Our excursion today is Famous North Shore, a 7-hour trip around the island of Oahu, especially along the shore area with the beaches that have the huge waves that draw surfers from around the world. We will cover many miles, so it is fortunate that there is a tourist board person on board the ship. We stop by his desk on our way out and pick up a map, an indispensable part of enjoying the trip. For the same reason, we have put in a map to head up this post.
We are in Insignia Lounge at 9:00am and find many of our friends there as well, so Steve collects about fifteen tickets from people so that we will be on the same bus together. By 9:15, we are through the cruise terminal and out to hop on the bus. We really luck out. The bus is a small one, and is driven by our guide, a young woman named Monique. Immediately we sense that a good day is coming our way.
Off we go through the city as Monique introduces herself. She is actually from Concord, New Hampshire. Her husband took a job here just over a year ago, and she tells us that she loves living here. Her interests are the outdoors as well as plant and animal life, so being a guide for Oahu Nature Tours is right up her alley. She says that she has been studying Hawaiian history, geology, biology and every other piece of information she can get her hands on ever since she arrived. Just a few minutes into the trip, we can see that she has.
Before we leave, she passes out a menu (with pictures) of the place where we will be eating lunch. Each of us checks off what we want and pass it to the next person. All Monique tells us is that it will be a shrimp place and the shrimp are local. It’s hard to choose, everything looks yummy! Steve chooses coconut shrimp, and Cathy the tempura. Monique calls ahead to out in the order.
Steve did not bring his notebook today. He just wants to enjoy the scenery, so there will be less detail than in other posts. But the map is a big help. We head up Hawaii State Route 61, the road we came down yesterday from Pali Lookout, and this time we pass through the long tunnel that runs through the Ko’olau Mountains from the leeward to the windward side of the island. We come down a very steep grade as Monique tells us that eons ago there was a gigantic landslide on this side of the island resulting in this precipitous drop.
In a few more minutes, we turn left into Valley of the Temples, our first stop. The highlight is the picturesque Byodo-In Temple, built in the 1960s to commemorate the 100thanniversary of the arrival of the first Japanese immigrant workers, brought in to work in the sugar cane fields. It is a beautiful, peaceful place with some very interesting animals, including all sorts of birds and a pond full of koi.
We leave the Valley of the Temples and turn left at the huge McDonalds on Route 61. I mention this restaurant because our guide tells us that this giant chain has indeed adjusted their breakfast menu to appeal to local Hawaiian diets. Egg McMuffins are out; rice and fish are in. Interesting.
We come to the junction of State Route 83, the road that hugs the coast that we will be on for the next four hours. It starts out as the Kahekili Highway but transitions into the Kamehameha Highway before long. We head north to our next stop, Kualoa Regional Park, where we see Mokoli’i, a 12.5-acre islet more commonly known as Chinaman’s Hat because of its shape.
Nearby is Kualoa Ranch and Private Nature Reserve. As the name implies, this is a 4,000-acre installation that indeed is a cattle ranch, although most of that is being phased out as uncompetitive. Parts of many movies have been filmed here, including Jurassic Parkand Kong: Skull Island. The family that owns this ranch also owned Chinaman’s Hat Island but sold it to the government of the City and County of Honolulu.
We continue traveling north along the windward coast to our next stop, the Malaekahana State Recreation Area, a popular camping and beach area that is a state park. We take some photos as Monique tells about the wildlife – mostly birds – that inhabit the area. There are lots of chickens. Can’t remember why, but there are lots of them.
Next comes lunch near the village of Kahuku, which is almost at the northern tip of Oahu. There is significant shrimp farming here and a cottage industry of food trucks selling shrimp and fish dishes sprang up. We eat in an outdoor pavilion attached to a building that, were we in Maine, would be called a clam shack. The name of the place is Fumi’s, and the owner was so successful with his truck that it has grown into a bustling restaurant. The shrimp farm is right next to a pond where the shrimp are raised. It was very funky and picturesque. There was even an outdoor sink where we could wash our hands after eating.
