Lanikai Beach gets all the glory, but if you ask me, the most beautiful beach in the world is just down the road in the town of Waimanalo. Waimanalo is a little cowboy town on the windward side of Oahu. Less than five thousand people, a large number of them Native Hawaiian. The name Waimanalo means ‘good drinking water’.
If you go across the Pali Lookout and into the town of Kailua but then head south, you will come to Waimanalo. If you are coming from the south side of Oahu you will go past Sea Life Park and then Waimanalo will be the next town you come to. Waimanalo is the longest stretch of sandy beach on Oahu and it would connect to Lanikai if it weren’t broken up by Bellows Air Force Station.
Waimanalo is famous for the cowboys (paniolo) and for Akebono (aka Chad Rowan). Akebono was the first non-Japanese to ever achieve the title of yakuzuna, which translates as Grand Master in the Sumo wrestling world. On the south end is the remains of the Anderson Estate which was used in the original Magnum P.I. series. Waimanalo was also where the first prisoner of war taken by U.S. forces was captured during World War II (after the attack on Pearl Harbor).
Waimanalo is a laid back and good natured place. Don’t be shocked to see a lot of homeless camping in certain areas – Waimanalo is one of the few majority Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander areas on Oahu and they are among the hardest hit with being priced out of paradise. Where do you go when you can’t afford to live on the island in the middle of the Pacific where your ancestors lived for thousands of years? Well, you go to Waimanalo or Waianae and you do what you can to survive. It’s a raw deal. The aloha spirit is alive and well in Waimanalo – but I’m sure that plenty of residents wish that the world had never come knocking on Hawaii’s door – or that they could have kept the door closed. In any event, it’s too late now.
