Thursday, February 3 – Honolulu
More travel planning taking place this morning! I’m making progress, thankfully. I’ve now added a week in Maui following the week in Kauai. Only finalizing the big island (Hawaii) itinerary remains.
While visiting the Koko Crater Botanical Garden, I met a couple from Oregon who told me about another botanical garden located in the heart of downtown Honolulu. Really? So that’s this afternoon’s destination.
The Foster Botanical Garden was about an hour walk (to the west) from my apartment. It’s not a huge garden – 14 acres – but it contains an interesting mix of tropical plants ($5 entry fee).
Friday, February 4 – Honolulu
Okay, I’m designating this my “stupid, but lucky” day. I decided to make a return visit to the north shore – to check out some other beaches to the east of my previous trip. It’s an area called the Banzai Pipeline, and I was hoping to see some of the big winter waves the area is famous for (and were nowhere to be seen on my last visit!). Well, I did not go away disappointed! In fact, there just happened to be a major surfing competition being held here this weekend. Today was a practice day, which was perfect for me (low-key, less crowded, free!).
Sidenote: Of course, I could have easily known in advance that this tournament was taking place; just a little advance research would have provided that information. But no!
I took a bunch of pictures, but with my low skill level and lack of high quality equipment, it was difficult to get many good action shots. Hopefully the ones I posted below will give you a feel for the power of these waves! They were great fun to witness! The surfers too!
Based on the fact that the waves on my previous visit to the North Shore were much less powerful, I was curious how these tournaments are able to be scheduled in a reasonable manner. As I was talking to one of the other spectators, she passed along that the timing is based on a selected 10-12 day window. Interesting…
Sidenote: I’m writing this on Sunday morning, so the results of the men’s competition from Saturday are in. It turns out the winner was an aging surfing legend!
Across the street from Ehukai Beach was a hike I wanted to check out – the Ehukai Pillbox Trail. It’s around 3 miles long, which is a combination of a loop and and out-and-back trail. There was a fairly steep gradient at times, so it was a little more strenuous than I expected!
A short walk to the east from Ehukai Beach is Sunset Beach. This will be my last stop for the day.
With the name Sunset Beach, you’d think it would be obvious that I should stick around to witness that event. Nice idea, but I’ve got a 2 hour bus ride ahead of me, so I think I’m going to make my way back to Honolulu!
Saturday, February 5 – Honolulu
More travel planning this morning! I’m sooo close to being done! Today I booked my final Hawaiian leg – 9 nights on the Big Island (Hawaii), mainly based in Hilo. Since I’ve decided to cut my visit to Hawaii short, I’m thinking of doing a short stopover somewhere in the southern U.S. before I return to Madison. Hopefully I’ll get that figured out soon!
Similar to Magic Island becoming my favorite spot in Honolulu/Waikiki, the Diamond Head loop has become my favorite walk. That’s this afternoon’s adventure! And unlike last time, when I was lazy and didn’t take any pictures, this time I came across some new sights I think (hope?) you’ll be interested in. So, here we go!
Great pictures! Love the surfing ones too – that was great you were able to stumble upon it. Maybe time for some surf lessons!
Hahah! Thanks Holly! I think I’m too uncoordinated to attempt surfing! Good thought though!
You have been able to see so much. Those waves are incredible. I am sure the surfing was very fun to watch!
Thanks Kari! I’ve been busy. I need a rest!