Hawaii Travel｜Hiking the Scenic Coastline at the Easternmost Point of Oahu: Kaiwi Shoreline Trail
by: Ctrip local guide Hawaii - Zhao Youli
The Kaiwi Shoreline Trail is located at Makapuu, the southeasternmost tip of Oahu. This coastal hiking trail has two entrances. One is on Makapuu Lighthouse Road, sharing a parking lot with the lighthouse hiking trail. The lighthouse trail is an asphalt road going uphill, while the shoreline trail is a gravel path leading to the ocean. At the end, there is a small bay with a sandy beach where some people play. The other entrance is at Kaloko Beach near Wawamalu Beach Park. This is a roadside beach that is easy to overlook because the sand is separated from the ocean by rocks, making it impossible to swim there, so few tourists visit. If parking at Kaloko Beach, be careful: the roadside parking lot is full of potholes, and it's easy to scrape the underside of your car on rocks. The coastal trail starting from Kaloko Beach offers very beautiful scenery, with two hidden and quiet coves where you can see mangrove trees growing in the water and other unique coastal plants. It's an excellent place for hiking, adventure, and photography. Some photos in a photo book by Kyoko Fukada were taken in this area. When hiking here, be sure to take sun protection measures, bring plenty of drinking water, and wear sports shoes. The southeastern coast of Oahu receives little rainfall and is dry and hot.
This time, I learned from my experience climbing Mount Olympus a few days ago and wore a hat, covering myself thoroughly. My scalp has been itching terribly for the past few days—I don't know how many layers of skin have peeled off; it feels like dandruff everywhere. Hiking along the beach in the afternoon is incredibly sunny, but luckily there's a sea breeze. Hiking in the forest has the advantage of no sunburn, but mosquitoes are quite annoying. Although the Kaiwi Shoreline Trail is not long, I only explored less than half of it in one afternoon. Taking photos takes too much time; for the right light, sometimes I want to wait for the sun to come out from behind the clouds, and other times I want the sun to be quickly covered by clouds. Plus, the strong wind makes it hard to photograph plants. Two years ago in the summer, in California's Central Valley, I was photographing roadside California sunflowers (scientific name: Helianthus californicus) in the scorching afternoon sun. Later, I had dinner at a barbecue restaurant that was full of smoke, and in the end, I got heatstroke—spent the whole night unconscious. Fortunately, I didn't get heatstroke this time. Sun protection is crucial. In all my years in Hawaii, I've worn sunscreen only a handful of times, and I never used to wear a hat.
Please do not steal images, text, or rewrite content. Reprinting must obtain permission and attribution! I am not a botany professional; if I have misidentified any plants in the photos, please forgive me and correct me. Thank you!
