From Pearl Harbour we went to the Kuilei Cliffs Beach Park on the Eastern shore of Oahu, this is a hidden gem of a beach and offers an authentic island lifestyle experience. It's a favorite among locals and boasts a stunning coastline.
We parked our car and walked down a steep walkway from the top of the cliffs ,we came across a board saying that it was tsunami prone area
Luckily when we went, the beach was quite isolated except for a few surfers, the views were beautiful, we spent a peaceful time there, however the current is supposed to be very strong here so one has to be careful
We next sped onto the Waikīkī a Honolulu neighbourhood with the eponymous Waikīkī beach on its south shore, this is one of six beaches in the district, along with Queen’s beach, Kuhio beach, Gray's Beach, Fort DeRussy Beach, and Kahanamoku Beach. The sandy beach is astonishingly almost entirely man-made.
In the Hawaiian language Waikīkī means "spouting fresh water", for springs and streams that fed wetlands that once separated Waikīkī from the interior.
After the founding of the Kingdom of Hawaii, Waikīkī was its first capital from 1795 to1796, in the 1800s the area was a retreat for Hawaiian royalty, who enjoyed surfing there on early forms of longboard.
A few small hotels opened in the 1880s and also the first beach resorts and subsequently it became a popular destination for mainland tourists.
In the early 1900s, Waikīkī was home to many wetlands, which were claimed to harbor disease-carrying mosquitoes. To get rid of the mosquitoes, developers created the Ala Wai canal.
It was Duke Kahanamoku who is a well-known surfer in Waikīkī whose influence made Waikīkī beach a surfing hotspot as people wanted to learn to surf like him
Unfortunately Waikīkī developed erosion problems starting in the late 1800s, as hotels and homes were built too close to the natural shoreline, while seawalls and other structures blocked the natural ebb and flow of sand along the beach.
Following World War II, Waikīkī beach restoration efforts have occurred every few years. Sand was imported to this artificial beach from the 1920s to the 1970s, by boat and barge from Southern California. 1,730 feet of shoreline was replenished at a cost of $2.4 million following chronic erosion of more than a foot a year.
The beach hosts many events, like surfing competitions, outdoor performances and hula dancing. The shops and hotels enable Waikīkī to generate approximately 42 percent of Hawaii's visitor revenue.
We passed through Waikīkī's main thoroughfare known as Kalakaua avenue, named after King Kalākaua, it houses most of the high-end hotels and we could find a lot of luxury designer brand stores like Apple store, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Burberry, Dior, Tiffany and co, Harry Winston, Saint Laurent, Gucci, and Hermes, Macy’s department store , and popular surf clothing brand stores ,the area was very crowded in the evenings and the traffic moved at a snail pace
The first high-rise hotels on Waikīkī were built in 1955, including the Waikiki Biltmore and Sheraton Princess Kaiulani hotel. Development boomed due to demand, and the area became filled with large resort hotels, such as the Hilton Hawaiian Village, Halekulani, the Hyatt Regency Waikiki, Marriott Waikiki and the Sheraton Waikiki
Waikīkī's other main thoroughfare, Kūhiō Avenue, named after Prince Kuhio is better known for its restaurants, cafes and grocers, along with its clubs, nightlife and prostitution.
When we reached the beach we found that getting a parking lot was indeed a Herculean task as that day being a Friday there was display of fireworks on the beach and the place was jam packed ,finally we could get one slot luckily though quite far
We could obtain views of the Diamond Head and the Waikīkī skyline filled with high-rises and resort hotels. Slowly the sun started to sink, as we had gone in mid- September we could luckily see the sunset in the sea which is usually visible from mid-September to late March.
Half the beach was marked off for surfers. I could see that the ocean water was quite shallow, with numerous rocks on the bottom. The surf is known for its long rolling break, making it ideal for long boarding, tandem surfing and beginners. .
This weekly fireworks bonanza happening on Duke Kahanamoku Beach has been a long-standing tradition since 1988 and is being hosted by the Hilton hotel
We bought some food from the mobile food truck and settled down on the beach, some of the children were playing in the shallow water, few spectators had brought low chairs but most settled on the beach
At around 7.45 pm the fireworks started and lit the sky and illuminated the tall buildings, it lasted maybe only for 5 minutes only but it was indeed a thrilling experience witnessing the fireworks along with thousands of strangers, our grandson enjoyed it the most, after the show as we had parked our car quite far we trudged back wearily and went back to our hotel for a good night’s sleep
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