2012.12.06 O'ahu, Hawaii (Day 5)

Koko Head Crater Trail
While researching hiking trails on O'ahu, there were a few trails everyone raved about: the Haiku Stairs, the Olomana trail, and Koko Head Crater trail.

The problem with all three trails was that they are "not officially open to the public". While weighing the feasibility of the first two trails (photos/videos posted by other hikers looked amazing), they were too challenging/high risk. Entrances to the Haiku Stairs and Olomana trail are both restricted due to unsolved issues with the surrounding neighbourhood. Hopefully, the Hawaiian government can work something out in the future so that these trails can be safer and enjoyed by the general public.

Using the online directions provided to us by other hikers, we made our way to the base of the trail. Despite the towering mountain, I remained supremely confident in my capabilities.

Bring it, Koko Head! (Sometimes, my foolhardy confidence scares even myself)

Confidence going strong. To the top!

The trail is actually an old, now defunct, military railroad track. 

See that sudden incline in the tracks at the edge of the photo?

Confidence starting to waiver.

Now we started to climb.

Beautiful views along the way (also, an excuse to catch my breath)

Hanauma Bay

Oh my...  the track bridges over a 20ft wide chasm in the ground. 

Panicpanicpanic. My legs wobbled hard, much like my confidence. But screw it, I've already come too far to turn back.

Whew. Made it across.

Look how far we have come. Not quite at the top yet though.  

I should note that there were people who ran the whole way up. I remember my legs were shaking so much by this point that I had to take a breather every 20 steps (seriously not exaggerating). My brother, on the other hand, wasn't even out of breath.  

I'm glad that the weather was nice and breezy that day. I can't imagine climbing this trail on a hot summer day.

Forty minutes and 1,048-1,500 steps (depending on your source) later, we finally made it! Yay!
At the top was a military bunker + satellite(?) tower. Sorry, this was the only photo I could find.

 

The view was absolutely amazing. Every direction offered a postcard-worthy view. 

You have the crater on one side...

... scenic Hanauma Bay on the other...

.... Hawaii Kai and the Ko'olau mountain range...

There are no words, except, "Totally worth it!"

It was also a great opportunity to try out the panoramic feature on my brother's camera. So cool! I wish my camera has a panoramic feature....

Online comments by hikers also directed us to Kokonuts for shaved ice. To add a bit of prestige, this place used to be frequented by Obama

I had the coconut and lilikoi (passionfruit). Satisfying but not mind-blowing.

Starving, it didn't take us long to find Teddy's Bigger Burgers (a local chain) just around the corner. Just follow the smell of fries. The whole restaurant had a 50's vibe, which I thought was pretty neat. I can't really recall how the burger tasted (don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing) but the fries were pretty good. 

After a well-deserved nap back at the hotel, we headed down to the famous Waikiki Beach.

You'll note that it's cloudy in this photo and looking like rain but clear blue sky in the very next photo. Oh, the wonders of Hawaiian weather.

 A Waikiki Beach sunset. How could you not?

For dinner, we checked out the Farmer's Market at the International Market. A couple was selling authentic Polynesian-rooted Hawaiian food. Intrigued, we decided to try it. Rice with butterfish+pork and a side of poke. Poke (pronounced "po-kei") is raw tuna marinaded with salsa. Despite not being a fan of raw food, I did try it and it was pretty tasty. The butterfish+pork were wrapped in taro leaves, not unlike a zongzhi, and steamed. I have never had butterfish before but what I assume to be butterfish tasted like fishy jello (okay, bad analogy). It did keep the pork really nice and moist though. 

Washed it all down with some locally-brewed beer. For future travels, I hope to be able to try the local beer whenever possible. There was quite a bit of selection in the convenience store but I think I made a lucky selection.

A good ending to our last day on O'ahu. 

P.S. Just found out that this beer (Bikini Blonde Lager) is retired and no longer brewed by the Maui Brewing Company.