It’s Not a Leisure Activity- It’s a Commitment!

Another day of island explorations by car! We had read about the incredible snorkeling at Hanauma Bay, a bay formed within a volcanic cone. However, getting to go there was an adventure in and of itself. The bay is run and accessed by the State Park system, and several years ago they started an online reservation system to manage their numbers of visitors. They are closed Mondays and Tuesdays, and to get a reservation to come to the park, you have to be online at 7 a.m HST exactly two days before the day you want to come to try to get a timed entry ticket. The website states that they sell out daily, often in the first five minutes after the reservation window opens. So, two days ago at 7 a.m., I got online and was lucky enough to get tickets. And they were indeed sold out by 7:10 (for a random Thursday in September!). This website has more rules and regulations than any tour we have ever taken- they don’t play! Today was our day, and as instructed we were in the park and in line 15 minutes prior to our entry time. They herded us in entry time order to the gate, checked us in with IDs, and then had us listen to and watch a safety presentation for 10 minutes before we were allowed on the beach. The beach was accessed via a hike down the cliff or by a park tram. The beach was gorgeous, the snorkeling was great, and we managed to complete our final underwater bucket list item today when we saw an octopus while we were snorkeling (sorry- no picture)! The last time we saw one was 12 years ago, also in Hawaii (on Maui), so this was an amazing treat. Highly recommend the snorkeling here, but just know it is not set up for spontaneity.

Spitting Caves

This wasn’t even on our guided audio tour, but some online research ahead of our trip had informed me of the Spitting Caves in Manalua Bay in Honolulu. The name alone was enough to interest me, and it was close to Hanauma Bay, so we headed there as our next stop. We drove through a residential neighborhood to get there, and then had a short but steep hike down a cliff between two huge houses. When we got to the bottom of the rocky path, it was absolutely amazing!! The views from below were gorgeous, and I had instant envy of the houses in this neighborhood having this vista daily (*note to self: remember this neighborhood if we hit the lottery). When the big waves would come in and crash against the cliffs, the caves within the cliffs would fill with water and then eventually and forcefully spit the water back out. It was super cool! While we were watching we also saw a spear fisherman hike past us all the way down to the water and dive into the powerful waves with his gear. Brave! Good luck little buddy!

China Walls

A quick stop at the China Walls took us through another residential street in Hanapepe to a seaside park. The park had a pretty rock ledge that people can use for cliff jumping and swimming. Having just dried off from our snorkel, we were content to just watch. This is also supposed to be a surfing area, but the conditions weren’t ideal today.

Halona Blowhole

Nice stop at the Halona Blowhole

Makapu’u Lookout

We had toyed with the idea of doing the lighthouse trail hike here, but it is over 90 degrees today and the hike was very steep, so we opted instead to take pix from the overlook and assume they were correct in telling us there is a lighthouse on the other side! 😂

We kept driving the rest of the H1/H3/Kalanianaole Highway using our audio guide, with a brief stop in Kailua for a beverage at Maui Brewing and then checking in to our air bnb in Honolulu. It’s a cute place in a great area with lots of walkable shops and restaurants! More exploring tomorrow! Thanks for adventuring with us!