn stones, laid one after another like an old narrow country road. In others, the stones were laid several feet wide to allow passage of carts loaded with goods and human-drawn chariots carrying the Alii from one point to another. Once a year, the King’s men would travel the route collecting taxes from the working-class families that inhabited the many distinct ahupua’a along the way. In this area of the Kona Coast, where Pu’u Ohau defines the boundary between North and South Kona, the trail connected the heavily populated royal enclaves of Kailua-Kona and Kealakekua Bay. Along this stretch, it looked more like a superhighway, several stones wide. The modern world began to encroach on the Ala Loa in the 1800s, and by the year 2000 many areas of the trail had been destroyed and possibly lost forever. But thanks to many concerned individuals and groups, as well as the state and federal government, many segments of the trail have been found and restored. Efforts are being made to educate the public and developers about the extreme importance of protecting the trail from further damage. A broader attempt to restore access to the trail across sensitive areas so that it might serve as a contiguous route around the island, as it did in times past, has been ongoing for 40 years or more.

Pictured above was a conundrum we faced as we worked to preserve segments of the trail within the Hokulia project. The old trail alignment and a new road leading to the Shoreline Park at the project were in juxtaposition — trapping the project, you might say, between a rock and a hard place. The contractor and the archeologists at work on the road were unsure how to satisfy the needs of both the past and the present. They called on Kuleana Consulting’s head honcho, Jim Medeiros Sr., a lineal descendant of these same lands, for consultation. This result is this beautiful crossing, which was created by our team of native Hawaiian workers under the direction of project staff archeologists. The men were so proud and ecstatic to do this work, to restore a piece of their forefathers’ culture in this way. “I’ve never seen a work crew more happy,” Jim Medeiros said afterward.

December 4, 2020 0

Preserving the Past, Moulding the Future

For the past two years, Jim and his son Jim Jr. and their crew have been working to bring to life the Shoreline Park and Public Access Trail along the South Kona Coast adjacent to the Hokulia development. The park and trail will run the full length of the project, meandering through the lava fields along the cliffs. The pathway is endowed with numerous historic and culturally significant sites to view and reflect upon, as well as expansive views of the blue Pacific splashing ceaselessly along the shoreline and the green slopes of the South Kona uplands. Many of these sites have been overgrown and hidden by invasive plant species. Removing the invasives and nurturing the native plants has opened up the sites to the light of day once again. On the southern end, the Public Access Trail will join with the ancient 15th-century Ala Loa trail and continue southward.

October 29, 2020 0

A Sense of Peace and Satisfaction

Twenty years ago, when Jim Medeiros Sr. first stood his ground in defense of his native Hawaiian ancestors, it was all about emotion — especially anger. At that time, anger had its place: There is no fury like a righteous warrior unleashed.

But there comes a time when anger must be transformed into positive action.

Once the warrior reaches the negotiating table and gains the power to take a seat at the table where decisions are made, he must be able to articulate what he wants. Embracing reason, depth and purity of purpose and the energy to turn dreams into solid, three-dimensional results takes much more than anger. It takes love. It takes forgiveness and vision, on all sides. That’s the Hawaiian way — respect for each other’s dreams.

When the result of our actions is more preservation, knowledge and protection for Hawaii of old, along with deeper practice and growth of the culture in the present, all involved experience greater peace and satisfaction.

Those actions Jim took years ago have grown and evolved over time and resulted in the birth of Kuleana Consulting, LLC. Through his commitment and positive action our mission to preserve and protect has flowered and resulted in the preservation of and protection for hundreds of sites all over Hawaii. We are happy to share our experience and examples of our work for you to enjoy.

October 29, 2020 0