The Start of a Bucket-List Trip

Goal accomplished!

I am a list-checker. That is one of the appeals of birding – it literally has checklists.

Another list-able activity is travel, especially to our nation’s National Parks. 

CW: Arches, Bryce Canyon, Lake Clark, Grand Canyon, Denali, Big Bend National Parks

They even have a passport with stamps for every National Park Service-managed property. I am a BIG National Park supporter and my NPS Passport is one of my most cherished possessions.

I have been to so many NPS Parks, Monuments and so forth that I have rebuilt my NPS Passport into two separate booklets – one for the east and one for the west – composed from four separate booklets.

My National Park Passports

So, it should come as no surprise that I built a rather exotic trip around visiting a National Park. Not just any National Park, but my LAST one of the current 63.

Caty and me at my final (for now) National Park

Before I go any further, let me explain what that actually means because there is much confusion about National Parks.

CW: Great Smoky Mountains, Grand Canyon, Sequoia, Grand Teton, Zion, Glacier National Parks

The United States’ National Park Services manages 433 units, of which 63 are designated as National Parks.

Some, like Denali, are attached to National Preserves

As of this trip, I have been to all the National Parks! 

Great Smoky Mountains: Probably my first

I have also been to almost (not quite) half of the National Monuments, of which there are 138. But, that’s a bit confusing because NPS manages only 89 National Monuments. The rest are under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management or the U.S. Forest Service or are jointly managed with states or Native American tribes.

Canyons of the Ancients National Monument is managed by the BLM

Then, there are all the other things: National Lakeshores, National Seashores, National Memorials, National Preserves (which are sometimes combined with/adjacent to National Parks), National Reserves, National Recreation Areas, National Rivers, National Wild and Scenic Rivers, National Parkways, National Historical Parks, National Historic Sites, International Historic Sites, National Military Parks, National Battlefield Parks, National Battlefield Sites, National Battlefields, National Scenic Trails and, since NPS is also confused, “Other Designations.”

Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Devil's Tower National Monument,
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Chaco Culture Center National Historic Park

I don’t have a good calculation of what percentage of the rest of the other units I have visited, but it is quite a few.

National Parks are established by Congress to protect vast, scenic landscapes for recreation ...

Death Valley National Park

... whereas National Monuments are usually designated by the President under the Antiquities Act to protect specific historical, scientific or cultural features.

Monuments can become Parks; New River Gorge decades and a designation apart

American Samoa, which I will cover in greater detail in a couple of posts, is home to one of the trickiest National Parks to visit, although Kobuk Valley National Park and Gates of the Arctic do their best to challenge that designation.

Kobuk Valley and Gates of the Arctic

First of all, American Samoa is about 5,600 miles from where I live. 

U.S. flights are through Hawai'i

Second, very few airlines fly there. Hawai’ian Airlines is the only U.S. airline that goes and that is only three flights a week.

 

It's always interesting flying with Hawai'ian

Third, because the territory (American Samoa is a U.S. territory) is spread over multiple islands and there isn’t a well-developed tourism industry, it seems like a difficult place to manage on your own. 

Even our guides couldn't get us to Aunu'u Island as planned

Fourth, after searching and searching, I could find only ONE tour company that visits American Samoa: Off the Beaten Path (OTBP) out of Bozeman, Montana. 

So, I booked a trip with them

My traveling companion was daughter Caty, who is equally enamored of National Parks, but is bucking the trend and will not have The National Park of American Samoa (the Park’s official name) as her last Park. She still has 11 to go. 

Caty, dressed for Samoan church

Scott, who does not enjoy steamy weather did not go. He went, instead, to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks while we were in the South Pacific.

As I said, getting the American Samoa is tricky. Once OTBP nailed down all the dates, we booked a flight from Honolulu to Pago Pago to start the tour with lots of padding ...

... two days in O’ahu first  (that's Diamond Head from the plane) ...

... and then two extra days in Pago Pago before the beginning of the tour

As I have said (and proven) multiple times; trusting an airline to get you where you need to be when you need to be there is risky. With just three flights a week, extra time seemed important. Travel insurance was also important (and, actually, required for this trip).

Because Caty and I have been trying to do a trip with my younger daughter, Becca, as well, we invited her, but she couldn’t swing it. So, instead, we planned a follow-on extension where we would meet Becca on The Big Island of Hawai’i after we returned from Pago Pago. 

There, we planned ...

... snorkeling (for me) and SCUBA diving (for them) ...

... birding (for me) ...

... and exploring (for all of us)

I’ll get to all that later.

Of course, after all that got finalized, the thing you try to guard against happened: Hawai’ian Airlines changed its flight schedule. OTBP had to re-jigger the entire tour, sliding it forward one day. We changed our flight to Pago Pago, but left our Honolulu schedule as is, which gave us one more day on O’ahu and cut a little bit of our time with Becca on the other end. We originally would have arrived the evening before her; this change put us in mid-day the day after she arrived.

She managed; Selfies: Becca Stevens

That's the scoop. Now, let’s put American Samoa and The Big Island off a bit and talk about the first few days in O’ahu.

O’ahu

As far as I can figure out, the last time I visited O’ahu as a tourist was in 1999 when we went on a family vacation to Kauai, Maui, the Big Island and O’ahu. 

Family trip to Hawai'i

I did travel to and from Hawai’i for business in the late 90s, but am not sure when those trips were. I even interviewed for a job there back in 1986.

That was so long ago

All of my recent Hawai’ian travel has been to Maui and The Big Island. In 2022, the whole family went to Maui for Thanksgiving. Scott took his mom to Hawai’i in 2013 and they visited O’ahu. 

