Oahu - Hawaii with Kids - page 123

Ahead lies 647-foot-high Makapuu Point, with a lighthouse that once sig-
naled safe passage for steamship passengers arriving from San Francisco. The
automated light now brightens Oahu's south coast for passing tankers, fish-
ing boats, and sailors. You can take a short hike up here for a spectacular vista
(p. 142). You could also spend the rest of the day at Sea Life Park , a marine

amusement park described on p. 115.
Turn the corner at Makapuu, and you're on Oahu's windward side, where
cooling trade winds propel windsurfers across turquoise bays; the waves at
Makapuu Beach Park (p. 127) are perfect for bodysurfing.
Ahead, the coastal vista is a profusion of fluted green mountains and strange
peaks, edged by golden beaches and the blue, blue Pacific. The 3,000-foot-high
sheer green Koolau Mountains plunge almost straight down, presenting an irre-
sistible jumping-off spot for hang-glider pilots, who catch the thermals on
hours-long rides.
Winding up the coast, Kalanianaole Highway (Hwy. 72) leads through rural
Waimanalo, a country beach town of nurseries and stables, fresh-fruit stands,
and some of the island's best conch and triton shell specimens at roadside stands.
Nearly 4 miles long, Waimanalo Beach is Oahu's longest beach and the most
popular for bodysurfing. Take a swim here or head on to Kailua Beach , one

of Hawaii's best (p. 130).
THE WINDWARD COAST
From the Nuuanu Pali Lookout , near the summit of the Pali Highway
(Hwy. 61), you get the first hint of the other side of Oahu, a region so green and
lovely that it could be an island sibling of Tahiti. With its many beaches and
bays, the scenic 30-mile windward coast parallels the corduroy-ridged, nearly
perpendicular cliffs of the Koolau Range, which separates the windward side of
the island from Honolulu and the rest of Oahu. As you descend on the serpen-
tine Pali Highway beneath often gushing waterfalls, you'll see the nearly 1,000-
foot spike of Olomana, the bold pinnacle that always reminds us of Devil's
Tower National Monument in Wyoming. Beyond it lies the Hawaiian village of
Waimanalo.
From the Pali Highway, to the right is Kailua, Hawaii's biggest beach town,
with more than 50,000 residents and two special beaches, Kailua and Lanikai,
begging for visitors. (See “Beaches,” below, for more details.) Funky little Kailua
is lined with million-dollar houses next to tar-paper shacks, antiques shops,
and bed-and-breakfasts. Although the Pali Highway (Hwy. 61) proceeds directly
to the coast, it undergoes two name changes, becoming first Kalanianaole
Highway—from the intersection of Kamehameha Highway (Hwy. 83)—and
then Kailua Road as it heads into Kailua town; but the road remains Highway
61 the whole way. Kailua Road ends at the T intersection at Kalaheo Drive,
which follows the coast in a northerly and southerly direction. Turn right on
South Kalaheo Drive to get to Kailua Beach Park and Lanikai Beach. No signs
point the way, but you can't miss them.
If you spend a day at the beach here, stick around for sunset, when the sun
sinks behind the Koolau Range and tints the clouds pink and orange. After a
hard day at the beach, you'll work up an appetite, and Kailua has several great,
inexpensive restaurants. (See “Family-Friendly Dining,” earlier in this chapter.)
If you want to skip the beaches this time, turn left on North Kalaheo Drive,
which becomes Kaneohe Bay Drive as it skirts Kaneohe Bay and leads back to
Kamehameha Highway (Hwy. 83), which then passes through Kaneohe. The