Marine biologist lives out her passion in Hawaii

By Ann Smith
Reporter

When former Idyllwild resident Kelsey Makida was featured in the May 20 issue of Travel + Leisure magazine in an article about a Hawaiian resort with a 1.8-million-gallon aquarium, we had to catch up to find out how this all came about.

Makida grew up in Idyllwild. She attended Idyllwild School and graduated from Hemet High School. Her next big move was to the University of Hawaii at Hilo where she earned her degree in marine biology.

Why marine biology? Makida admitted she fell in love with sea life when her mom took her to the Monterey Bay Aquarium when she was 4. She decided right then and there she was going to find a way to spend her life near the sea and the life within.

In keeping with her desire to live out a life in and near the ocean, Makida went to work for Blue Ocean Mariculture in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. According to Blue Ocean’s Facebook page, it is “the sole producer of Hawaiian Kanpachi: Premium yellowtail, responsibly raised in the deep blue waters off the Kona coast.” Mariculture is the cultivation of fish or other marine life for food.

She works as a marine biologist, spending her days at the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai Kumu Kai Marine Center at King’s Pond.

“There are so many different things to do,” she said.

The huge structure serves as a combination pool/aquarium where an on-site team of marine biologists work alongside one another. The environment is one of natural beauty where visitors can learn about ocean preservation. “Carved into lava rock, this semi salt-water pool features a sand bottom and is home to more than 1,000 tropical fish,” writes the Four Seasons in a press release.

To quote Makida as she appears in a video produced by the resort, “I think a lot of people are going to be shocked. King’s Pond is just so natural in its own unique way — just coming and jumping in the water and seeing an eagle ray swim up to you. Even more so now, I feel like there’s just so much more opportunity for just that disconnect from stress and relaxation. I mean, there’s just a swimming pool next to a one-and-a-half-million-gallon aquarium pond. Where else are you going to find that?”

Nothing beats living out a dream. Idyllwild certainly has produced some truly notable and interesting folk.

I’m sure Makida would agree with the Hawaiian saying, “A’ohe pu’u ki’eki’e ke ho’ā’o ‘ia e pi’i” which translates to “No cliff is so tall that it cannot be scaled.”