Take me there Tuesday: Menehune Fishpond Overlook at Hule'ia Nationwide Wildlife Refuge

Picture credit score to Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) / Daeja Fallas

The attractive and pristine Hule’ia National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1973 to guard threatened and endangered birds. Inside this peaceable space, alongside the Hule’ia Stream is an historic engineering feat — a fishpond. Historic Hawaiians designed a genius technique of capturing and elevating fish in fishponds. These ponds have been constructed within the ocean or close to inlet streams. Their buildings permits small fish to get inside, however then the fish keep within the pond and develop till they’re too giant to exit and ultimately are caught for dinner.

Menehune Pond at sundown. Picture credit score to KaRyle who share this photograph with us for Aloha Friday Photos

This fishpond is thought by a number of names, however the one we see mostly is the Menehune Pond as a result of legend of the way it was constructed. Per GoHawaii,

“The legend that surrounds the fishpond relies on the legendary Menehune, Hawaiʻi’s mischievous little individuals who carried out legendary engineering feats. The Menehune lived within the forest and hid from people. In response to Hawaiian legends, the Menehune constructed this complete fishpond in a single night time. They managed this superb job by lining up from the village of Makaweli for 25 miles, passing stones hand-to-hand to construct the pond. Although Menehune legends abound, some say the phrase might have derived from the Tahitian phrase manahune that means commoner, or small in social standing, not in bodily dimension.”

Menehune Pond is almost a thousand years outdated and is listed on the Nationwide Register of Historic Locations.

To get an incredible view of Menehune Pond and the Hule’ia Nationwide Wildlife Protect, discover the small pull out and overlook off of Hulemalu Highway. See this link to Google Maps to get instructions.