All posts tagged North Shore

Maniniholo Dry Cave On Kauai’s North Shore

by Coty on May 19, 2013 in Sights with No comments

The Maniholo dry cave makes for a short and fun stop if traveling to the north shore of Kauai. The cave is located at the bottom of Kaiwikui Ridge and across from Haena Beach Park. Maniniholo means “travelling reef surgeonfish.”  You’ll often times here locals refer to small fish, or small things in general, as being “manini.” According to legend, Maniniholo was the name of the head fisherman of the area during the time the menehunes were leaving the island (Wichman, 1998). Apparently, a few of these little imps were caught stealing food from the fisherman and were subsequently killed. The rest of the menehune, well, jumped on their canoes at Makua Bay and was never seen again.

During our visit, we spent some time inside of the Maniholo cave taking photos. We were fortunate in that we had gone late in the day and the cave was empty. We had it all to ourselves. It’s a bit eerie in there, but makes for an interesting spot to take some long exposure shots.

Explorers: Coty Gonzales and Joel Sabugo.

Directions to the Maniholo Dry Cave: From Kapaa, you want to head north on Highway 56 / Kuhio Highway and drive toward Haena Beach Park. The cave is located directly across from the beach park and will be on your left.

Entering Maniniholo Dry Cave. Photo by Joel Sabugo.

Entering Maniniholo Dry Cave. Photo by Joel Sabugo.

Mouth of the cave. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Mouth of the cave. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Joel entering the cave. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Joel entering the cave. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Inside looking out. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Inside looking out. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Posing. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Posing. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

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Kaunala Loop Trail: Part Hiking Trail and Part Dirt Road

by Coty on March 18, 2013 in Hikes with No comments

The Kaunala Loop Trail, located in Pupukea on the North Shore, is an interesting hike. Some might classify only half of this trail as a hike, with the other half being walking on an excruciatingly long and boring road. Okay, maybe the walk down the road isn’t that excruciating, but, for some reason, when it’s asphalt my feet is walking on, I tend to get tired (probably from boredom) very quickly. Not to say that the entirety of this hike was boring, it wasn’t. In fact, it had its share of pleasant delights.

Cross this gate to and walk the dirt road to reach the trailhead. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Cross this gate to and walk the dirt road to reach the trailhead. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Weird and random art. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Weird and random art. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Interesting structure. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Interesting structure. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

The trailhead will be on your left. You can see the yellow and brown Na Ala Hele trailhead signs in the photo. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

The trailhead will be on your left. You can see the yellow and brown Na Ala Hele trailhead signs in the photo. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

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Instagram Hawaii Spotting: Volume 4

by Coty on February 12, 2013 in Photography with 2 Comments

This is Instagram Hawaii Spotting: Volume 4. I use Instagram a lot. A LOT. This makes sense since I’m pretty much glued to my iPhone and I love to snap photos. These are a few photos that I Instagrammed during the first month of 2013. Enjoy!

Follow me on Instagram. Hashtag your Hawaii adventures with #explorationhawaii hashtag and maybe we’ll add your photo in Volume 5!

@mchelle87 getting her Instagram on. Catching the first #sunset of #2013. #hawaii Photo by @cotygonzales

@mchelle87 getting her Instagram on. Catching the first #sunset of #2013. #hawaii Photo by @cotygonzales

Manoa stream flowing pretty high today, but I've seen it much higher. #hawaii #rain. Photo by @cotygonzales

Manoa stream flowing pretty high today, but I’ve seen it much higher. #hawaii #rain. Photo by @cotygonzales

Searching for a #waterfall with @joelsabugo. Photo by @cotygonzales

Searching for a #waterfall with @joelsabugo. Photo by @cotygonzales

Road closed. Spotted the crew of Hawaii Five-0 filming near Diamond Head. Photo by @cotygonzales

That’s Dan-O in the silver car. And in the blue shirt that’s Peter Weller…also known as RoboCop. #hawaii50 filming on Kilauea Avenue. #hawaii #tv Photo by @cotygonzales

On the edge of awesome. #merrell #merrellbarefoot #hiking #hawaii. Photo by @cotygonzales

On the edge of awesome. #merrell #merrellbarefoot #hiking #hawaii. Photo by @cotygonzales

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Kawaiiki: A Restricted Hiking Trail To Two Serene Swimming Holes

by Coty on February 4, 2013 in Hikes with 7 Comments

Founded in 1910, the Hawaiian Trail and Mountain Club (HTMC) is Hawaii’s oldest and most respected hiking club. Many of HTMC’s early members established or rediscovered some of the state’s most popular hiking trails. I’m proud to say that I finally had the chance to tag along on an HTMC coordinated hike.

