3. Oahu-North Shore

After breakfast, we pack our things and by 8:30 AM we are all in the car. Our first destination is a hike to a waterfall - Mānoa Falls. Right from the starting point, it becomes clear why this valley is one of the rainiest places on the island. The air is cool, extremely humid, and filled with the earthy scent of the rainforest.

The path gently but steadily ascends from the very beginning. Anyone hiking here immediately understands why directors chose this location for Jurassic Park. You walk beneath gigantic eucalyptus trees and are surrounded by prehistoric ferns that are as big as beach umbrellas. The absolute highlight of the trail is the dense bamboo forest.
The biggest challenge of the hike is not the incline, but the terrain. Daily rain turns parts of the path into a genuine slip-and-slide. Without sturdy hiking shoes with good traction, one is bound to slip here. Unfortunately, most others are wearing the wrong footwear. Wearing flip-flops on this trail is not a good idea.
At the end of the valley, the forest opens up, revealing the view of Mānoa Falls. The water plunges 45 meters down a vertical, deep green rock face. The waterfall marks the end of the path. We retrace our steps and return to the parking lot in under an hour.
Then we head north. First, we stop briefly at the Dole Plantation. It's like Karl's Strawberry Farm, but with pineapples. There are many people here, eating, participating in tours, or wandering through the maze. For us, it's just a brief visit; we stroll through the area and see how pineapples are harvested. The food prices are too high for us, and we skip the plantation express train.
By lunchtime, we reach the North Shore, the world-famous, legendary stretch of coast in the north of the island. Initially, there are 2 egg wraps for each of us. I made them this morning. A great option for lunch.
After the boost, our first stop is Laniakea Beach. Turtles are often said to sleep on this beach. Unfortunately, it is very crowded, so the turtles are only in the water. I wouldn’t want to sleep on the beach among all this chaos either. We try to photograph them, which is not easy because they only surface briefly. It is still exciting to observe these creatures.
The Hawaiian green sea turtle, affectionately called Honu by the locals, is a living fossil. It can grow over a meter long, weigh up to 150 kilograms, and live well over 70 years.
We see various specimens in the water. Afterwards, we drive a few kilometers further and choose Sharks Cove, a bay known for good snorkeling conditions. We change and use our snorkeling masks. Initially, we are in shallow water with many stones. We spot many small fish, especially surgeonfish that cross our paths in schools. It is a lot of fun to observe these creatures. After a while, we leave the shallow tidal pool and switch to the deeper main bay. Here it's 2 to 6 meters deep and the colors become more vibrant. The sunlight refracts in the clear water, illuminating the colorful parrotfish that nibble on the algae from the lava rocks. We see several turtles here also feeding. They swim partly among us. We make sure not to get closer than 3 meters to them. However, that's not easy because the waves here are stronger. The diversity, including surgeonfish, parrotfish, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, and corals, impresses us. It is a lot of fun. Now there are two options: we can swim around the reef and then climb up the rocks, or we drift and swim with the current to the beach. We choose the second option. It is quite a distance, and I start to feel nauseous. The mask is hindering my breathing, and the waves add to the trouble. After about 1 hour, we reach the beach. David did really well; I was worried he might struggle with the distance. Now we walk the short distance to the car and drive 3 kilometers to Sunset Beach. There we enjoy our pineapple that we brought along and we go swimming in the turquoise water. Around 4:30 PM, we start heading back. Behind the northern tip, the surroundings change to a lush green, almost jungle-like landscape. On the left side, the calm, deep blue sea sparkles with offshore coral reefs. On the right side, the nearly vertical, deeply-ravined cliffs of the Koʻolau Mountains rise dramatically. In Kahuku, rural farms and the famous food truck spots shape the environment. Further south, the monumental nature of Kualoa Ranch dominates with its broad valleys. Kualoa Ranch is a 1,600-hectare private nature reserve and an active cattle farm. Many tours are offered there, as it is the filming location for movies like Jurassic Park and King Kong, etc. We stop briefly, look at the buildings. Beforehand, we inform ourselves about the tours. The conclusion was that the tours are too expensive and offer too little. Nevertheless, nature is impressive. Around 6:30 PM, we reach our apartment. Now we quickly cook our dinner. I fall asleep around 9 PM, totally exhausted. Once again, I fail to update the blog. However, I can save and edit the action cam videos.