Hawaii – Day 4

Day 4 – The day we almost died.. OK not really but Koko head can do that to you..
By day four, we pretty much were familiar with Waikiki and got our bearings. Today we woke to 9am, yes we had a little sleep in because I think yesterday’s adventure and late nights took a toll on us. The weather was beautiful and as crazy as it sounded to some, we wanted to explore more of the island today with 2 hikes, and not just any hikes but one of those was Koko Head Trail. Yeah it does sound crazy if you know what Koko Head trail is and considering it was hike number 2 on the list to do today, but for us Hawaii virgins, we didnt see it coming. 
We decided the best mode of transport for us in Hawaii was The Bus. A few things you need to know about the buses in Hawaii 1. you need the exact change to get on or you get kicked of (as we saw happen to one poor couple) so keep those $1 bills handy. 2. Dont bother buying a one way ticket each time you get on the bus throughout the day, buy an all day bus pass from the driver it costs $5.50US and you can ride any bus all day as many times as you like, the only thing is it may take you longer to get to your destination with all the stops. But if you have the money to throw around, Ubers/Lyft are the next best option. 3. Not all buses go everywhere on the island so you need to do research of what bus you will need, Trent downloaded this very helpful app called DaBus2. You can search what bus you need, what the bus number is, it even pinpoints down to the next bus’ arrival. So our first hike on the list for today was Manoa Falls.

The bus we needed to catch only departed from the famous Ala Moana shopping centre. This place is huge! Many people say its a shoppers heaven, but I wasn’t feeling it. I agree, it’s easy to get lost in, but it was full of too many high end brands for my liking, I’ll stick with ROSS, which was also there. We arrived at 11am and grabbed some early lunch (Im glad we did because we were going to need this body fuel for what were were in for today!) Trent ate a Vietnamese plate full of meat and salad and I grabbed a chicken tofu pad thai. We then caught the correct bus that would take us close enough to the entry of Manoa Falls.

The Manoa Falls trail is on the island of Oahu, it is one of the most popular hikes in the Honolulu area, mainly because it is easily accessible from Waikiki, either via car or bus and it is classified as an easy hike, 2.6km up and back, about a 35 minute walk to the beautiful waterfall. A quick bus trip out of Waikiki towards Manoa Valley and we were surrounded by a tropical bamboo rainforest! A real photographers dream, with so much greenery, flora and a great swimming spot. (Just be careful flying drones in there. Haha inside joke)
We found the hike enjoyable, many photo opportunities, lots of unusual plants and lots of people. Id advise that you do wear enclosed shoes with good grip because most of the trail is a rocky dirt track and after rain it can be very slippery. This was also the only place in Hawaii i notice mosquitoes. 
We made it to the falls and of course ‘us style’ went under the ‘do not enter rope’ and got a closer look. The water was cold but that didnt stop Trent having a swim. A 10 minute rest and we headed back to the bus stop for our next adventure. Ohh we had no idea what was instore for us! Thanks to a helpful bus driver he directed us to the next bus stop with the correct bus we needed to catch (if you ever feel lost, just ask a local they are always happy to help).

At 1pm whilst waiting for the bus to Koko Head a local man did make us question our motive. He looked at our shoes and asked us did we just complete a hike, we told him of the beautiful Manoa Falls and then advised him we were on our way to hike number 2 – Koko Head. His facial expression worried me as he said “What now? At 1pm?” I thought hmm, maybe he’s worried about us in this heat. We just said the weather didnt bother us and we’d be fine. He just politely smiled and said ‘enjoy’. Once we saw what Koko head we then knew what he was really thinking ‘you idiots!” 
A little insight into the well known trail that is Koko Head also known as The Koko Head Stairs. 
During World War II, the military built several bunkers at the summit of Koko Head crater. They also constructed Koko Head Railway (now the Koko Head stairs) to move personnel and supplies up and down. The tracks carried supplies up and down the volcanic crater via a gasoline-powered winch in a tramcar. Nowadays the stairs are the main feature but during the period where the winch was in full swing, there was a barracks and other buildings at the base of the tracks. 
The total distance of Koko Head Hike is just .7 miles / 1.12KM to the top. That is just a mere total of 1.4 miles/2.24KM. It may sound like a short distance but it isn’t the distance you should be worried about. It is the extreme elevation that you ascend over that short distance. If you begin measuring from the parking lot it will be 1.8 miles/2.9KM total up and back. 
Koko Head stairs take you up 990ft over just 1.1 KM. You are gaining almost . 1 ft of elevation for every 2 feet of distance, which is a gnarly incline! When you finally reach the top at the Koko Head Crater summit, you will have climbed a difficult 1,048 railway sleepers (some missing and some with no ground right underneath them) and be an amazing 1,208ft above sea level with panoramic views. Is sounds amazing and Im not going to lie I loved it! Yes I felt like I was going to die with 50 steps remaining because that last incline is intense, but I would tell anyone who is in Hawaii and loves adventure to give this a go! Make sure you wear good enclosed shoes and take lots of water and of course your camera! We made it to the top in 40 minutes and enjoyed the view for a while. 
Going back down for me was not so easy, climbing stairs was a fine but descending down uneven stairs at a steep decline was hard, with my non grip shoes, bad eyesight and poor depth perception it mad it tricky! There is one part of the trail where there is nothing under the sleepers and it’s a long drop down and for some reason this was the time my mind decided to freak out and freeze my body to not want to go any further! I dont know why it happened but thank god for Trent who helped me so much and took away what ever fear it was to help me to keep moving, but we did it! 
We met some lovely Aussies on the hike who had a car and they were kind enough to drop us back to the bus stop once we descended. We were so glad because without their help it would have been another 25 minute walk from Koko head back to our bus stop. 
With 35 minutes until our next bus arriving we decided to walk another 4KM to the nearest Mcdonald’s to refuel, our legs were jelly but our adrenaline was pumping. By 6pm our bus arrived and we headed home to Waikiki.

We had a quick nap on the bus and were so hungry we needed a big meal for dinner, so at 7pm we went to Flour & Barley in Waikiki for delicious Italian food and well earned cocktails. Their pulled pork pizza was amazing and we of course made room for cannelloni! Dragging our tired bodies back to our airbnb a hot shower was like heaven!
What an amazing day to also spent celebrating our 6 months together, we walked well over 20KM and loved every minute of it. We slept very well that night!
This was so much fun to vlog – watch it on youtube HERE