I chose the Kawaiiki trail as my first HTMC hike, mainly because it would have been difficult for me to have completed this hike otherwise. Nestled in Haleiwa, access to the road leading to Kawaiiki trailhead is restricted. In order to access the road, you would need to go through a locked gate. Walking down that 7 mile road to get to the trailhead would be a miserable experience. Thanks HTMC for hooking it up.

A drive down windmill lane. And yes, that's a little slipper dangling from Joel's rear view mirror. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

A drive down windmill lane. And yes, that’s a little slipper dangling from Joel’s rear view mirror. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

The newly installed Haleiwa windmills / turbines / generators. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

The newly installed Haleiwa windmills / turbines / generators. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

That's Allison to the left. She came prepared for the hike with a dozen malasadas. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

That’s Allison to the left. She came prepared for the hike with a dozen malasadas. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

On the trail. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

On the trail. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Dangling. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Dangling. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

A line of hikers. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

A line of hikers. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

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Hipstamatic Inspired Vol. 3: Exploring Historic Haleiwa Town and Waialua

by Coty on December 31, 2012 in Photography with No comments

Hipstamic is a strangely satisfying analog-inspired app for the iPhone that I’ve really found a renewed interest in. This series of posts aims to place the focus a bit more on the photos rather than the words. In Volume 3, we feature a collection of Hipstamatic photos taken during a drive through historic Haleiwa town and Waialua.

A strange, but true story: I had set up Hipstamic to shoot with the combination of Buckhosrt H1 Lens + Blanko Freedom 13 Film + Standard Flash, and it had done that for the first seven images. However, when it came to the final image of the old St. Michael’s church ruins, it had switched to a Black & White setting that I had never used or had saved on Hipstamatic. Weird, but true.

For this Hipstamatic shoot, I challenged myself to shoot one shot each for eight different subjects. I gave myself a single try to frame the photo. Here are the eight photos that I ended up with. Here’s your challenge. See if you can identify the eight locations pictured below. Leave your answers in the comments. Good luck!

I'll give this one to you: Chun's Store & Market. Buckhosrt H1 Lens + Blanko Freedom 13 Film + No Flash. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

I’ll give this one to you: Chun’s Store & Market. Buckhosrt H1 Lens + Blanko Freedom 13 Film + No Flash. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Bridge. Buckhosrt H1 Lens + Blanko Freedom 13 Film + No Flash. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Bridge. Buckhosrt H1 Lens + Blanko Freedom 13 Film + No Flash. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

 

Rock. Buckhosrt H1 Lens + Blanko Freedom 13 Film + No Flash. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Rock. Buckhosrt H1 Lens + Blanko Freedom 13 Film + No Flash. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Old car. Buckhosrt H1 Lens + Blanko Freedom 13 Film + No Flash. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Old car. Buckhosrt H1 Lens + Blanko Freedom 13 Film + No Flash. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Hopscotch. Buckhosrt H1 Lens + Blanko Freedom 13 Film + No Flash. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Hopscotch. Buckhosrt H1 Lens + Blanko Freedom 13 Film + No Flash. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

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Turtle Spotting at Japanese Beach on the North Shore

by Coty on October 22, 2012 in Beaches with 2 Comments

A few weeks ago I had the chance to attend a going away beach party at Japanese Beach on the North Shore. The beach party was great, but the underwater party was even better. I brought along my snorkeling gear and GoPro and decided to do some exploring. What we discovered was beyond what we expected. We thought that we would see one, maybe two, turtles if we were lucky. We were more than lucky on this day.

While snorkeling, Joel and I encountered what seemed like a family of turtles. Joel’s 10-year-old nephew, Isaiah, on the other hand, was struggling with his snorkeling gear and fins. He complained that he couldn’t see any of the turtles. During our hour or so of snorkeling, Joel and I saw at least 15 different turtles. Some of these turtles we small, baby turtles, while others were very large and probably very old turtles. These had to be some of the largest turtles that I’ve ever encountered. It was an amazing feeling to swim alongside these gentle creatures.

