Trace and I decided to spend our Saturday exploring something new on Oahu. So we traveled to the west side of the island and visited an old Hawaiian temple site, Kaneaki Heiau. This is the dry side of the island but as we drove up into the mountain we were surrounded by a forest with several streams. It was very peaceful at this site. Interesting how this black lava rock turns white with time.
After this stop we headed to the end of the road at the most northwestern tip of the island. We parked our car and hiked to the tip of the island closest to Kauai, Kaena Point. It was a 5-mile roundtrip fairly easy hike that went along the coast the entire time with breathtaking views of the ocean and mountains behind us.
Here's the tip of the island. If you expand this image below you can see the water at the north is choppy and the water on the west is calm. The north waves come from Alaska and the west from Australia. In real life, the difference was quite dramatic.
We sat for a bit and enjoyed a water break, only to find out from a conservationist that we were 4 boulders away from an endangered monk seal. Can you spot him?
The tip of the island is protected for the monk seals and albatross. The dry brush is the perfect spot for the bird's nesting ground so the land is completely fenced off to protect this nesting ground from dogs and weasels, with a clearly marked and roped off path for us hikers.
3 comments:
How cool! I think I might've spotted the seal, but sometimes eyes can play trick on you when you're looking hard enough, so I'm not sure.
You are right those views are breathtaking. Glad to see you are enjoying yourselves.
Dang! You guys are soo lucky to be there! We decided we will come see you guys other than Feb :} We want to see you guys! It is so crazy that the ocean is so different right by each other. I can't wait to see the sites! That Hawaiian temple site is defineately one of the places we want to look at! Thanks for taking the pictures! These pictures help me take a mental vacation!! P.S. When are we going to see pics of the belly?? :}
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