2012.12.04 O'ahu, Hawaii (Day 3)

Manoa Fall Park
Another early start. Promptly finished breakfast and headed straight for Manoa Fall park. Supposedly, Jurassic park filmed a few scenes here, along with more on Kauai island. Of course we had to check it out. 

The hike was vastly different from the Makapu'u trail. More tropical (i.e. wet and slippery) with some very interesting vegetation. I could definitely feel the Jurassic Park vibe - the theme song started playing in my head and there was a sudden need to look for water ripples.

An overabundance of ferns. Good ol'fern - the bridesmaid of the plant world.

The beautiful, the unique, and the plain bizarre.

 

One of the many colourful birds we encountered on this trip. This little guy is called the White-rumped Shama.

We kept walking....

And walking.... and walking....

Finally! We arrived at the Manoa Fall expecting a jaw-dropping work of nature.

Boy, were we in for a surprise. 

Our jaws dropped alright. Instead of rushing water, we were greeted with seemed to be a semi-wet cliffside.

Waterfalls are supposed to have water right?

I couldn't help but find the entire situation to be hilarious, a sentiment shared by a few other hikers we encountered at the "fall". This was definitely a first - a waterfall without water. We all agreed not to say anything to incoming hikers as on the return journey. Why ruin their day prematurely? 

·         

If you look really carefully, there is still a trickle of water running down the rock face into the pond below. So there's at least that.

A quick detour to the adjacent Harold Lyon Arboretum. 

While I wish I could provide some educational/insightful factoids about the Arboretum and the Hawaiian flora/fauna, I'm simply going to go with, "Look! What [insert adjective of your choice] flower/plant/fruit!"    

Our first real meal on Hawaii - Maui Mike's Fire-Roasted Chicken. As with most of our subsequent meals, this place was found courtesy of Tripadvisor. I give this place 3.5 stars. It wasn't the most memorable meal, but the tender chicken+fries combo definitely hit the spot.

As we made our way north, we passed the famous Van Triple Crown surfing competition as it was taking place. It boggles my mind that people can surf on waves 4-5 stories high, a feat which scares me to death as it combines my two worst fears. 

Turtle Bay Beach

This trip was to be my first time snorkeling. Not being a strong swimmer, I was pretty apprehensive. Originally, we had planned to visit the Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve, purportedly one of the best snorkeling spots (especially for beginners) and known for its corals in O'ahu. Sadly, the parking lot of Hanauma Bay was being repaved that week (an inconvenient fact which was not broadcasted on the  website when I checked. We only heard about it on the local news). Turtle Bay Beach was ranked number two for its shallow and calm waters.

I was and still am (pathetically and pathologically) scared of deep water so I could only snorkel in small circular motions (not unlike a puppy chasing its tail), in areas where I know I could stand up if the need arises. 

I still ended up swallowing quite a bit of the ocean water, far more than I would have liked. Also, I may have, quite likely actually, hurt a small section of the coral reef during a small panic attack. (The hurting part was pretty mutual, since I did not escape unscathed from the human-coral physical encounter.)

Despite my limited range and over-salination, it was still a fantastic experience. My brother took some great underwater pictures of the fish species he encountered.

We were told to keep an eye out for the Humuhumunukunukuapua'a (pronounced "who-moo-who-moo-noo-koo-noo-koo-ah-pooah-ah")- Hawaii's State Fish (Wikipedia has confirmed that several US states, do in fact, have an official state fish. Huh! The things you learn everyday). We never did see an humu during our trip but there's always the next time (hopefully my swimming skills have improved drastically by then). 

A lovely couple from California suggested a nearby beach where green sea turtles ("honu") like to gather. A chance to see a wild sea turtle? Yes please!

As the fickle O'ahu weather shifted against our favour (i.e. it began to rain, hard), we quickly bid Turtle Bay beach a fond farewell and continued on our semi-circular path back to Honolulu.

Hungry and hoping for an escape from the rain, the Kahuku Grill - another Tripadvisor discovery - couldn't have happened to us at a better time.

Their coconut shrimp was divine. 

Nothing beats being dry and enjoying a good meal while it's raining cats and dogs outside.

Chinaman's Hat ("Mokoli'i") and Lizard's Back ("Kualoa" Mountain Range) 

The sky cleared just long enough for a brief pitstop at the Kualoa Beach Park, which has a great view of the Kualoa Mountain Range and Mokoli'i. We saw quite a few tents propped up on the beach. Not sure if they are drifters or adventure-seekers or both, but camping on the beach certainly sounds like a cool thing to try.

Legend has it the mountain range and the island were part of a giant lizard. Slew by Hi'iakaikapoliopele, sister goddess to Pele, the back of the lizard formed the Kualoa mountains while its truncated tail the islet-turned-island.

The Kualoa Mountain Range: the back of a giant lizard (I can totally see it). 

The clouds increased its mystical factor by at least ten-fold.

 

Fun side-story: the GPS we brought on this trip has always been a little wonky. Hawaii's atypical street numbering system (read about it here) certainly did not make its life any easier. The funny thing is, while driving the coastal roads, there would be sections where according to the GPS, we were no longer on land. And not just off by a few feet either!