Tugging an open-ocean kayak toward the shoreline of Kailua Bay on a blustery late December morning, I feel the flutter of butterflies in my belly. In the distance, kite surfers are bumping along, briefly lifting above the choppy water, their multicolored parachutes swelling against the cloud-streaked, azure sky. A few weeks earlier, I had no […]
Squinting into central Maui morning sunshine, I survey blue skies directly above a Hike Maui van and worry about the waves of cumulus camouflage rushing toward our alpine hiking destination: the summit of Haleakala volcano. My heart sinks a bit at the sight. I begin wishing that the warm, sunglasses-and-T-shirt weather in the sea level
Kauaii Museum is just a few miles from Lihue Airport. I know this because, on past Garden Island visits, I’d zipped by it while heading from the airport straight to a beach or hiking-trail assignment, each time taking note of the museum’s striking lava-rock exterior and stately Greco-Roman façade. Today is different, however, as I’ve
It’s midday on a Wednesday and my only task at the moment is to somehow put into words the almost surreal hue of clear blue water at which I’m gazing from my seat on a Zodiac raft in gentle waves off the Napali Coast. When the raft slows down to allow us a closer look
Each of my past several visits to Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden began at sunrise. Greeted by a few wild chickens strutting near the park’s still-locked, gated entry, my running buddies and I would lace up our footwear and survey the skies above Windward Oahu and the lushly verdant hills before us. Then, rain or shine, we
Scan the rugged, leafy hills that are the backbone of Kauai’s east side on the drive between Wailua and Kapaa towns, and it doesn’t take long to make out the profile of Nounou Mountain. More famously known as “Sleeping Giant,” its emerald ridgeline resembles a human figure reclining on his back, chest held high and
Climbing onto craggy sand dunes near the dry, southernmost tip of Kauai, I immediately, unexpectedly catch my first glimpse of the reason I’ve set aside an afternoon to come here. Before me is near-pristine shoreline, winding all the way from the eastern end of Keoneloa Bay, near the resort area of Poipu, to secluded Mahaulepu
Midafternoon is slipping away as I happily make my way through a boggy plateau on the Alakai Swamp Trail, a few miles from the rain-drenched summit area of Mount Waialeale. A metal mesh-topped boardwalk is keeping my feet dry in this place near the mountain once recognized as the wettest spot on Earth by the
Just before the start of Hawaii Heritage Center’s guided walking tour of Downtown Honolulu’s 163-year-old Chinatown district, which crisscrosses the heart of this eclectic urban neighborhood and business and arts area, Karen Motosue shares a brief overview of the district’s past and present. “They were smart,” says Motosue, of Chinatown’s founders. “They gravitated to this
The painter Georgia O’Keeffe and the photographer Ansel Adams remain, nearly three decades after their passings, quintessential modern artists of the American West, both celebrated for distinct methods of capturing the essence of the natural world in their work. What is not as widely known, even among art authorities, is that, between 1939 and 1958,
We’ve counted all of the votes from our latest HAWAII Magazine Facebook Ohana poll question: What’s your favorite Hawaii beach with something for the entire family? The top five vote-getters are on the pages ahead. Mahalo for sharing your picks! If you’d like to join in on our next poll and vote, along with our
Foster Botanical Garden’s annual Twilight Summer Concert Series is under way on Thursday evenings. This week’s event, “Teddy Bear Picnic,” features a harp ensemble. Kids are, of course, invited to bring beloved stuffed animals to the show, and there will be children’s activities before the concert begins at 5:45 p.m. Admission is free. Also in
