Kealakekua Bay and Capt’n Cook Monument

We spent the day snorkeling and paddling in Kealakekua Bay. The bay is an important historic location because it marks the site where the first westerner, Captain James Cook, landed on the island of Hawaii. Cook was the first British explorer to establish contact with the Hawaiian Islands in 1778 on Kauai. Only a year later, he was killed in a skirmish with Native Hawaiians right here in Kealakekua Bay. A white obelisk on the shore of Kealakekua Bay State Historical Park memorializes his death. On the east side of the bay there is also the Hikiau heiau (sacred temple) dedicated to the Hawaiian god, Lono.Read more