Monk Seal Count Recap

On the Saturday of the monk seal count, I ended up being assigned the KoOlina zone. I'd never heard of any seals hanging out there, but I was told that every once in a while they spotted one. So, remembering that all of Oahu's coastline was to be surveyed and happy that I could do my part, I cheerfully took the assignment and hit the...rocks. Yep, KoOlina is an area of man-made coves and most of the natural coastline is rocky. Very rocky! The odds were stacked against me that I'd see anything I could report, but I got a great workout climbing on and around the rocks. You couldn't help but admire the views, either. I kept wondering if it would be more efficient to check out the area via kayak. Maybe I'll try to team up with somebody to do that next time.
Of all the Leeward areas, there was only one report of a seal that morning, on the lava rocks near a beach in an area known as "Tracks." It wasn't too far from KoOlina, and I was itching to get a picture with the camera gear I had with me, so I ended up driving out there and looking for the already-counted seal myself. I even struck out with that.