I came down with a small cold so I’ve had low energy the last few days. I wanted to get this post in, but might update it later. Jess and I actually did this hike Sunday last week. It was very green sands beach esque. It’s a long hike along the coast with the final destination being a “park” and a bird sanctuary. There were roads for off-roading vehicles. (just like green sands)
We saw a lot of wildlife… birds, whales, and a Hawaiian seal. Can you spot the seal?
A lot of reviews for this hike complain of “much of the same the whole way”, the whole way being three miles out and back. But how can you complain when the landscape is like this?
I was thoroughly entertained by Jess’ company, the wildlife, tide pools, etc. It was definitely very hot and dry, so wearing a sun guard shirt, sunscreen, hat, sunglasses, and bringing tons of water was the right call. It was still very enjoyable despite being in the sun. We weren’t uncomfortable, but you can tell the sun was strong. It’s kinda hard to explain.
When you get to the point, there’s a sandy “park” where all the birds are and you can see down the west side of the island. This part of the ocean is where we took our whale watching tour, so maybe these mountains look familiar? As I mentioned, we did see some whale tails with the binoculars! Parts of the ocean cliffs reminded Jess and I of the East Coast.
It was really enjoyable because there wasn’t anything too tricky. We timed it so we’d get back around sunset. Unfortunately I’m bad at geography and didn’t really realize we wouldn’t see the sunset, but here’s what we did see
After, we went to Hale’iwa Joe’s, a highly recommended restaurant on the North Shore. We found out why! The service was excellent and the food we had was delicious. 10/10 recommend. Although, I do understand having just hiked 6 miles may play a role in the taste… we were lucky and able to sit right away outside at a table for two. Not sure if it was our timing or luck! But we were happy.