Monique is not only our guide and the bus driver, but she also is the wait staff. We all take seats at picnic tables and she picks up our lunch order. In the intervening few minutes before she serves us, Steve wanders around to take pictures [including two below: 1) a pond where shrimp are raised and 2)a nest of a rare kind of duck] while the rest of the guests, led by Pat Watt, sing Happy Birthday to Barbara O’Dell, whose birthday is today.
Food is served in Styrofoam trays. Fresh pineapple, rice and corn accompany our shrimp. Delicious! We have a coconut popsicle for dessert. Also delicious. We spot a masked heron chilling on a log and all snap pictures.
Then it’s back on the bus and off we go to Sunset Beach Park. We have rounded the top of the island and are now starting down the northwest side of the island, also known to surfers as “the seven-mile miracle.”
Sunset Beach Park is famous for huge 25-30-foot waves during the winter months, and has been drawing surfers for many decades. During the summer months, which we are virtually in, of course, the surf is much tamer, but surfing still abounds. Monique tells us about her fledgling surfing experiences. With her gumption, no doubt she will master the skill.
We pass by legendary Waimea Bay and some of the other beaches to our next stop, Hale’iwa Ali’I Beach Park. Another gorgeous setting on the quiet, peaceful, mostly rural north shore. More chickens.
We turn inland (we are still on the Kamehameha Highway) on State Route 99. This part of the island all belonged to the Dole Corporation and their thousands of acres of pineapple plantation. This plantation used to be the largest exporter of pineapples in the world, but global competition and high costs for labor have completely altered the landscape for this industry. Dole has sold most of the property and the pineapples that are grown are for local consumption only.
What is left is a tourist attraction. Here is how they describe it themselves on their website: “Originally operated as a fruit stand beginning in 1950, Dole Plantation opened to the public as Hawaii’s “Pineapple Experience” in 1989. Today, Dole Plantation is one of Oahu’s most popular visitor attractions and welcomes more than one million visitors a year. Dole Plantation provides enjoyable activities for the entire family, including the Pineapple Express Train Tour, the Plantation Garden Tour, and the Pineapple Garden Maze. Also popular are informational displays and presentations, as well as our plantation country store offering a wide variety of Dole Plantation gifts, local favorites, foods and refreshments including the world-famous DoleWhip®. And, before you leave you can purchase fresh pineapple to take home.” It was a typical American tourist place. Like Hershey Park. Awful. (editorial comment from Cathy)
The place is packed with buses. We wander around aimlessly for about fifteen minutes and then decided to just go outside, sit on a bench and people watch. When everyone is done shopping, we continue on down the road past the fields of pineapples and eventually on to the Interstate. Yes, they have Interstate Highways here, even though there is no such thing as going “interstate” way out here. We take H2 and then H1 into Honolulu.
The entire day, Monique has been driving and talking. In the one year she has been here, she has acquired a wealth of knowledge and has shared what she has learned. She has been a great guide and a joy to spend the day with. Oahu Nature Tours made a wise move when they hired her.
We arrive back on the ship around 3:30 or so. We are ready to relax, because tonight we have been invited by the O’Dells to celebrate Barbara’s birthday in the Grand Dining Room.
The birthday dinner is great fun, as you would expect when you gather with friends of Brian and Barbara. It starts at 7:00pm and ends at 9:30. The kitchen creates a huge and elaborate carrot cake for Barb at the suggestion of Nicolle and Regine, two of our and the O’Dells friends also on the ATW cruise.
We crash after that. There is a Dancing Under the Stars Deck Party on Deck 9 from 9:30 to 11:00pm, and many in our party head for that. God bless ‘em. The ship leaves at midnight for Maui. Steve unaccountably wakes up around 12:30am as the ship is cruising past Oahu and takes a picture of Diamond Head and the hillsides to the east of it.
Tomorrow our Hawaiian education continues.
