Day three: Journey to the center of the earth

Dr. Burney brought us to the sinkhole you all saw yesterday and the adjacent caves. We had to crawl through the entrance, but it was well worth it. He proceeded to explain essentially every crevice, its geologic history, and the story behind discovering it. He is a wealth of knowledge; it is amazing. Around lunch time, we ate on a nearby beach. I waded in the water and it felt so soft (it is a weird way of describing it but it’s applicable). There were fish stuck between rocks and a cool stream that fed into the ocean.

Then the adventure began! We trekked up the cliffs along the beach to an ancient fishing temple called a Heiau. This is pretty much a huge platform made from igneous rocks. Along the way, Dr. Burney showed us a rock with footprint fossils of an extinct giant duck. My archaeology research team recorded the GPS coordinates for the entire temple and for specific rocks. We were all pretty much exhausted by the time we got back to the field house.

We had a little break for dinner, which was much needed since we had lecture from 7 – 9 pm. Dr. Chuck Blay presented on the geology of the Hawaiian islands, more specifically that of Kauai. It was extremely informative and I would imagine would be super helpful for the hydrology research team.

Off to bed! Aloha!