Hiking Lanikai

10/09/2009 Article

Behind our little village with about 100 houses are a few volcanic mountains. The wind blows from the sea here about 330 days a year – hence we live on the windward side of Oahu (the East) – which ensures that the mountains are green all year. The rock is unstable and the hiking paths are almost unpassable after a tropical rain as the path serves as a creek as well. But when it is dry, the ocean breeze cools you down as you are sweating your way to the top. Two World War 2 bunkers serve as lookout platform for some spectacular views to the 2 Mokoluas -Moku Nui on the left, which is the beach you can land your kayak or catamaran on, Moku Iki to the right. The islands are bird sanctuaries just off shore by the reef, and you are not allowed to set foot on it beyond the immediate shoreline. You can actually see the eggs and little fluffy babies everywhere in their little holes. Off to the left is Moku Popoia or Flat island which also has a surf spot that is surfable 50% of the time and goes off about 10% of the time. And then there is the large Kailua Bay, paradise for windsurfing, kitesurfing and the green sea turtle.

The Bavarian flag would have worked here as well, as the sky looks very much like the sky in Munich: blue almost every day, but hardly a day passes without some scattered clouds being pushed across the mountains behind Kailua… bringing us moisture and sometimes a rainbow.