Kaena Point Trail

With this post comes the end of Kathryn's visit with us.  It was a whirlwind, action-packed two weeks and we had a lot of fun with her.  Typical of her "go-go-go" spirit, we were doing activities up until she left (we literally came home from this hike, showered, ate, and left for the airport).

The Kaena Point Trail is well-known on Oahu as you can get there from two directions, the west side through Wainae or through the North Shore.  As you guessed, it is the point joining the north and west sides of the island.  We choose to go through the north shore access, as it has better views and is a little more established and safer than the west side.

When arriving for the hike, the road dead ends to a gate and we just parked alongside the road.  You are able to drive past the gate if you get a special permit and have a 4-wheel drive vehicle (Kat and I thought this would be a lot of fun on an ATV).  Once past the gate, you can walk the "road" for the vehicles or bear off and hike along the shoreline.  There wasn't much of an established path, but as long as the mountains stayed to our left and the water to our right, we figured we couldn't get lost.  The route was about 3 miles each way, and even with our route by the water, we moved along at a pretty good pace.  The waves were pretty big that day (30-35 feet) so it was pretty awesome to walk along the shoreline and see the power of the ocean.

I was glad we did this hike during the winter, because there is absolutely no shade.  No trees along the trails, nothing.  Once we got to the end of the trail, you reach a fenced-in nature preserve.  It was kind of interesting entering, there was a big heavy door to go through to enter.  It seemed a bit out of place to me as there wasn't anything built up around there to fence in or out, but I digress...

Once we entered the nature preserve, there is maybe another quarter or half mile of walking to the point.  Along the way, we passed plenty of Albatross birds that are protected here and very animated.  We caught a couple of males in a fight for a female, and then we cracked up when she flew off and left them to their dance.

When we got to the actual point, we were holding our breath.  One of the biggest things this trail is known for is the congregation of monk seals that meet up on the point.  Monk seals are seen more on Kawai, so they are a treat on Oahu.  We were worried that with the surf so big, they wouldn't find their way safely in, but we worried for nothing.  We found two big, lazy, sleeping seals laying out on the rocks in the sun.  The few people there were respectful and kept their distance, letting them sleep undisturbed (it took everything in me to not go stretch out next to them, haha!).

After watching the seals for a bit, we saw the time and decided to head on back to the car.  We took the vehicle road on the way back so it would be a little more direct and faster, since someone had to catch a flight.  It was a fun end to Kathryn's visit, but we were sad to see her go.  I'll be looking forward to her next visit for sure!

We're heading to Maui this weekend for our first off-island excursion, so be on the lookout for some tales from that trip soon.  Aloha!