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Hanauma Bay
Hanauma bay is sea turtle preserve and a snorkeling paradiseWe had two more days with us to visit places we hadn’t been to in Oahu. We were somewhat tired from previous two really hectic days. So, we decided to take the day little bit lightly.
We walked around the area in the morning and had a nice breakfast. We signed up for a guided half-day tour
”Natural Highlights of Oahu Adventure” with Oahu Nature Tours. We thought it would be nice to sit back and relax while the guide will take us and talk about some of the attractions of Oahu.
The guided tour was really nice. The guide was really informative and interesting. Good thing it was a small group, which gave us plenty of flexibility and personal attention.
We drove through the Diamond Head state park and reached the Hanauma Bay lookout. Hanauma Bay is a sea turtle reserve and a snorkeling paradise. Shreya and I decided to come here again the next day and visit the actual bay not just the lookout. Our next stop was Halona Cove near “From Here to Eternity Beach”. There is a blowhole which shoots saltwater 25-30 feet high! Next we stopped at Makapu’u State Park lookout.
On
From Here to Eternity Beach
Little known from "From Here to Eternity" movie, most recently known as the wedding location in "50 first dates" movie! the way, we went to Ka’elepulu Wetland Bird Preserve for some bird watching. Highlight of this tour was the aquamarine waters of Waimanalo Bay! This was the best beach I have ever been to! The turquoise blue ocean was unbelievably beautiful! We spent about half an hour here, again decided to come back on our own the next day. Great thing about Hawaii is, all the beaches are open to public! You actually have access to all the beaches.
Next, we went to an ancient Hawaiian Temple, Ulupou Heiau, to see a nicely preserved archaeological site. Our last stop was Pali Lookout, which overlooks Kaneohe Bay and tall vertical cliffs of Koolau volcano.
We were really glad to get out of the metropolitan Honolulu and to the country side of the island. This eastern side of Oahu is also known as Windward side of the island. It is truly blessed with some breathtaking views. Many of these attractions are quite sparsely crowded!
Next day, we rented a car from Dollar located in Hilton, just 2 blocks away from our hotel. We had already seen the eastern side of the island. We decided to take a grand circle
Makapu'u Lookout
Beautiful Windward side of Oahu Island tour of the island this time!
We first drove to the Hanauma Bay to snorkel. Unfortunately, the parking lot was full; and they do not allow beach access until there is some parking available 😞! So, we headed to Waimanalo beach park and enjoyed the secluded beach for couple of hours. Next, we were off to north shore of Oahu. However, we stopped by almost 6 to 7 beaches along the way! We even stopped at the Macadamia nut factory outlet to taste and buy some world renowned nuts. North shore is really famous for its high tides which make pro-surfing quite fun. However, for novice, it could be really risky and hence not advisable.
Being a Pineapple lover, I didn’t want to miss out on Dole Plantation tour, which closes at 6 pm. We managed to get there in time and got on Pineapple Express - a narrated, mini-train ride through the fruit plantations. We also enjoyed yummy Pineapple ice-cream! However, we could not visit the very famous Dole’s Maze. I later learned that Dole’s Maze is the largest maze in world according to Guinness Book of World Records 2001.
We went to Sunset beach to
Pali Lookout
Spectacular view from Pali State Park enjoy the sunset! Although, sunset looked same as we saw everyday from our room, 10 to 15 feet tall waves were really spectacular to see.
We had a nice dinner at California Pizza Kitchen (Yeah! Couldn’t resist having a Cali Pizza in Hawaii!! 😉) and got back to the hotel. We had to catch a flight next morning, so sadly we had to start packing up!
Next morning, we took Robert’s airport shuttle to get to the airport. This time Robert’s shuttle didn’t turn out to be quite reliable! We had to wait for one hour before it arrived! Luckily, we were still on time for our sad flight back to San Jose. How I wish we still had couple of more days or a week to spend here 😊. May be someday in future…
Some Useful Links:
• I would suggest to take atleast one guided tour, there are number of options, and I am sure all of them should be worth it; I had a great experience with
Oahu Nature Tours •
Hanauma Bay •
Waimanalo Beach Park •
Dole Plantation
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