Oahu

OAHU (from Aug. 10 to 15th, 2018)

Car Rental

376 Eu for 5 days, directly rented with Budget Car Rental, with zero excess. I was expected the usual Nissan Versa, and instead I got a Smart.

The car assignment procedure at Honolulu Airport, bigger than other islands ones, is a bit more complicated. Here no attendants will bring you the car: at the counters you get some indication of a lot numer of multi-storey car park, then it’s your problem to look for it, it looks like a treasure hunt … I picked it up around 8 pm, and I did not want to go back down 4 floors and protest, so I kept it, however, it has a very inconsistent trunk, and also for the rest it is not that great. It’s convenient because it is microscopic, so you can park it anywhere, this is the only positive side.

Sleep

Spent 219 Eu for an Air BnB at a Korean lady’s home in the suburbs of Honolulu, in Kealia Drive, Kalihi district. I deliberately avoided Waikiki. My accommodation is located not far from the Bishop Museum, and a 5 minute walk from a number of supermarkets and restaurants (Kamehameha Shopping Center), in convenient area to get to the airport, Pearl Harbor, and any other point on the island without facing if not for short distances the capital ring road congestion. Pretty houses perched on the hill, inhabited mainly by not so much well-off locals and Korean immigrants, so a place where it is possible to meet ordinary people and not just tourists.

In 15 minutes, through the Likelike Highway, you are in Kanehoe on the east coast. The Bishop Museum is reported on the little detailed maps of the car rental agency, and appears on the highway signs, so it has always been easy to find the exit, except on the first evening as it was dark already and I could not orient myself. Not even here I consider necessary the additional expense for the navi system, sometimes I got the wrong direction, but immediately I realized it and I remedied coming back.

At my disposal a room and a bathroom, free parking in the appropriate area on the sidewalk in front of the garage, shared kitchen with the hosts, but we rarely met. The nr. 2 bus stop is 5 minutes away in School Street, and in 20 minutes you get to Waikiki, thus removing the problem of where to park the car, but especially how much to pay for the parking.

Eat

For the shopping I have always relied on the Times supermarket at the Kamehameha Shopping Center, 5 minutes from my house.

Excursions

Not because I’m really interested in this kind of thing, which I find rather tacky, but because, after a couple of days, I realized that it would be my only chance to explore one of the rare inner valleys that graft onto the lush slopes of the Koolau Mountains (the photos you see below were taken one at the Ranch restaurant and the other one from the street).

The roads perpendicular to the Windward Coast do not reach particular vantage points, and often end up in someone’s backyard, or are private property, such as the Kamehame Trail or the Haiku Road, which leads to the notorious Haiku Stairs (officially inaccessible, although many people venture). However, I would like to point out the existence of some lookouts along the highways that cross the island, with breathtaking views, such as the Nuuanu Pali Look Out

Pearl Harbor

The (free) visit to Pearl Harbor should be booked in advance, however, every morning, at the opening, at 7 am, some additional entry tickets are made available for fist comers who show up. I arrived around 6.30, in front of me only 5/6 people. For security reasons, only wallet-sized handbags entry is allowed, everything else must be left in the wardrobe (USD 5). The Pearl Harbor base is still operational, indeed it continues to be the largest in the South Pacific. In the theater, a 20 minutes documentary explains the reasons that led to the war, and methods and strategies followed. Afterwards, following scheduled times, visitors are accommodated on boats that cross the bay, up to the Arizona Memorial, at the moment off limits. One of the docking piers collapsed. It should reopen in March 2019.

When back, it is possible to follow a series of guided paths to get to the Museum.

A slightly rushed stay takes a couple of hours, including souvenirs shopping which have been much appreciated by my relatives and friends 🙂

This is the official website for advanced booking. Please be advised that, by typing “Pearl Harbor” on Google, as first results appears tours of private agencies, with prices from 60 USD to go up. Remember, the visit and admission are free. Using the link above, the only required amount is 1 USD for the presale service.

Getting to Pearl Harbor with your own car is very easy, the exit of the ring road is well marked, and then there are signs everywhere with the “Historic site” indication etc. etc. A bit more difficult is to find the route back when leaving, also because, at the time of my visit, there were road works with access restrictions and one-way signs which must have altered the normal traffic direction

What to see

EAST COAST

Hoomaluia Gardens – This is the site. It is what for me absolutely resembles the idea of Eden on earth.

Wonderful in the early morning. Officially, they open at 9. Few people know, however, that this is the time when cars are allowed to enter, but pedestrians can do it much earlier, passing from a side door next to the gate. You must therefore walk a bit but it is really worth it, immersed as they are in an irrepressible nature. Very few people, apparently, want to face this effort (so to speak, since it will be just over a kilometer), so some morning joggers and I had this paradise, immersed in the most religious silence, just for us. At the parking lot there are also a picnic area, toilets, and a visitors’ office with a small exhibition. Great efforts are made to protect native plant species. A little further on, you get to a pretty pond with a formidable view. I think there are other paths or trails, but unfortunately I was in a hurry. The Gardens are located in Kanehoe. Arriving from Highway nr. 33 and following the signs for Kailua at a certain point you will find signs.

Byodo-In Temple

 

This is the site. Admission 5 USD. It is the reproduction of the homonymous Kyoto temple, surrounded by a beautiful garden, and set in an imposing and luxuriant natural scenery. The building is nothing special but, in my opinion, it is a very relaxing place and it can be regenerating to stop here for half an hour. Nearby there are other cemeteries, the area is in fact called Valley of the Temples (from what I recall this indication also appears on the road sign). How to get there? Continuing north, from Kanehoe, and turning left at a traffic light, recognizable because it is placed near a shopping center, which includes a Mc Donalds and a Times supermarket.

