"Kokei" - Hawaiian Style

Forget what you thought you knew!

If you’re familiar with lawn croquet you, are in for a real surprise when you try it Hawaii-style on a typical lava lawn in Puna on the Big Island.  Before discussing the game itself, however, we must define the word “lawn.”  First, understand that there is “real” lava just a couple inches under your feet – new raw land less than 1000 years young.  And, what your eye may identify as “green” is usually not any lawn you may be familiar with on the continent. 

Kokei Queens: Gemma, Kate, Lunel, Judith, Lucina & Linda

A typical lava lawn is comprised of a variety of creeping short blade grasses, an assortment of wild grasses, a mix of weeds (for which you are actually thankful) and a colorful assortment of delicate ground hugging vines that produce tiny yellow, blue, pink and white flowers in profusion – just before you have to mow it. There is very little “soil” per se, but there is usually a layer of rough medium grade cinder that results in unevenness footing.  Over a period of years, of course, the grass clippings slowly become a growing medium and at one point it may even visually resemble a typical lawn.

Wait a minute!  How'd that ball get over there!! Really!

The fact that the balls rarely actually travel in the direction they are struck can be both a source of hilarity and frustration as we discovered at a party recently when six girlfriends decided to play.  Balls bounced over rough spots, leaped over pickets, ambled past fruit tree roots, and fell into divots that nearly envelop them.  

Midway through the game, after examining the mallet, I noticed that the rubber ends had been warped over time by the tropic heat; they looked exactly like uneven innie and outie belly buttons.  Choosing between the better of two butt ends, I began to develop my swing strategy, and tightened my grip.  In doing so, I recognized it was similar to using the pick axe to break up and clear out lava for planting.  We had a blast ambling around the course juggling wine glasses and melted mallets.  However, my pick axe strategy did eventually pay off when I came in first place!