Index
Previous Day
Saturday 20th October 2018
I slept much better last night and woke up at 05:45, so a bit later than yesterday. We got ready and left the hotel just before 07:00. We walked over to Starbucks and got an iced vanilla latte each, for $12.52. I didn’t realise at first but it was a Reserve Starbucks, which has different coffees from all around the world, so the cups here are different.
We headed back to the hotel to pick up the car and drove from here to the Diamond Head car park. I’d wanted to get here for 07:00, because it gets really busy but we ended up arriving around 07:30. Luckily somebody was leaving as we arrived, so we managed to get a space and paid $5 to park.
This hike was one of the easier ones we done; it’s easy to follow and the ground is even for the most part and it took us just over an hour round trip. There are a number of different points at the top to enjoy the views, which are beautiful and you can see right over to Waikiki. It’s a very popular hike though, so it was busy the whole way.
Once done, we drove to the Leonard’s Bakery Malasadas Truck, at the Koko Marina Center. Malasadas were on my list of foods to try and I thought they’d make a good snack for today. We got an original, chocolate, custard and cinnamon, to try, for $5.94.
From here, we continued to the Koko Crater Trailhead Parking. There is a park and baseball field here, so plenty of parking. We began the trek, up the old railroad track, which was tough! There’s just so many steps and not a lot of shade either. There’s also a section where the track goes over a large drop, like a bridge, which was a bit tricky to navigate. We stopped plenty of times on the way up, to get our breath back and have some water.
It took us just under an hour to reach the top and although it was difficult, it felt good that we’d managed to get to the top.
It was much easier going down and we didn’t need to stop, so it only took about 30 mins. We actually overheard someone say this was their fourth time completing the trail today, which was impressive. How lucky to be able to head here for your daily workout too. Once at the bottom, we treated ourselves to a Malasadas each. These were good, similar to sugar doughnut but as with those, I’m just not a fan of how much sugar they dip them in. Mark really enjoyed them though.
The plan for the rest of the day, was to stop at the various lookout points along the south shore. We didn’t have too much time on Oahu, so this would be our only chance to see this part. First stop, was Hanauma Bay Scenic Point, which provides a good view of Koko Crater and the bay itself.
We also decided to drive down to the Hanauma Bay car park. We weren’t planning on Snorkelling, which is supposed to be amazing here but the view from here is not to be missed. The bay is beautiful and this was one of the best beaches we saw, I can see why it’s so popular. Parking was just $1 too.
We stopped at Lanai Lookout Point next, followed by the Halona Blowhole Lookout. There’s parking at all the lookout points but we sometimes had to wait for a space. We spent a bit of time enjoying the views along the coast and watching the blowhole, before moving on.
Next up was Makapu’u Lookout. This was another one of my favourite places; more beautiful views of the coast and Makapu’u Beach. The blue colour of the water was amazing.
The final stop today was Lanikai Beach. We couldn’t see any parking for the beach, so we parked at Kailua Beach Park and walked over. We spotted some lovely houses in the hills on the way too. The beach was beautiful; lovely soft sand and blue water. We spent some time walking along the beach and at the edge of the water, before heading back.
On the drive back to the hotel we decided to have a quick drive through the Ho’omaluhia Botanical Gardens, as I didn’t think we’d get another chance and I’d seen lots of photos on Instagram from here. The gardens closed at 16:00, so we didn’t have much time but I’m glad we got to see them.
We arrived back at the hotel around 16:30 and had a bit of a rest before getting ready for dinner. We walked to Yard House and had to wait 20 mins or so for a table. Mark had the Carnivore Pizza and I had the BBQ Bacon Cheddar Burger. This was a nice meal but not one of our favourites. Total cost was $43.32, plus tip.
From here, we headed over to Duke’s for a Mai Tai. We were planning on eating at Duke’s on Kauai but still wanted to visit this one too. The atmosphere and décor here was great but I wasn’t a fan of the Mai Tai. I don’t drink a lot anyway but was glad I tried one. We then headed back to the hotel, for the rest of the evening.
Next:
Day 4 – Kualoa Ranch & The North Shore