Hawaii - Jeff Campbell [114]
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SEA LIFE PARK
More like a circus than an aquarium, Hawaii’s only marine park (259-2500, 866-393-5158; www.sealifeparkhawaii.com; 41-202 Kalaniana′ole Hwy; adult/child 3-11 $29/19; 10:30am-5pm) offers a mixed bag of attractions that, frankly, aren’t worth your time. The theme-park entertainment includes choreographed shows and pool encounters with imported Atlantic bottlenose dolphins, a controversial activity (see the boxed text, Click here).
The park’s 300,000-gallon aquarium is filled mostly with marine animals not found in Hawaiian waters, including rays and sharks. There’s also a penguin habitat, a turtle lagoon and a seabird ‘sanctuary’ with native ′iwa. The park does maintain a breeding colony of green sea turtles, releasing young hatchlings back into their natural habitat each year. But if you really want to learn about Hawaii’s marine life, visit the Waikiki Aquarium (Click here).
Although parking in the main lot costs $3, if you continue past the ticket booth to an area marked ‘additional parking,’ there’s typically no fee. TheBus No 22 (Beach Bus), 23 (Hawai′i Kai–Sea Life Park) and 57 (Kailua–Sea Life Park) all stop here.
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GETTING AWAY FROM IT ALL
Ka′ena Point (Click here)
Ho′omaluhia Botanical Garden (Click here)
Contemporary Museum (Click here)
La Mariana Sailing Club (Click here)
Manoa Cliffs Circuit (Click here)
Shangri La (Click here)
Koko Crater (opposite)
Makaha Beach Park (Click here)
Kane′aki Heiau (Click here)
Wahiawa Botanical Garden (Click here)
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WINDWARD COAST
More than anything, this lush coast is defined by the dramatic Ko′olau Range, where the pali (cliffs) are shrouded in mist as often as they are bathed in glorious sunshine. Tropical rain showers guarantee that everything shares a hundred different shades of green, even more dazzling when set against turquoise bays and white-sand beaches. Repeat visitors to O′ahu often make this side of the island their adventure base camp, whether they’ve come to kayak, windsurf, snorkel, dive or just laze on the sand.
Although some enticing beaches are here, especially around Waimanalo and Kailua Bays, keep in mind that many spots farther north along the coast are too silted to be much more than a snapshot. Swimmers should keep a careful eye out for the stinging Portuguese man-of-wars that are sometimes washed in during storms.
Once you’ve left behind the affluent suburbs of Kailua and Kane′ohe, which are less than 10 miles over the pali from metro Honolulu, the rest of the coast is surprisingly rural, with humble roadside shops, small farms and taro patches. The Kamehameha Hwy becomes a modest two-lane road that runs the length of the entire coast, doubling as Main St for each of the small towns along the way.
Three highways cut through the Ko′olau Range from central Honolulu to the Windward Coast. The Pali Hwy (Hwy 61) goes straight into Kailua center. The Likelike Hwy (Hwy 63) runs directly into Kane′ohe, although it doesn’t have the scenic lookouts that the Pali Hwy has. The H-3 Fwy begins near Pearl Harbor and cuts through the mountains directly to Kan′eohe.
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THE PALI HIGHWAY
This scenic highway is the perfect vantage point for marvelling at the emerald Ko′olau Range, which it slices right through. If it has been raining heavily every fold and crevice of each hoary pali will have a lacy waterfall streaming down its face.
The highway’s official purpose is to link Honolulu with Kailua on the Windward Coast. An ancient footpath once wound its way perilously over these cliffs. In 1845 the path was widened into a horse trail and, later again, into a cobblestone road that would allow carriage traffic to pass. The Old Pali Highway was built along the same route in 1898. It was abandoned in the 1950s after tunnels were blasted through the Ko′olau Range for the present multilane highway.
You can still drive a scenic stretch of the Old Pali Hwy now called Nu′uanu Pali Dr (Map) by turning east off the Pali Hwy (Hwy