Day 7: Byodo-In Temple, Makapu'u Lighthouse & Maunawilli Falls

Happy Valentines Day!

How time has flown! You know, Oahu has a bad rep; yes, it's easily the most developed and populated of the Hawaiian islands, but that doesn't mean there's nothing worth seeing. This is the first time we've allotted a full week for Oahu but now that our last day is here I feel like we've only scratched the surface of what Oahu has to offer.

Luckily, we magically wake up early enough to catch the sunrise -- well, early enough if we throw on whatever clothes are on top and fairly run through the empty street.

Mokulua islands in the distance

 

It just gets better!
 

The sunrise crowd: a woman and her dog ... loving the quiet of the gated beach access right now!

 

Back at the apartment we settle on the lawn chairs by the canal and enjoy our leftover crepes since we ran out without having breakfast. Hmm just as tasty as it was last night!

 

With only one day left there's no time to lose and we drive straight to the Valley of the Temples Memorial Park, with tucked in back the mesmerizing Byodo-In Temple. 

Like a postcard ... are you sure we're in Hawaii?

Autograph tree ... fascinating!

There's also a lot to see for the animal lover: swans, turtles, many kinds of birds, a large school of fat and happy koi and the temperamental resident tortoise shell cat who will let you pet her -- until she says enough! Mrrroow!

Little turtle friends lounging in the sun

Black swan swimming into the light

View from the back ... see the koi in the pond?

Time to get a little closer!

 



As a sign of respect you have to remove your shoes before stepping into the inner sanctuary where a a large gilded Buddha sits surrounded by flowers and numerous smaller sculptures. It's a peaceful space with the sweet smell of incense on the air, the bell ringing in the distance and just the faintest breeze flowing through the open space.

Buddha by famed Japanese sculptor Masuzo Inui.

On our way out we walk past this large bell which will bring the ringer happiness, the blessing of Buddha and a long life. It's customarily rung before entering the temple so unfortunately we got things backwards ... make sure you walk to the left when entering the park if you want to do it correctly.

How sweet thy sound ...

 

Man, this day couldn't possibly get any better! Next up the Ka'Iwi Scenic shoreline trail to the Makapu'u lighthouse. There isn't any space left in the parking lot so we join the others parked along the side and start the "hike" to the trail head. Yep, we definitely tacked on some distance there but this is an easy hike along a paved path so it's all good. 

 

Clearly there is some elevation gain. Koko Crater in the distance.

View back towards the parking lot

There's no trail that leads to Makapu'u Lighthouse anymore, but it's worth the hike just seeing it perched on the edge of the cliff. We also got to see a few whales off in the distance.

This is about as close as you can get these days.

View from the overlook near the top. Look familiar? Check out yesterday's post.

 

I'm usually prepared for anything, but darn it if I didn't pack a bathing suit today! What a gorgeous stretch of beach right by the road!

 

Pristine Waimanalo Bay

 

After discovering Uahi Island Grill a few days ago we've been wanting to go back and it's right on the way to our next destination ... did I plan it that way? Maybe, I really don't remember but it sounds like something I would do haha.

I planned to take a picture of my perfectly prepared food, but I scarfed most of it down before I remembered. Oops. Sandy gets their famous crispy fried garlic chicken and choose one of the daily specials, a pesto shrimp plate lunch.

 

What was left when I remembered I wanted a picture.

We'll end the day with another muddy waterfall trail by hiking to Maunawili Falls. We've only just started walking when the mosquitoes move in -- eek, emergency deet session! Can you OD on this stuff?

It suddenly occurs to me that we're supposed to call Alamo about our rental tomorrow night. Luckily, there's a good signal and after a quick call we're all set for pick-up from the ferry terminal. Yay!

 

I don't think there's been an excessive amount of rain lately, but this is 10x muddier than yesterday's slide fest. It starts innocuous enough:

 

Little roots

Bigger roots

Wait, is this a stream or a trail?!

The art of crossing a stream with dry feet ... fail!

Lots of roots poking out of the super slippery mud

Note: the falls are kind of tricky to find. We were lucky enough to get a heads up from a group of hikers heading back and paid it forward by helping others on our way out ... pay attention or you might end up taking an accidental detour.

There they are! It doesn't look like anything on the picture, but they're a decent height. A couple of locals showed up and were jumping down from the top -- wouldn't recommend that. I was petrified to even get my busted up feet wet for fear of contracting leptospirosis.

 

More boulder hopping: good thing I'm part mountain goat

Your trusty hiking guides: if we can do, so can you!

Did I mention there were a lot of roots?! This place will fulfill all your secret jungle gym wishes and then some.

 

Ok, that's not a root people! How come no one warned me about the whole tree!

My favorite picture of the day ... so magical I keep expecting fairies to pop out from behind the trees.

 

We head back to the apartment to get freshened up. Doug is out on the patio and he lets me use his big yellow kayak on the canal. Wheeeee! He even drags it over to the canal entry for me ... how sweet is that?!

 

I forgot how much fun this is!

Check out the sky behind me! Sunset is not about to be outdone by the sunrise we had this morning.

Our purrrty host kitty

Not wanting to waste a single second of precious daylight we end the day the same way we started it; with a relaxing stroll along Kailua Beach

 

Lights are already on in the distance

 

For dinner we head to downtown Kailua since we also need to pick up some more supplies to take care of my mangled toes (courtesy of two days of back-to-back surfing). The liquid Band-Aid spray we picked up a few days ago was a BAD idea causing lots of fluid build-up, then partially peeling and having to scrub the rest off. Ouch. No more fancy remedies for me.

 

We don't want to stay up too late since we have to get up early for our flight to the island of Lanai so after stocking up on basic Band-Aids we head to a funky fast food joint called Teddy's Bigger Burgers. We're not big fast food fans so I probably wouldn't go back, but it wasn't bad. Where else can you go for a quick meal on Valentines Day?

 

Not the most romantic ambiance haha

 

 

Breakfast: Na Ka Oi leftovers

Lunch: Uahi Island Grill
Dinner: Teddy's Bigger Burgers

Lodging: AirBNB