Hawaii - Day 3 (Circle Island Tour)

After a busy travel day and day 1 on the water today's tour was picked to give us a baseline to know the island. It took us around the island to the most culturally and geographically significant areas. Our first stop was Waimea Valley. Waimea Valley is a culturally rich 'wahi pana' (storied place). The 1,800 acre valley historically was home to many priests but was given to the Kahuna Nai and got the title valley of the priests. One of the most beautiful physical landmarks of the valley is Waimea Falls (1) a 45 foot high fall where the adventurous can swim in the 30 foot deep pool. We didn't know until we got there that we could swim at the falls and as such weren't dressed to go for a swim but we did take our shoes off and enjoy the refreshing cool waters.

Our next stop was Sunset Point Beach known for its spectacular sunsets. It is also home to the Bonzai Pipeline (2) and some of the most internationally renown surfing competitions such as the Triple Crown of Surfing. It wasn't big surf time on the island so the waves while still impressive were small compared to what they experience later in the season.

Having not yet had breakfast our tour guide Josh suggested a stop at the local farm stand (3) known for its banana lumpia. It's got its origins from the Philippines where they take a banana dusted with brown sugar wrap it in a spring roll wrapper and fried it. To say it was delicious is an understatement and for $1 each I spoiled myself and had 2.

Next we stopped at La'ie Point (4). While it is part of the North Shore of Oahu its views from the State Wayside give amazing views of the Windward Coast of Oahu.

After traveling along the coast for roughly 45 minutes we ended up at Kualoa Ranch where many movies like Jurassic Park, Godzilla, Lost and Pearl Harbor were filmed. Here we picked up our lunch and ventured a little farther down Kamehameah Highway to the Milo'I Fish pond which is also part of Kualoa Ranch. There we toke a quick boat ride across its barracuda infested waters to the Secret Island (5) where we enjoyed our Chicken Caesar salads.

Next our tour took us to the Valley of the Temples - Byodo-In (6). This little known secret is located in the Valley of Temples cemetery. This Buddhist temple is held together with interlocking plates and uses no nails in its construction. It's surrounded by a large Koi pond and the main room of the temple there is a large Buddha. To enter you must remove your shoes and it smelled of strong incense.

Nu'uanu Pali (7) is a lookout above the tunnels where visitors are treated to a panoramic view of the Oʻahu's windward side with sweeping views of Kāneʻohe, Kāneʻohe Bay, and Kailua. It is also well known for strong trade winds that blow through the pass, forming a sort of natural wind tunnel. It is also the location of the Battle of Nu'Uanu where in 1795 Kamehameha I forced 400 of Kalanikūpule's soldiers off the edge of the cliff to their deaths 1,000 feet below.

After the windy Nu'Uanu Pali look out we ventured back down to the coast stopping at Waimanalo Bay Beach (8) which is the longest stretch of sandy shoreline on O'ahu.

Halona Blowhole (9) while a beautiful site is also a hidden danger. On windy days when the tide is high waves roll on to shore where the rock formation shoots a geyser of sea spray high into the hair. Below the Halona Blowhole is one of the most dangerous ocean currents in the world know as the Molokai Express.

After watching the power of the ocean shooting in the air we moved on to the tranquil waters of Hanauma Bay (10) is known as one of the best places to snorkel. It's shallow waters are a protected area. It was formed when a caldera blew out its side and water from the Pacific Ocean rushed in.

Diamond Head (11) is a volcanic cone that hasn't been active in 150,000 years and is a prominent symbol of the Hawaiian Islands because of its close proximity and stunning views from Waikiki. We stopped here only briefly for a view of the the neighborhoods below.

 

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