Tag Archives: hawaiian outdoors

outside activities in hawaii

The Hawaii Nature Center

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Today for work we went to the Hawaii Nature Center to explore the trails there. We spent over two hours fishing in the stream, observing the plants in the area and searching for “decomposers” (bugs such as millipedes, beetles, roaches and worms that decompose the leaves and make soil). It was really cool to learn all about the different types of wildlife in the stream. We caught tons of freshwater shrimp…they are incredibly small..and see-through!

The stream at the beginning of our hike.
The trail.
Canopy of trees.
Allspice tree..the leaves smelled like gingerbread cookies.
There was a huge beehive in this tree.
Tons of heliconias.
Bridge over the stream.
Freshwater shrimp and snails.
Skeleton leaf.
Banyan tree
With all the rain and wind this past winter, this huge tree came tumbling down. This is the root structure of the tree. Pretty neat.
Fungus of sorts growing on the tree.

Waikiki Aquarium

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Today, I ventured to the Waikiki Aquarium for work. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but they had great displays of the different marine life around Hawaii. My favorite were the two monk seals. One of them was abandoned at two days old by his mother. When he was rescued, they discovered he has cataracts and about 20% of his vision left. Once he was healthy, they set him free to live in the wild but he rapidly started losing weight because he couldn’t see to find his food. They brought him back in and he has lived at the aquarium ever since. He hopped up on the rocks while we were there. The volunteer that was educating us about him said any time he hears someone by his back gate he goes to investigate who it is. She said he loves the human interaction and just likes to spend time with people. The other monk seal that was there is significantly older and was abandoned at three weeks old by his mother. He is less active since he is older and gets really excited to be fed. Loved hearing their stories!

A crab crawling over a starfish.
Squid of sorts.
Jellyfish!
More jellyfish.
Starfish, sharks and giant fish.
Seahorses.
Creepy eels.
Some type of rays.
Hawaiian monk seal.
Hawaiian monk seal.
Hawaiian monk seal…love this one!
Shrimp

Ko Olina Beach

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Today, Josh and I decided to head to Ko Olina since neither of us had ever been to that part of the island. We hung out at Lagoon 4 (it is made up of four lagoons and numerous resorts sit on the various lagoons). It was great for swimming and a great place to enjoy the beautiful day!

Enjoying the scenery at Ko Olina Beach.
Ko Olina Beach Lagoon 4

Hanauma Bay

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Today, our field trip was Hanauma Bay (which is where everyone goes snorkeling on Oahu). Hanamua Bay is actually a volcanic crater (possibly the last volcanic action on Oahu). The ocean eventually cut through the low wall of the crater, which formed the bay. I hadn’t been yet, so I was pretty excited to go. It was beautiful! I even went snorkeling with the help of some of my kids (seriously one of them held my hand). For those who know me and how afraid of the ocean I am, this is big news! I didn’t last long but I made it far enough out to see a few different kinds of fish and coral. Then I started to panic, so I went in :). Baby steps…

So beautiful!