Hawaii Trip #2-3: Turtle Canyon Snorkeling, Waimea Falls, Hating on Dole

Covering Wednesday and Thursday in today’s write-up! I’m also a few days behind (writing on Saturday) as there’s been so much to cover and so many photos to process!

Wednesday began with a light 8am breakfast at Voyager 47. After breakfast, we walked the mall across the street (found a 3rd story with restaurants we didn’t know existed) and picked up a few rash guards and hats from Quicksilver for sun protection ahead of the day’s excursion. 

Turtle Canyon

We geared up and jumped in the Jeep to take the 20 minute drive to Ilikai boat harbor, where we’d booked a 10:50am snorkeling with sea turtles with Captain Max’s Boat Tours. There was no available parking at the marina, but fortunately a spot opened up at a nearby park and we walked over. We were greeted by our boat captain Alex, as well as Jordan who would be diving with us. We were joined by two others – a recent high school grad on her graduation trip and her grandmother.

We boarded a large, inflatable zodiac boat for a ten minute ride to the anchor spot. Several other boats were anchored nearby – including the bright yellow “Ke Kai” we’ve seen beached in front of our hotel. We geared up with flippers, masks and snorkels and jumped into the water. The grandmother from the other group was seasick and immediately went back on the boat. The rest of us began to swim out through the mildly choppy water.

The snorkeling itself was neat – we were consistently surrounded by sea turtles. There was also many blue fish, some “cleaning” the turtle’s shells. The ocean was very clear and between 15-20 feet deep. We all took turns diving down. Jordan had a waterproof GoPro and was shooting video of us diving. Sage managed the entire ~40 minute experience without a life jacket. We had Vivi wear one, but she finally convinced us to take it off for the last ten minutes and she had no issues. She even managed a few good dives into the water. Meghann swam with us but experienced some sea sickness from the boat ride so stayed at the surface. 

Rest of the Day

After the snorkeling was finished, we headed back to shore. We were all kind of wiped out, so decided to head back to the hotel to clean up. We had a light lunch at Maui Brewing Co, and then back to the room for what ended up being some looong downtime and naps. We finally managed to head back out at 7pm for dinner. On the way, a giant Pikachu lured the girls into a VR store. Shortly thereafter we stopped at a nearby Banzai Burger for dinner. 

After dinner, we picked up an extra suitcase for the trip home. We let Sage/Vivi pick out a carry-on for future trips. We were all pretty tired, so we headed home and turned in for the night. Great to have a more “low key” day, as Thursday will be action packed!

Thursday Morning

We began the day with another quick breakfast at Voyager 47 ahead of a tour by Take a Hike Oahu, “North Shore / Waimea, Falls Day & Swim with Turtles”. This activity is the longest of the trip, lasting around eight hours. 

The excursion began with a 9am hotel pickup in a black van by our tour guide for the day, Shamus. Weather was cloudy with some light rain. As soon as we were boarded, Shamus jumped right in with Hawaii facts, pointing out beaches, and giving background on other POIs. As the trip went on, we learned he came to Oahu in the late 80s for school and became a coppersmith. Around six years prior, he started the tour company with his friend.

Our first stop was at Nu’uanu Pali Lookout, a windy overlook with beautiful views overlooking the island’s east coast. “Pali” means cliff in Hawaiian, and this cliff was also a historic battle site where hundreds of warriors were pushed off to their death in the late 1700s. After a quick stop, we boarded back into the van and continued heading north.

As we worked our way to the north side of the island, we learned our tour guide had many strong views and he was not afraid to share. Among them, this guy really hated the Dole Pineapple Plantation. He talked about how Dole enslaved native Hawaiians, before moving all of their operations completely out of Hawaii in the early 90s. The remaining Dole Plantation site is a tourist trap with a train ride, pineapple-shaped hedge maze, and $30 ice cream sundaes served in half a pineapple. Our guide even told a story where he took a family to the Dole plantation at the father’s aggressive insistence, which ended in the father violently attacking his family in the Dole parking lot and then being arrested and imprisoned for five years. Bizarre. Throughout the day Shamus also went into details on island politics, racism, surf culture, and environmental abuse throughout the trip.

Our next stop was at Kualoa Park, just off Kualoa Ranch where many movies are filmed. We took a quick walk on the beach and took a few photos with the island Mokoli’i in the background, aka “Chinaman’s Hat”. 

As we continued north, we saw a massive group of paddle boarders. We learned this was a memorial for a famed surfer and Pirates of the Caribbean actor who was sadly killed by a shark in June. Shark attacks out here are rare and it sounds like this was a freak accident. 

Waimea Falls

After an hour or so of driving, we arrived at our first stop, swimming at the Waimea waterfall. This was about a mile “hike” (more like walk up a paved path) surrounded by beautiful flora. There was also a traditional Hawaiian house or hale (hah-lay), as well as other traditional Hawaiian structures along the way. 

The waterfall swim itself was heavily moderated. Life jackets were required despite the water being shallow and several areas were roped off. There was a large line to get a life jacket and enter. The waterfall and scenery was beautiful and the water was cool and refreshing after the climb. After a brief swim, we climbed out to dry off. On the way back to the van, we stopped for a snack at a food stand – had a Dole Pineapple Whip! Shamus was not a fan.

Haleiwa Beach Park and Swimming with Turtles (sorta)

After Waimea Park, we headed to north shore to swim with sea turtles. Being the 4th, there was quite a lot of traffic along the way. We finally arrived at Haleiwa Beach Park, which was loaded with tourists surrounding the few turtles. There was a lot of tour guides yelling at the tourists, who were doing a poor job at maintaining the “keep a distance of six feet” rule. Apparently there’s a $5k fine for touching a sea turtle. We only had 30 minutes here, so the girls took a quick swim, took a few pictures, we cleaned up and then were on our way. This was kinda rushed and not particularly enjoyable.

We had about an hour drive back – everyone was pretty wiped out after a long day. Both of the girls fell asleep. A very interesting and memorable day, mostly due to the combination of interesting background/insights and strong opinions from our tour guide. A lot of the activities were rushed and felt like a lot of overhead/travel for little payoff.

Upon arrival at the hotel, we cleaned up and headed down for another dinner at the Hula Grill. It was hard to top last year’s 4th of July celebrity encounter, but we enjoyed another delicious dinner. I had the mahi mahi and swordfish special, while Meghann and the girls each had steak. We all shared a Hula Pie afterwards. After the long day and dinner, we headed back to the room and fell asleep, but not before seeing a couple 4th of July fireworks from the balcony. Up next – snorkeling at Hanauma Bay!