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I am always trying to find a relaxing vacation destination with fossils attached. The usual philosophy about the Hawaiian Islands is that they have no fossils because of their recent volcanic origins. Well surprise! The island of Kauai (the oldest Hawaiian island) has Holocene fossils in the south of the island. In May we visited Kauai and I visited the Makaheni lithified cliffs. The fossils being Holocene are really recent but the location is so spectacular that the geology would stun any fossil lover. This is a location you could take the non-fossil hunters in the family and they would like it too. Besides, hey, it’s Kauai! Makaheni is a lithified calcareous dune deposit that includes limestone sea cliff caves a sinkhole, and fossils. To quote the literature, “The lithified sand dunes that form Makawehi (also known as the Paa Ridge) accumulated as sand dunes during the last “high stand” of the sea, about 125,000 years ago. As sea levels lowered at the peak of the Ice Age (about 18,000 years ago), reaching its lowest point of around 360–400 feet below the present sea level, the dunes occupied a more inland position. From there, volcanic ash deposited onto the dunes and a coastal forest began to flourish. Rain percolated through the sand which partially dissolved some of the skeletal and coral grain sands. Calcite crystals grew around the sand grains and within the pore space between the grains, locking together to produce the cement that changed the carbonate sand into carbonate sandstone, also known as limestone. As the Ice Age ended glaciers melted, resulting in a rise in sea level. Waves eroded much of the dune and formed what is now Keoneloa Bay. Makawehi point is being undercut by continual wave erosion. The huge blocks of limestone that lie at the base of these cliffs are examples of that erosion. Caution: Stay well back from the edge.” The obvious fossils are coral, gastropods, and wood. Many more are found in the caves and are well documented in this publication- “FOSSIL EVIDENCE FOR A DIVERSE BIOTA FROM KAUA‘I AND ITS TRANSFORMATION SINCE HUMAN ARRIVAL DAVID A. BURNEY,et al 2001” If anyone has resources to help me id these fossils please let me know, as I can’t find much in the online literature. One piece of advice I would give to any visitors to Kauai – don’t go in the off season as it was 89 degrees with 95% humidity. The 89 degrees was OK but the humidity makes it feel so hot it’s hard to focus. I sweated from places I didn’t even know I had! Also they request that you do not take fossils from the cliff. I scavenged where the base of the cliff touches the tideline because the sea was going to turn them into sand very soon anyhow. I actually brought very few home with me but took lots of pictures. Great fossil and geo fun trip!