As we were swimming back to shore, Isaiah, finally encountered a turtle. It got up close and personal. It freaked him out and he quickly swam to me. As he latched on to my leg, he jumped out of the water exclaiming that he finally saw one and that it was huge! He was stoked.

Photos by Joel Sabugo.

Turtle in the distance.

Turtle Up Close.

A whole turtle.

A turtle’s behind.

A turtle runs away.

Frame of Mind

by Coty on September 18, 2012 in Sights with No comments

Very cool video that was shot and edited by Ben Boutwell and Steven Alan. The video was inspired by the intro to Modern Family. They actually covered a large portion of Oahu while shooting the video. You’ll notice Diamond Head, sugar cane fields on the North Shore, and the view from Aloha Tower. Regardless of location, it looks like they had a great time shooting this video!

Music: Kick Drum Heart by The Avett Brothers from the album I And Love And You. Buy now from Amazon.

Cliff Jumping at Waimea Bay: Extreme Belly Flopping Hawaiian Style

by Mike on August 12, 2012 in Beaches with No comments

Hi guys. I’m Mike and this is my first post on Exploration: Hawaii. To be perfectly honest, I prefer to do crazy, fun, and adventurous stuff instead of sit in front of a computer and type stuff up. So I’ll keep my posts short. Sound good?

If you like to get your adrenaline pumping, then there’s no better place to do just that than at Waimea Bay. No, don’t go swimming with the sunburnt tourists. Instead, look to your left and you’ll see a giant rock protruding out of the ocean. You’ll also probably see lots of locals jumping off of it. Jump off of that rock and see if you survive. I dare you.

“Jumping Da Rock” at Waimea Bay from Coty Gonzales on Vimeo.

Back flip off of “da big rock” at Waimea Bay. Photo by Mike Armstrong.

Jumping in and praying to God that I don’t break something. Photo by Mike Armstrong.

OMG Belly Flop. Photo by Mike Armstrong.

Yep, I am pretty much Superman in board shorts. Photo by Mike Armstrong.

Directions to Waimea Bay: Get on to Highway H1 West. Continue on H-78 W/H201 W. Take the exit onto H1 W toward Pearl City. Take exit 8A to merge onto H2 N toward Mililani/Wahiawa. Take exit 8 toward Wahiawa and then merge onto S. Kamehameha Highway. Continue on Joseph P. Leong Highway. Make a slight right at Kamehameha Highway. Waimea Bay will be on your left.

Kaena Point: Return to the Western Most Point on Oahu from the North

by Marvin on February 23, 2012 in Beaches, Hikes with 1 Comment

Jim looks towards the sunset

Joel, Coty and I went to the western most point of Oahu, Kaena Point, a couple months back using the southern route from the leeward side. I recently went back there with Oahu Hikers and Adventurers (OHA) from the north side (waialua) to check out the seals and albatrosses and also to see if whales and dolphins were now in the scene.

Albatross

The walk from the north side is as easy as the one from the south side. Here are the directions directly from OHA’s meetup details:

 From Honolulu: 1. Take the Interstate H1 W/HI-61 N/Lunalilo Fwy/Pali Hwy ramp 0.2 mi 2. Keep left at the fork, follow signs for Interstate H1 W and merge onto I-H-1 W/Lunalilo Fwy 2.2 mi 3. Slight right at I-H-201 W 4.0 mi 4. Take the Interstate H1 W exit toward Pearl City 0.6 mi 5. Merge onto I-H-1 W 4.2 mi 6. Slight right at I-H-2 N 7.8 mi 7. The H-2 will end you will continue ahead as it will turn into Farrington Hwy /State Hwy 930 8. At the traffic circle, continue around to the other side and continue strait as if the circle wasnt there 9. Continue onto Farrington Hwy/State Hwy 930 Destination will be on the at the very end of the road dirt parking lot on the right 6.5 mi Kaena Point State Park, Waialua, Hawaii 96791, 96791 Located on the isolated northwestern tip of O’ahu, Ka’ena Point Natural Reserve houses many endemic as well as indigenous plants and flora found in the state of Hawaii.

