Chinaman's Hat, Hawaii, USA

This postcard is in the minority in my collection as it wasn't received through Postcrossing - and not even through Facebook! I've been in touch with Anne in Hawaii, swapping zines, stickers and tea, and once I asked her if she had any spare postcards she could send me (I don't have too many from Hawaii and it looks so beautiful there). She did ;) This is one of them, one of my favourites, although it was difficult to pick just one as they are all so beautiful.

Mokoliʻi is a 5.1 ha, 63 m tall basalt island 0.54 km offshore of Kualoa Point, Oahu, in Kāne'ohe Bay, Hawaii. Geologically, it used to be connected to Oahu before erosion cut it off. It is also known as "Chinaman's Hat" for its likeness to the straw hats Chinese immigrants wore. Wedge-tailed Shearwaters are the only species of bird that nests here; previously there were a few.

Mokoliʻi is open to the public from dawn to dusk. On weekends it is somewhat a popular secret with tourists and locals. It can be accessed by kayak, boat, surfboard, or by swimming; depth soundings are only four feet on its west side. This may be dangerous during any other time or inclement weather. The area is home to stonefish, and sharks are often seen around the island, often in early mornings.