Honolulu, HI

Last weekend my wife and I went to the Ala Moana Mall near Honolulu. This is the largest outdoor mall in the United States, and although we have been here many times, we still probably haven’t seen it all. There are literally hundreds of shops and vendors to choose from, in addition to dozens of eateries, from fast food to gourmet dining. Also, it’s a visually appealing mall, with numerous fountains, koi ponds and landscaping throughout.

When my wife and I go to Hamauma Bay, we like to walk all the way down to the far end of it, where there are few—sometimes no—other people, even when the main beach is crowded (which is most days). Hanauma Bay is the well-known marine preserve on Oahu’s east end, popular with snorkelers. If you would like to know more about the main beach and getting into the preserve itself, then please see this post on Hanauma Bay in general, since I won’t duplicate that information here; I will just cover our experience with the far end of the bay.

My wife and I live in Waikiki, and one of our favorite beaches is Sans Souci, which translates to “without a care” in French. This beach is next to Diamond Head fronting the New Otani Kaimana Beach Hotel. The beach is protected by a coral reef out front, which makes for gentle waters suitable for family swimming, although there is a lifeguard tower here. There are showers as well as a nice restaurant (The Hau Tree Lanai) right on the beach in the hotel. The beach is also a bit wider here than on the main Waikiki beaches.

Last weekend I hunted for treasure at Waikiki Beach. I wasn’t even the only person doing it. My only tools: a waterproof metal detector and a sand scoop. By now the image of an old guy wearing headphones walking Waikiki Beach sweeping a metal detector over the sand as he goes is a familiar sight. After watching people do this over the years, I decided to try it for myself—with a slight twist—I wanted a fully submersible detector so I could go snorkeling, or even scuba diving with it—and I must say it has been a fun hobby.

The most commonly kind of shark seen was called a sandbar shark. These are your typical gray, predatory-looking sharks-on-the-prowl. We were also lucky enough to see a couple of large Galapagos sharks. Every now and then, the boat crew told us they see the much bigger (and more dangerous) tiger sharks, and even less frequently than that—the mighty great white, but we didn’t see any of those on our trip. It was really cool to watch the sharks thrashing around and cruising on the surface of the water while we waited our turn for the cage.

Looking to the left, there is sort of a shallow bay area leading up to a high stone wall fronting another beach mansion. There is a small footpath that winds its way out through the rocks to this wall, and while we were there we saw a group of Hawaiian kids taking turns jumping off the wall into the water below. It looked like fun, but my wife and I preferred to remain on the main, sandy part of the beach.

Once down the hill, it was a pleasant ride through wide, tree-lined streets until we reached Waialae Beach, about twenty minutes after we had left Waikiki. There is a beach park here with green grass, and a parking lot with a small foot bridge spanning a canal that leads to the beach. We parked our scooter-cars in the lot and crossed the bridge to the beach.

We like to go snorkeling here if the surf isn’t too rough. There are some cauliflower corals, humu humu trigger fish, and some larger game fish sought after by the fishermen. The beaches fronting Diamond Head run for several miles, and each little spot has its own characteristics. The best part about it is how few people there are on the beach, even though it is right next to Waikiki.

Sure the Ka ‘Iwa scenic shoreline hike, with its peak views of winding Koolaus mountains, Rabbit Island, Sea Life Park, and the Makapu Peninsula (not to mention the ocean so vast you can almost see a bend in the earth’s horizon), stretches the definition of sweetness during the day, but what about taking this same hike at night? Yeah, that’s right, as in when it’s totally dark outside.

Also, you should not venture beyond the reef as there is large surf there. Unless, of course, you are an experienced surfer or boogie boarder and that’s what you’re looking for.
If the sun gets to be too much for you, walk up the beach to the park, where there are many trees affording shade. There is also an Army museum up here, with some old tanks and heavy guns on display out front. Another way to cool down is to have a snack and a beer at the concession stand on the beach.