Hawaii: Oahu

Oahu is prettier than i thought it would be. After seeing the other major islands i didn't really expect to see much new scenery, especially since Oahu one of the smaller islands while having the largest city by far. But Honolulu takes up less space than i imagined, and the north side of the island is much less dense.

The fact is the north shore of Oahu has some of the best beaches on any of the islands. You may not find the privacy you can get on Kauai or the Big Island but the sand is great, the ocean is calmer, and you have the convenience of being a lot closer to town.

Another location on the globe  that reminded me of Myst/Riven.

Makapu'u Lighthouse. You aren't supposed to go there, but a public trail climbs to the top of the cliffs above the lighthouse.

From the top of the point is a great view of Makapu'u Beach.

North Shore living. This is some kind of canal that comes out of Ka'elepulu Pond. It's blocked form the ocean by what looked like a man made sand bar.

Viewing the north island from Pali Lookout.

Kualoa from the park at the beach.

A really cool place we kept driving by was called Koko Head. It looks like petrified sand dunes eroding away but it's actually volcanic in origin. The stuff is called "tuff" which is compressed layers of volcanic ash formed underwater as magma came in contact with seawater. As Koko volcano grew it raised the whole area above sea level, and over time wind and waves eroded it into fantastic shapes.

Many eroded layers of tuff.

The black dash on the upper left at ground level was a cave. I saw two people crawl out of it. It leads to another alcove on the other side of the wall.

On the other side of the cave i was met with a scene that can only be described as silly.
I crawled back in to my cave.

This was a neat place where the tuff had eroded away revealing limestone underneath. I imagine this had been an ancient coral reef entombed by the volcano.

My dad approaches.

One of the things i really like in Hawaii is there are no private beaches. Even the most exclusive neighborhoods along the coastline are required to have public access like this pathway.

A dog having an awesome time on Kailua Beach.

Kailua Beach was a family beach packed with babies and dogs. On the south side beaches you can meet someone to have a baby with, then you can come over to this beach. You can probably find a dog to pick up along the road.

A panorama of the east end of Kailua Beach with Flat Island on the right.

 Fun cliffs to jump off of.

A natural bridge

Nice place to fish at Lai Point.

One of four man-made beaches at the new Disney Resort. Although it was open it was still under construction.

Inside the lobby of the Disney resort.

You can watch people watch fish in an artificial snorkeling pool.

A cool fun water playground at the resort.

We happened by chance to stumble upon a coast guard helicopter rescuing people from high surf. I took a lot of pictures and found out on the news that night that what we witnessed was a first time training exercise between the coast guard and these lifeguard guys on jet skis. They had been waiting for quite some time for the right kind of bad conditions to practice in.

The helicopter got VERY low.

There had been a big storm surge at Kualoa Park and the waves had crashed up over the high banks at end of the beach. Chinaman's hat in the background.