Travel Day 848 – Waikiki to Kailua, Oahu, HAWAII
Today was finally my big day of getting a scooter and exploring the island of Oahu a little bit on quick but tiny wheels…
Sandy Beach in Hanauma Bay, Oahu
It had been quite a while since I had a scooter and so I was extremely excited about the prospect of being mobile again. Once I was fully comfortable on the scooter, had the wind in my face and the sun on my head, I was even more excited and started exploring every single side road on the way out-of-town. By the time I realized that I was not making much progress in terms of actual distance on the map, I tried to stay a bit more focused on the plan of the day…
The plan was actually to explore the entire southern coastline and drive along the ocean front up to Kailua and then cut back towards Honolulu through the center of the island. The highlights along the way were supposed to be Shangri La, Hanauma Bay, Waimanalo Beach Park and Kailua Bay. At this point I decided to pass by Shangri La since it was very close to Waikiki and could always be reached by bus, but I went to all the other destinations…
Ragged Cliffs in Waimanalo, Hawaii
Hanauma Bay turned out to be an amazingly nice bay with clear water, a sandy beach and perfect snorkeling conditions. Unfortunately all that came with a price tag of 20 dollars and too many tourists for the size of the little bay. So I decided to rather avoid this tourist trap and simply enjoy the free views from the rim of the bay. My next stop-over became the nice beach of Sandy Beach Park, before I then went off to a little hike up to the Makapu’u Lighthouse…
Even if this lighthouse wasn’t part of my initial list, it turned out to be one of my highlights because of its fine views of the entire coast-line with its ragged cliffs, all the way up to Kailua Bay. It was generally amazing how there were these steep green mountain in the center of the islands with their peaks covered by misty clouds, while the coast with its ragged cliffs and sandy beaches was hot and sunny. It all reminded me somewhat of places like Bali (Indonesia) and Morea (French Polynesia). Actually the landscape reminded me more of Morea while the island ride on the scooter reminded me mainly of Bali…
Long Shadows, Waimanalo Beach Park
By the time I reached Waimanalo Beach Park, it was already late afternoon and the beach started to get covered by long shadows. So even if the beach was very nice and really empty, I rather carried on quickly towards Kailua Bay to see the local beach there. It was actually quite nice and the area was generally pretty, but because it was getting dark and I had to ride back through the mountains, I rather took off with the last light of the day…
Luckily the ride home was quicker than expected, even if I had to deal with seemingly freezing temperatures and some drizzling rain in the higher altitude. It was actually quite amazing how great the differences were in the climate, but it was all no problem and really great fun to be out and about on the scooter. Oahu, what a nice island and what a great day…
Find all Oahu Island photos here.
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