Beaches

Going south from Kanehoe, Kailua Beach Park, Lanikai and Waimanalo are met in succession. The colors of the sea are beautiful, in Kailua there are some facilities such as bathrooms and showers

In Lanikai the beach is quite small, rather crowded in certain places, completely hidden from the road by an unbroken series of private properties. Fortunately, there are side access roads, but here there is no service, as if it were an imposition of owners to discourage intruders. Even finding parking is a big challenge!

In Waimanalo, instead, there are very few people, and I really recommend it, no facility at all even here, really a great and wild place…

You then arrive at the scenic Makapuu Point, another beautiful beach next to a promontory where, through a paved path, you can reach a lighthouse or a beach in front, respectively following the Makapuu Trail, or the Kaiwi Trail.

After the lighthouse the road continues through beautiful scenery until the Lanai Look Out, which overlooks a small bay, with a rather difficult access via steep steep path. From the square of the belvedere I can see turtles very close to the rocks

After an insignificant Sandy Beach, here is the sumptuous Hanauma Bay. Site. You pay 1 USD for parking, this money is returned if your stay is less than 20 minutes. The admission would cost 7.50 USD but I avoided it because there was a huge mess. I glimpsed, from above, Asian tourists standing on the corals; this image, superimposed with those of other swimmers in lifejackets, arm rests, inflatable jackets, I do not know why it makes me think of a very exploited and disfigured underwater environment

From Kanehoe to the north, instead, after Heeia State Park, which is not that great, you reach the beautiful Kualoa Regional Park.

From here and beyond, the road runs right by the beach and you can stop practically anywhere you want. In Kaawa there are beautiful rocks like in Anahoa (Kauai). This is instead Hukilau

The Malaekahana Beach Ground is full of shade and beautiful colors.

On the other hand, Turtle Bay, surrounded by an imposing complex of condominiums, with a skimpy parking space dedicated to outside visitors, and access to a beach that is too skimpy and crowded beyond belief, did not impress me. One bottle of half-liter water at 4 USD. Touch and run. After about twenty kilometers you get to the beautiful Pupukea Beach and Wailea. Difficult to find parking in Wailea, I recommend to park along the main road to Pupukea and then walk.

In Pupukea, a real village, there is also a well-stocked supermarket where you can buy lunch, if you do not feel like to cook it your own one in the morning. In my opinion, rock shoes are indispensable, and there is a discrete gathering of people. A little further on, in the direction of Wailea there is a much more deserted beach with a lot of shade (in the morning). Although there are rocks offshore, and the water is very calm, the current is very strong, and leads immediately in deep waters. There are a lot of fish varieties.

In this stretch of road it is possible to find queues and traffic jams, as everybody slow down to find some parking lot, or to admire the view. After another twenty kilometers you will reach Haleiwa, another pretty little town in the far north.

From there I arrived, at sunset time, at Mokuleia Beach Park, immersed in a beautiful light, even if perhaps the dawn is even better. I did not go on to Kaena Point, because further over it’s only dirt road and car insurance will not cover any damage.

WEST COAST

Completely different from the eat side, the dominant color is ocher yellow in all its multiple and glorious nuances, and very arid. The sea is very blue and rippled by the wind, spectacular rock formations overlook the beaches, bordered by English meadows or rocks, towards the northern tip.

Here gasoline is much cheaper, so it is advisable to get here with the empty tank and fill up. I combined this itinerary with a visit to Pearl Harbor (admission at 7am) and a half-hour flash visit in Waikiki (late afternoon).

Desperately escaped from Ko Olina Resort Bay, another cluster of luxury condominiums, where I was still stubbornly thinking of finding something interesting, I stopped at Nanakuli, Kelaniana Ole, Lualualei, Makua, Waianae Valley and Maili.

Perhaps the most spectacular beach on the Leeward Coast is Makua, an immense expanse of white sand lashed by the wind, practically deserted, bounded on the north by a plain of lava rocks that make the landscape almost lunar.

Returning south to Wainanae, at the Maili Beach Park you can lie down in the shade of shrunken palm trees on a vast, soft lawn overlooking the sea.

In the village of Waianae it is possible to follow a road that leads to the interior, only up to a certain point, however, because then it ends up in private properties, in a valley covered with rugged vegetation

Here is Surfer’s Beach Park, where I made a brief stop. The sea is very calm, so it is easy to find some refreshment in the water without having the problem of being overwhelmed by a wave or dragged away by the current.

In Kalanianaole the sea has a splendid turquoise green colour, the panorama is unfortunately disfigured, in the south, by the presence of a couple of chimneys

Waikiki

Two words on Waikiki. Waikiki represents for me the concentrate of everything that has always kept me away from the United States of America. This vision, compressed on a small island lost in the middle of the North Pacific, so different, makes every contrast even more jarring. There is nothing Hawaiian here, as it is already difficult to find something Hawaiian elsewhere. Also, I do not understand why all those people concentrate on one beach only, so that you can’t find even a piece of beach as big as a stamp to lay down your towel, when with a 15-minute drive (or 30 minutes by bus) at Waimanalo, there is a magnificent beach, practically deserted.

For a matter of time, the park closes at 6pm, and the last entrance to reach the top is at about 4.30pm, I missed the summit of the Diamond Head.