Tag: Koko Crater

Kokohead Botanical Garden – Desert Botanicals and Hawaiian Flowers in a Volcano Crater

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Koko craterWhether you are a virgin or not – you should go in a volcano while you are in Hawaii. You can go in Diamond Head or head over to the Big Island but my suggestion is that while you are on Oahu, you visit a geologic masterpiece on the south side of the island.

You can climb up Koko Head Stairs and then you can go take a cool down hike through the Koko Head crater.  To get there you will drive from either the Honolulu side or the Kailua side. Between the two you will find Sandy’s Beach and that is where you’ll turn and drive through California looking suburbs, past a golf course, up to a horse stable and guess what…you’re there – inside the Koko Head Volcano. Look around and it will make sense, but when you drive in – you barely notice because one side of the volcano opens to the burbs.

Koko Crater

What I love about this spot is th at it is generally off the radar – the yoga/hiking/Instagram selfie crowd like to go to the tops of the mountains, the old bus tourists stay on the well worn coastal roads and stops, and Koko Crater just sits like a jewel waiting to be discovered. Sixty acres of serene, colorful, fragrant and almost never crowded dryland botanical garden. Dozens of plumeria flower trees (frangipangi), bougainvilla, cactii, and Hawaiiian endemic species all abound with color and beauty.

Koko Crater

The garden has been built since 1960 and is an ongoing and never ending project of the Honolulu Botanical Gardens. The climate in the crater is suitable for African, American, Hawaiian, and Madagascarian plants and cactii. There is a two mile loop trail with more than two hundred species on it. I usually spend a couple of hours there but I would recommend no less than an hour to enjoy it. Bring water and wear sunscreen. You don’t really have to worry about bugs here.

Koko Crater

Koko Head Stairs – Oahu’s #1 Fitness Hike – Climb a Hawaiian Volcano!

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Koko Head Stairs

If you’ve ever dreamed of hiking to the top of an extinct Hawaiian volcano – this hike is for you.  Sure, you can join the thousands of other tourists climbing up the inside of Diamond Head – but if you want to climb the outside of a volcano, get away from the entrance fees, experience sweeping wild views of the rocky South Shore of Oahu the Pacific Ocean, and even the neighbor islands of Molokai, Lanai, and Maui – then climbing the Koko Head Stairs is for you.

Koko Head Stairs

It’s a funny name…but there is nothing funny about this hike. 1042 stairs up the vertical face of a volcano on Oahu. Koko Head is 1208 feet tall (368m). That’s the tall part with the stairs. There is a bit of confusion around the name because in fact, the stairs go up Koko Crater – Koko Head is actually the headland on the other side of Hanauama Bay – the peak (where the stairs go) is actually named Kohelepelepe. Confused yet? Don’t be – just do like everyone else and call the hike Koko Head Stairs.

 

Koko Head Stairs

Koko Head last erupted about 35,000 years ago. So you don’t have to worry about that happening while you hike. You just have to worry about finding your way to Koko Head Regional Park. Once there, park past the baseball diamond. The pop pop pop you hear is the Kokohead shooting range. It’s contained and no danger to hikers. You’ll see exhausted hikers strewn all around the parking area.

Koko Head Stairs

Follow the path past the baseball diamond to the base of the stairs. You’ll see hundreds of pairs of hiking shoes thrown onto the power lines as you approach the base of the stairs. I don’t know why people do that. Shoes are expensive.

Koko Head Stairs

The stairs are the remains of a funicular built by the U.S. military during World War II. A small train pulled troops and equipment up to pillboxes and bunkers on the top. You don’t get that option because the train is long gone. The railway ties, howeever, remain. Get ready for over a thousand lunges…big steps. Halfway up you will have to overcome any fear of heights as you cross the crumbling railway bridge and then you will go up the last near vertical section just as you think you can’t go any further.

Koko Head Stairs

Finally, you will reach the top and share smiles and congratulations for your amazing achievement – don’t let the fitness freaks who have run past you four times on your journey up take away from the moment (they went up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down – freaks.) It’s not an easy hike. Many turn back. Many look up the stairs and don’t even try.

Koko Head Stairs

From the top you can find different views. The communities of Hawaii Kai and Portlock with Diamond Head in the distance. Hanauma Bay below you. The neighbor islands. And the interior of the Koko Crater which is filled with a desert botanical garden.

Koko Head Stairs

Hike up to the metal grate and take epic photos. Hydrate. And get ready for the hike down when your legs will turn to jelly.

Don’t forget to wear sunscreen, bring water, wear breathable clothes, wear good shoes – this is not a flip flop or barefoot hike. Also take breaks if you need to and don’t be afraid to call it quits if it is too much. A hat isn’t a bad idea either.

The Halona Blowhole – Lavatube, Wild Hawaii Coast, South Shore Oahu Marvel

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Halona BlowholeI’ve always thought that the Halona Blowhole, and blowholes in general, are very unfortunately named. They should instead be called ocean geysers or lava tube spouts – but blowhole? Really? Oh well, there’s nothing I can do about it. The unfortunate name doesn’t change the fact that the Halona Blowhole is one of Oahu’s most exciting natural wonders. Like Diamond Head– people come to Hawaii with seeing ‘the blowhole’ on their bucket list – often without knowing what to expect.

Halona is a stretch of rocky and wild coastline on the South shore of Oahu. The word Halona means overlook in Hawaiian language and as descriptions go, it’s pretty apt. Sitting between Breakneck Beach (Sandys) and Hanauma Bay – this rocky overlook provides views of whales, Maui, multi-colored water, and of course, the aforementioned blowhole. So, just what is the blowhole?

Halona Blowhole

Several hundred thousand years ago, the Koko Head volcano was active and lava flowed from it to the ocean below. Surface lava cooled quickly and hardened into stone, but under the surface rivers and streams of molten rock made their way to the ocean. As the streams dried up, they left tubes behind – sometimes large, other times small. Most of them collapsed from the weight of the rock above but some of them (in particular smaller ones) remained as small tunnels. One such lava tube formed at Halona and was left just below the high water mark. Tens of thousands of years of wave action eventually broke the surface of the tube so that incoming waves would burst through the rock after traveling some distance in the lava tube – if the pressure was (or is) strong enough based on direction of the waves, volume of water, and tidal conditions – the water spouts skywards and sometimes causes visitors to get wet!

On the right day, at the right time, in the right conditions – the Halona Blowhole goes as high as 30 feet! Other days you are lucky to see a little mist coming out. Nearly every visitor to Oahu makes the trek to Halona – the parking lot can be crowded – but on the right days – you won’t even notice the people. Don’t forget to look behind you at the Kokohead Volcano. Blowhole Oahu

There are strict rules in place and visitors are not allowed to go down to where the blowhole erupts. In the past there were no fences or barriers and adventure seekers would get close to the blowhole to feel the power of nature…and some of them died. There have been a handful of fatalities from people making bad decisions and the result is that no one is allowed to go near the blowhole. On one tragic day, a teenager got blasted by the spray and then sucked into the blowhole and died in front of visitors.

Halona From Here to Eternity

The Halona Blowhole parking lot is also where you park if you want to visit Eternity Beach – but I’ll tell you about that in another post.

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