The group searches for seals

From the parking lot, it will be a 60-90 minute walk to Kaena Point. It will be on even, but unpaved, road the whole way. Wear shoes that you would be comfortable in stepping over odd shaped rocks.

Looking for whales and waiting for the sunset

Long time friend of EH

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Hawaii Cacao Festival 2012 at the Haleiwa Farmer’s Market

by Coty on February 6, 2012 in Events with 4 Comments

Two Sunday’s ago I had the fortunate opportunity to check out the 2nd Annual Cacao Festival at the Haleiwa’s Farmer’s Market. Actually, me going to this event happened on a whim. The day before, Ernest (remember Waldo from the Makapuu to Tom-Tom hike?) invited me to check out the festival with him. I heard about it a few days earlier but had forgotten about it when Ernest brought it up. My interest was renewed now that I had someone to go with. The funny thing is that we never really set a time to go. That Sunday, I woke up a bit late, jumped in my car and drove to Haleiwa wondering if Ernest would still be joining me. Before heading to the Farmer’s Market, I made a pitstop at the Haleiwa American Savings Bank to grab some quick cash. It turned out that Ernest had reached Haleiwa at around the same that I stopped at the ATM. Cool. Only thing, he missed the Farmer’s Market and ended up lost somewhere in the North Shore. Fortunately, I guided him to the intersection of Jospeh P. Leong Bypass & Kamehameha Hwy and he was able to find his way the Farmer’s Market. All this excitement and we hadn’t even checked out the Cacao Festival yet!

The Haleiwa Farmer’s Market was definitely bustling and packed with people. It was great to see such a large crowd supporting local businesses. As I walked around and checked out the different vendors I became impressed by the large number of local business that I had never heard of prior. This was great and I was very stoked. The various cacao vendors where interspersed with the regular maker sellers. Our first stop was at the Waialua Estate Sweet Paradise Chocolatier Brew Bar where they were serving Hawaiian Hot Chocolate Shots. Ernest bought me a shot and my taste buds were instantly surprised, shocked, and satisfied. The shot included 70% Hawaiian grown Waialua Estate chocolate, local vanilla bean, ginger, cinnamon, and Hawaiian chili pepper. The shot was amazing.

Hawaiian Hot Chocolate Shots. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Waialua Estate Coffee. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Fresh Coffee Beans. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

My next stop was at the Roots of Hawaii Tea stand. They were giving away samples of their Noni Sweetlove tea, which contained noni leaf, raspberry leaf, lemon grass, hibiscus, and stevia. The seller mentioned that it was good for aiding the digestive system, and helps to rid of acid reflex, heartburn and gas. It did taste good.

The very friendly Roots of Hawaii Tea stand. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Kava Shots. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

At the very end of the lot, under a huge tent was Malie Kai Chocolates. I love chocolate, so again, I was surprised that I had never heard about this chocolatier. Their chocolates are made entirely from cacao beans that are grown on the North Shore. They had really nice packaging and of course, the chocolates tasted very rich. The only drawback was that these premium chocolates have a hefty price tag relative to the average Nestle chocolate bar. Then again, these are all Hawaii made organic chocolates. How can you not like that? After this event I had a new found appreciation for finely made chocolates.

The neat Malie Kai Chocolates table. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Tiny Pineapples. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Once I had my fill of samples from Malie Kai Chocolates, I made my way over to Ono Pops. Now, this was a vendor that I was 100% familiar with. I had tasted their product at one of the Eat The Street events last year. I remember their pops being super refreshing and very tasty. I wanted some. I ordered a Lilikoi 50/50 for myself and a Chinese Chocolate concoction (I can’t remember the real name, I think it was 6-spice Chinese Chocolate). Yep, my memory served me right. These pops were so delicious, especially on this particularly sunny day. And I finally found out why it’s called Lilikoi 50/50. It’s because they can’t use the trademarked term “creamsicle.” Instead, they went with the term “50/50″ which was used by an old and now defunct popsicle maker to describe their “creamsicle” like popsicles.

Lilikoi 50/50 from Ono Pops. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Ernest enjoying his 6-Spice Chinese Chocolate popsicle. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

The Ono Pops guy. He was cool. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Keep The Country Country Button Jar. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

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