Volunteer Account: Jaap:
"After an overnight on cork-dry Poopoo we were ready to be picked up and taken to the next sites. Heather and Jiny were headed to Puupehe, which we could see from our vantage point on Poopoo, and I was to be taken to a small offshore rock named Kiei. We spotted Howard’s helicopter, but he flew right past us and apparently landed on the Lanai shore. A few minutes later, however he was back, after dropping his doors off on shore, and soon we had dropped off Heather and Jiny and were on our way to Kiei. Now, I had only seen the islet on a picture and had never been to the area, so finding the islet was a bit challenging. We flew past the shark fin-shaped Moku Noio so I knew we were on the right track, but it was quite a bit further than I thought it would be. When we finally flew over Kiei I immediately recognized it and the pinnacles of Nanahoa on the other side of the bay. The islet is small and but a stone’s throw from shore, and it basically consists of three levels. The lower shelf contains a lot of tidal pools, the middle shelf is fairly level and contains some overhangs under where most of the shearwater nests were, and the top level slopes up to a small plateau dominated by Ilima and Waltheria. Overall there was not a lot of vegetation on the islet, mostly the aforementioned species and some Haole Koa, Hairy Abutilon, a patch of Ohelo Kai and on the lower level some Akulikuli. On the top there were three Guinea grass plants, which I pulled and threw into the water after going through the leaves and roots searching for and collecting arthropods. The collection was a challenge. I sweepnetted every single plant on the islet and turned every stone. Occasionally I had to dip into a tide pool or sit in the shade to cool off as it was incredibly hot in the sun. The whole coastline seemed empty and scorched, with only dead vegetation as far as I could see. I enjoyed the solitude for a bit, but was relieved when I heard a helicopter and saw Howard approaching with Heather hanging out the door taking pictures. I was ready head back to Maui and rehydrate."