Yesterday Josh and I hiked to the westernmost tip on Oahu, Kaena Point, which has one of the last intact dune ecosystems on the Hawaiian Islands. You can reach the point via two ways, the North route or the South route. We hiked on the Mokule‘ia side, the North route to the point, which is about 2.7 miles one-way. The hike was pretty flat and the majority of our hike was along the beach (I ended up with a lot sand in my running shoes). It was a gorgeous day with tons of sun and very few clouds. The absolute best part was seeing whales all along the way, as well as when we got to the point. Kaena Point has been designated as a Nature Reserve to protect nesting Albatrosses, Hawaiian monk seals and natural vegetation. Unfortunately we didn’t get to see any monk seals, but saw plenty of Albatrosses flying around (they are HUGE). There were tons of tide pools along the way, and at the point, that contained fish, snails, crabs, etc. At the point, people were swimming in the tide pools (not something I would do with the fish), but Josh was definitely sad he didn’t bring a swimsuit.

Start of the hike.

Boats on the water…and whales somewhere out there.

The sun shining through the peaks.

The unique rocks.

Josh out on the rocks.

Carefully walking on the rocks…so as to not fall.

Snails up close on the rocks

Inlet on the shore.

Old, rusted gate leading to the point.

The very secure barrier to keep the sanctuary protected.

The point!

The dunes

More rocks on the point.

If you look closely, you can see the whale blowing water.

If you look closely, you can see the top of the whale sticking out of the water.

Cool picture of all the coral washed up.

Tide pool with fish and snails.

View from the rocks looking back a the dunes.

Rocks leading to the point.

Water rushing in to the tide pools.

A little crab (who was not interested in us).

More of the crabs and snails in the tide pool.

Pretty view of the dunes with the West Coast in the background.

Albatross sitting on her nest. HUGE!