No 1: Kailua Beach
About 40 minutes from Honolulu on the Island’s East Coast, Kailua Bay is a vast, picture-perfect confection of caramel-tinged, powder-soft sand edging a vivid turquoise bay. Voted America’s best beach in 1998, it was then removed from the list of contenders to give somewhere else a chance! The town of Kailua is a thriving beach community, but once you cross the wide swathe of grass and palms that separates the beach from the road, you really aren’t aware of anything apart from the vast expanse of sand, the picturesque headlands and that inviting turquoise sea. Every time I’ve been to Kailua, I have been struck by how much space there is on the beach – apart from the lucky Kailua locals, you need to drive to get to the beach, and there are so many options on this island that even the best beaches never seem to suffer from the over-crowding typical in resorts which feature large numbers of tourist beds. An absolutely world-class location for sun-bathing, swimming and windsurfing.
No 2: Hanuma Bay
This idyllic spot on the South East of the Island is a perfect example of Oahu’s coastal topography, with the landward three quarters of the bay formed by remains of a volcanic cone – as you relax on the soft sand under a shady palm, you are actually sitting in the caldera (fortunately, its not expected to kick off again any time soon). The remaining quarter of the cone wall has been eroded by the sea, just leaving a reef which closes the bay off from large oceanic predators. Along with the warm temperatures provided by the shallow bay, the lack of predators makes Hanuma a haven for hordes of tropical fish – feeding them is a popular pursuit, and all you have to do is wade in to be surrounded by an expectant mob. If you launch yourself into the water with a snorkel, you are immediately engulfed by a rainbow horde of fish, darting frantically around you without ever seeming to touch you. It’s a kind of courteous frenzy that’s probably familiar to sushi vendors at sumo-wrestling conventions. Hanuma must be one of the few places on the planet where you can safely experience swimming up this close and personal with such a plethora of fish while remaining not much more than a few metres from the beach.
No 3: Makapu’u Beach
Makapuu Beach is another South East Coast bay and, subject to conditions, is a great spot for Boogie-Boarding. No surfing beach is without challenge, but the family parties that are a regular feature of the Makapu’u surf are testament to its relatively benign nature. While its near neighbour, Sandy Beach, may look, superficially, more appealing, with its wider, more open beach, the sea there can be extremely treacherous and it’s surf is best avoided by all but the most experienced boarders. Located an easy 20 minute drive from Honolulu, Makapuu Beach Park has plentiful parking, and both the beach itself and the surrounding terrain offers some great scenery if you want to get out of the sea for a while.
No 4: Pearl Harbour
A visit to Pearl Harbour is, unsurprisingly, a popular excursion. There are many options, but a half-day boat-trip is ideal, providing a brief cruise offshore from Waikiki, offering terrific views of the resort and it’s ever-present sentinel, Diamond Head, before entering the harbour itself. Semi-submerged hulks are a vivid reminder of the events of December 7th 1941, but it is the USS Arizona which is the most moving experience. The battleship sank like a stone and is clearly visible and seemingly amazingly intact, beneath what seems to only be a few feet of startlingly clear water. It really is quite an eerie experience trying to imagine the speed and violence of the attack that tore this idyllic location apart and left hundreds entombed in this huge warship. If nothing else, a trip to Pearl harbour will leave you doubly appreciative of the (relatively) calm beauty of Oahu today.
No 5: North-Shore Pilgrimage
A visit to the “North Shore” surfing beaches is possible as a day-trip from Waikiki and, depending on the season, can provide some epic viewing of big wave surfing, or just another quiet day on yet another beautiful beach. The distinctive feature of this part of the Oahu coast is that there is no land to the north until the Bering Sea and this provides the North Shore with a distinctive split personality. During the Summer months, the sea can be calm and quite safe for swimming, but during the winter months, if the wind blows from the North, the surf can be absolutely epic. Two spots that are well worth a visit are Ehukai Beach, which includes the legendary surfing break “Banzai Pipeline”, and Waimea, where the coastal topography (similar to Hanuma bay) creates a natural viewing amphitheatre, while the shape of the sea floor creates the conditions for some of the biggest breaking waves on the planet. Even if you have no interest in surfing, the North Shore deserves a visit, even if it is just to marvel at the sheer number of great beaches Oahu has to offer.
The above five locations are my personal Oahu favourites, but they barely scratch the surface of what this incredible island has to offer. The fact that the TV show “Lost” was filmed on Oahu is another indication of how much unspoilt terrain there is. Of course, if you manage to run out of things to do on Oahu, Hawaiian Air offers a huge number of inter-island flights which give you access to the other Islands such as Hawaii itself, site of Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano (and its highest mountain if you measure from the bottom of the Pacific, rather than sea level). If you do decide to visit the “Big Island”, just be sure not to take any lava back home with you … it’s reputed that bad luck will plague you until you return the rock to its proper home, and there used to be an impressive display of repatriated lava at the Volcano’s National Park visitor centre, taken from the Island by sceptics who mysteriously turned into believers. If you want to learn more about the Hawaiian Islands, James Michener’s “Hawaii” offers a usefully accessible historical overview, from the geology of their creation all the way through to the 20th Century, wrapped in the author’s trademark fictional narrative. For a fascinating view of the North Shore surfing culture try to get hold of Andy Martin’s “Walking on Water”. A truly brilliant book, detailing a journey that took the author from surfing beginner to riding the North Shore waves himself – a highly recommended read.
(Images: rickynorris; Alicia0928; cliff1066)
