Some of our personal favorite places to visit in Hawaii include some of the world’s most fascinating locations, like Kilauea Volcano!  There are so many various natural features throughout the islands that can capture your intrigue.  Check it out!

Ka Iwi Coastline

The Ka Iwi coastline is a 7 mile stretch of land on the Southeast shore of O’ahu. It’s been a hot topic for the last few years because the locals have fought the proposed developments for the area. There have been several proposals and investors wanting to develop luxury hotels, beach cabins, etc. If there’s anything that upsets locals more, it’s private, commercial developments on public beaches intended for tourism. The Ka Iwi coastline is also in a very residential area. It’s far from tourist hubs such as Waikiki and the Turtle Bay resort. I live 15 minutes away from the coastline and would frequently walk my dog on that coastline, go surfing there, or just hang out. It’s an area that a lot of locals frequent. As of April 2017, it seems that civilian efforts have put a halt to future developments in the area so luckily we won’t be seeing anything coming up on that coastline, at least for now. The coastline offers popular attractions like Sandy’s Beach, Makapu’u lighthouse hike, and others. I can’t count the times I’ve driven this coastline.

favorite places to visit in Hawaii

This is is small part of the Ka’iwi coastline. Image Copyright CyberCom, Inc.

Rainbows in your backyard

Rainbows are an everyday sight in Hawaii, seriously. It’s not uncommon to find a rainbow in your backyard during or after it’s raining. I never realized how special rainbows are until I moved to the mainland and realized there wasn’t many of them here. Rainbows are so common in Hawaii because the islands offer so much humidity to its’ inhabitants that there’s an abundance of water droplets in the air. It’s a frequent phenomenon. Additionally, because there are more sunny than cloudy days, this contributes to frequent rainbows. With moisture in the air and a consistent serving of sunlight, you’re bound to have a rainbow at some point! And in Hawaii because we’ve got those two factors present all the time, we’ve got rainbows all the time. My dad always took pictures of every rainbow we saw while out and about when I was growing up. I thought it was stupid. Then I moved to the mainland and realized why he was so appreciative of the beauty of Hawaii. It’s one of a kind.

Enjoy the simple things in life, like rainbows.
Waipio’o Valley by Andy Gippetti is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0. Image may have been resized or cropped from original

Raw nature in your backyard

Small neighborhoods are separated by valleys in O’ahu. Homes are really close to the mountains because of how tightly packed the islands are. So, in other words, you have raw nature in your backyard. My dad and I would go on hikes starting in our backyard on several occasions, exploring the valley and sometimes getting all the way up to the ridge from the bottom of the valley. There’s pretty raw, untouched, undeveloped nature scattered here in the islands and that’s why we can enjoy it so much as residents, although residents from 50 years ago may beg to differ. Other than alien plants that have taken over some of the islands’ ocean and land, there are continuous efforts to remove these invasive species.

things we like about Honolulu

When the sun sets on Thursday evening, it’s officially Aloha Friday time!
Maui Sunset by Saal is licensed under CC0 1.0. Image may have been resized or cropped from original. When the sun sets on Thursday evening, it’s officially Aloha Friday time!

 

Kilauea volcano

Kilauea is an active volcano on the island of Hawai’i, the big island. It attracts visitors year round and serves as home to rich Hawaiian history. It also serves as a location for the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, an establishment from 1912 that observes other active volcanoes as well. William Ellis was the first non native to explore and observe the volcano in detail. He hiked across the place for a few weeks back in 1832. Kilauea’s activity has made it difficult for plant life to sustain itself on the mountain side because of the sulfur which produces acid rains. It’s rough to stay alive. Ancient Hawaiians considered Kilauea as well as the other 4 volcanoes on the island to be sacred. The park became a national park in 1916 when Wilson signed the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park into law. It brings in almost 2.6 million people every year.


Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and Jaggar Museum by Matthew Dillon is licensed under CC BY 2.0. Image may have been resized or cropped from original.