Honolulu – RDZ Photography

Virtual Travel – Hawaii

Architecture, Art, Festival, History, Museum, Nature, Transportation, Water Features

Because of the uniqueness of Hawaii I have no state highway maps in my collection. For this trip we will use a National Geographic Map from 1976.

Having spent an amazing 3 weeks in the islands, there are plenty of photos of the highlights. As a result this is a very long posting full of photos.

Hawaii – The Big Island. Covering over 4000 square miles, it is slightly smaller than Connecticut.

Big Island HI Pu’uhonua O Honaunau National Historic Park

Big Island South Point

Southernmost point of any U.S. State – take that Key West

Green Sand Beach

Black Sand Beach

Volcano National Park

Kaimu Bay

McKenzie Park

Hilo – One huge banyan tree

Akaka Falls

Hilo (again)

Waipio Valley

Pololu Valley Overlook

Kapaau

Kona Cultural Festival

Off Kona

Maui

Views from the water

Lahania

More coastal Maui views

Iao Valley

Haleakala National Park

Kahekill Highway

Waimoku Falls

Hana

Kahului Hi Hui No’eau Visual Arts Center

Makai Glass Company

Dingking Surfboard Company

Molokai and Lanai

Lanai

It was once massive plantation, so the landscape has been altered to support the sugar crops.

Lanai cat sanctuary

Molokai

Drive to the far eastern end of the island

Halawa Valley

Native leader

Tallest seacliffs in the world – 3000′ high.

Oahu

Ka’ena Point

Makaha Valley

Honolulu, Waikiki Beach & Diamond Head

Waiahole Preserve & Kaneohe

North Shore Oahu

Dole Pineapple Plantation

Back in Waikiki

View from Diamond Head

Iolani Palace

Hawaii State Capitol

Aloha Tower in Honolulu Harbor

Makapu’u Overlook

One final night in Waikiki

Kauai

Waimea Canyon

Kalalau Lookout

Waimea Canyon

Polihale State Park and Beach

Waimea State Park Beach

Opeaka’a Falls

Rainbow Trees

Wailua Homesteads

One of the million wild chickens in Hawaii

Cocoa beans

Hawaii – November 2018 – Day 3 One Final Day on Oahu

Architecture, Nature

Our final day in Honolulu started out with the obligatory tourist trek up Diamond Head.

For those who don’t know Diamond Head is the most famous landmark in Honolulu. The mountain is the remains of a volcano approximately 500,000 years old.

Once you make it to the top of the 750′ mountain, the cauldron is apparent.

Situated in the east side of Honolulu, it is surrounded by nice neighborhoods.

Because it is at the east end of the island, the Diamond Head lighthouse is located at the base to warn ships.

Our hike complete, we headed downtown to check out the historic buildings, including the post office.

Easily the most famous is Iolani Palace, and the statue of King Kamehameha.

Across the street was the royal residence

Inside the Palace

A secondary building on the property.

Nearby is the Hawaii State Capital

There are numerous other historic buildings downtown.

Our architecture tour complete, we headed for the last part of the island we had yet to see, the South Shore.

After returning to our hotel, I spent some time doing close ups of the Waikiki Hotels.

And the nearby mountains.

Hawaii – November 2018 – Day 2 Around Oahu

Architecture, History, Nature, Sciences, Transportation

Our first full day in Hawaii started off at the crack of dawn, as we headed up into the mountains to hike up to Manoa Falls. As we parked we realized we were surrounded by chickens.

Our path up the rocky and muddy trail took us into the jungle.

Eventually we reached Manoa Falls. At 150′ high it is one of the taller waterfalls in all of Hawaii.

Coming back down the mountain into the neighborhoods we had yet another rainbow. At times it seems we could get rain without clouds, but they were always brief and the sun was out in a few minutes.

Our next stop was Tantalus Overlook. The views from here are amazing.

Downtown Honolulu

The airport is built in the harbor.

Honolulu has height restrictions on buildings so they don’t block the view of Diamond Head. Almost all buildings have to be under 400 feet, so most are 399.

Leaving the overlook we headed out Pali Highway, stopping at the overlook facing the east side of the island.

The town of Kailua and Lanikai Beach.

From here you can clearly make out the cauldron of a former volcano.

We continued down this side of the mountains to go to the Ho’omaluhia Botanical Gardens.

After stopping at the visitor center we set off.

It was great to see plants and flowers we normally only see at conservatories out in the wild. The only down side was the mud, What looked like grass, was in fact mud hiding just below. We came out a mess.

In addition to the plants and flowers, their views of the mountains were spectacular.

Eventually it was time to head on and we set out for the North Shore.

Lunch was at one of the famed shrimp trucks.

The North Shore is famed for their large waves for surfing.

At the far end of the island we stopped at Waimea Valley, another botanical garden, with less mud than the earlier one. This one had paved paths and a great collection.

The falls were somewhat of a disappointment, at only 85′ high.

As we returned towards Honolulu we went through a valley with large pineapple fields.

In the middle was the Dole Plantation. Now a tacky tourist spot it did give us a chance to see pineapples in various stages of growth.

They also have nice gardens. But still a very tacky touristy place.

Finally we reached Honolulu as the sun set.

And our day was over – but not before one more treat. In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I they had an all day celebration, complete with fireworks. And we were lucky enough to have a front row seat from our 8th floor balcony.

Hawaii – November 2018 – Day 1 Honolulu and Beyond

Nature, Transportation

Time for another ‘Road’ Trip – this time to Hawaii. After a very long flight we arrived in Honolulu mid afternoon on a Saturday. Rather than going straight to the hotel, we opted to head west pats Waianae to go to Kaena Point. On the way we were greeted with this great Rainbow, keeping with one of the nicknames of the state – the Rainbow State.

Eventually we made it to Keawaula Beach. Our first views of Hawaii looked like the postcards.

Cars and trucks lined every available space as the locals and tourists alike were enjoying the beautiful day.

We passed numerous people fishing.

As we made our way back toward Honolulu we passed the Makua Valley.

A brief stop at Makahal Beach Park.

And it was on to the city. With a metro population of almost a million people in a very small area, Honolulu was crowded and busy. We were surprised to find a 10 lane freeway through parts of the city.