Queens Bath

This is a good picture of Queen's Bath (above) that wasn't taken by me but it gives you a good view of the whole thing.  Queen's Bath is another lava pool, but it's right on the open ocean,  unlike "Secret Lava Pools" -- see previous post below -- which were at least 50 feet "inland," or away from the ocean.   You can see from the picture above and below that there are a few lower lying areas of the lava rocks where waves can come in easier, allowing water to move in and out to refresh the pool. When the surf is low, you never really have any waves coming in and pushing you around in Queen's Bath.  You can just enjoy a calm and relaxing swim, in a really cool "hidden" place, because you're protected by the lava rocks around you.  But when the surf is high, you better watch out because after a large wave has crashed in, the surf can pull you back out into the open ocean with it.  

Well, our trip in late September was not technically "winter time" when the surf is usually high on the North Shore, but it was certainly at the very end of the calm Summer surf season. 

   While we were watching others in the Bath, before we got in, Matt & I didn't observe any problem with the surf.  As you can see in the 2 pictures below, the last bit of the white/foamy part of the waves were making it into the bath, but nothing too big or dangerous.  When we were ready, Matt and I climbed down and got in.  We swam around, snorkeled a bit, and basically enjoyed the "gem" we had found that was described in our guide book. 

Eventually, Matt got out so that he could get some more pictures of me.  It was after he exited that there were 3 or 4 HUGE waves that rolled in, one right after another, while I was still in there.  At first, several people and I who were still in the bath, were caught off gaurd and were pushed further towards the back of the "pool" of water.  But then, after the 2nd and 3rd wave crashed in, it started to get a little scary.  I was probably the

 closest person to where the waves were entering, so when each subsequent wave came in, it didn't affect me as much as some of the people who were further back.  Some of THEM were starting to get slammed into the lava rocks, and from our vantage point, we couldn't see if there were any more waves on their way in.  One more wave would've put me in a bad position.  So I yelled up to Matt, and he said I had about 30 seconds before the next wave was coming & for me to get out of there.  You better believe that I busted a move & swam to the exit point and climbed out! (I don't think I've ever swam that fast in my life!)    I wasn't ever in mortal danger -- and after we got out, there weren't any more HUGE waves coming in like the ones I experienced while in there.   But we saw one guy who got out after me, who was totally bleeding and scraped up on his back from being pushed into the rocks by the waves. 

I'm not sure I described this whole scenario very well, but I'll just say that it was a little scary for a few minutes there, and it was definitely a wake-up call about the power of the ocean, how unforgiving the waves and rocks can be and how unpredictable the ocean is.

(here we go again with this stupid underlining again . . . Oh well.)  Anyway, this picture above was a pretty shot I took of the surf crashing over the lava rock, as we were walking back on the "trail" towards our car.  Below was another pretty spot we passed on our walk back.  I love the contrast between the rough black rocks, soft lush green plants, and the foamy white sea spray.

After a swim in the ocean (or lava pools), it's always a little uncomfortable to have that sticky salty feeling on your skin.  Luckily, many places have a fresh water source nearby to wash off in.  On the trail back to the car from Queen's Bath, there was this pretty little waterfall - with easy access - to wash off in and then we were ready to go to the next place in comfort.