Betty Stevens at Pearl Harbor, 2013

So, this was a long-time coming.

Caty and I used the Waikiki Circle Hotel in Honolulu as our base. It was a funky older hotel convenient to restaurants and shops, but lacking resort amenities (for example, no pool).

Near where the arrow is pointing

While it was fairly convenient, Waikiki is very crowded. If I go back to O’ahu again, I might prefer to stay on the other side of the island. Also, a main reason for choosing Waikiki was proximity to Hanauma Bay, where I wanted to snorkel. That didn’t happen – I’ll get to that later.

We originally were booked to arrive in the early afternoon on the first day, but American Airlines shuffled the flights a couple of times. So, instead of having an afternoon for exploring, we arrived at 6:25 p.m. 

At least it was still light

After getting the car and checking in, there wasn’t much of the day left. Our time on the island was limited, but we did manage a few adventures.

But, first, let’s talk about the O’ahu ...

It's one of the state’s eight main islands; Map: Live Beaches

O’ahu is the third largest and the most populated of the Hawai’ian Islands. Its largest city, Honolulu, is the capital and business center of the state. 

Honolulu

In 2024, Oʻahu had a population of almost 999,000, down from just over a million in 2020. Approximately 70 percent of Hawai’i’s population lives on O’ahu.

Waikiki is on Honolulu's south shore

The island is 44 miles long from east to west and roughly 30 miles at its longest north-south distance. But, the locals never say (or even understand) cardinal directions. Everything is either windward (east) of leeward (west). 

The windward side

The O’ahu shoreline is 227 miles long. Including small associated islands such as Ford Island, plus those in Kāneʻohe Bay and off the windward coast.

At 596.7 square miles, O;ahu is U.S.'s 20th-largest island; Map: Hawai'i Guide

Like all other Hawai’ian Islands, Oʻahu was formed from the volcanism associated with the Hawai’i hotspot; it started to grow from the sea floor 4 million years ago. Today, the island is composed of the remnants of two extinct and extensively eroded shield volcanoes: the Waiʻanae and Koʻolau Ranges, with a broad valley, or saddle, between them. The highest point is Kaʻala in the Waiʻanae Range, rising to 4,003 feet above sea level.

Much of the shore is the terminus of lava flows

Oʻahu is known for having the longest rain shower in recorded history. Kāneʻohe Ranch reported 247 straight days of rain from August 27, 1993, to April 30, 1994. The average temperature in Oʻahu is around 70-85 °F. 

Rain means rainbows

Oʻahu is often translated as "The Gathering Place." But, translators may have ignored or misplaced the ʻokina (ʻ), because the Hawai’ian phrase ʻo ahu could be translated as "gathering of objects.” The term Oʻahu has no confirmed meaning in Hawai’ian.

It is uncertain when Oʻahu was first settled by humans. Archaeological studies suggested that Polynesian explorers from the Marquesas may have arrived as early as the 3rd century A.D., possibly with a second wave arriving from Tahiti around 1100 A.D. However, more modern analyses indicate that the first settlers probably arrived around 900-1200 A.D.

The Polynesians arrived by boat; Illustration: WordPress

The first great king of Oʻahu was Maʻilikūkahi, the Lawmaker, who initiated a 304-year dynasty of monarchs. In 1778, Captain James Cook sighted Oʻahu during his third voyage. This was the first recorded encounter by non-Polynesian people.

James Cook and his ships, HMS Resolution and HMS Discovery; Illustration: Surfer Today

Cook bypassed Oʻahu, landing instead at Kauai before continuing his original mission to explore the coast of North America. The next year, Cook's second in command, Captain Charles Clerke, became the first recorded non-Polynesian to visit Oʻahu when he landed at Waimea Bay.

Charles Clerke; Illustrations: Encyclopedia of Surfing

Earlier that month, Cook had been killed at Kealakekua Bay on the island of Hawai’i when a dispute with the local people turned violent. Clerke's visit to Oʻahu was brief and the expedition's two ships left Waimea Bay the same day after finding it difficult to obtain fresh water.

You may wonder why the illustrations above come from surfing publications: Cook and Clerke were the first westerns to document surfing.

Early wave riding; Illustration: Museum of British Surfing

At the time of Cook's visit, the Hawai’ian Islands were divided among several warring chiefdoms. In 1783, Kahekili II, king of the island of Maui, conquered Oʻahu. He then made his son, Kalanikūpule, king of Oʻahu, turning it into a puppet state. Kalanikūpule was defeated in the Battle of Nuʻuanu in 1795 by Kamehameha I who then founded the Hawai’ian Kingdom.

Kamehameha I; Left: Portrait by James Gay Sawkins; Right: Statue in Honolulu

The Hawai’ian islands were not fully unified until King Kaumualiʻi surrendered the islands of Kauaʻi and Niʻihau in 1810. By the late 18th century, Waikiki was a major settlement. As trade with foreigners intensified, the nearby town of Honolulu came to eclipse it in size and importance because its harbor was more accessible.

In 1845, Kamehameha III moved his capital to Honolulu from Lahaina on the island of Maui.  Later, King Kalākaua had a modern residence built in Honolulu for the royal family – ʻIolani Palace, which still stands as the only royal palace on American soil.

ʻIolani Palace; Photo: Next Stop, Hawai'i

In 1893, a group of American businessmen took up arms near ʻIolani Palace and, along with Marines from the U.S.S Boston that landed in Honolulu Harbor, launched a successful coup d'état against Queen Liliʻuokalani. 

Queen Liliʻuokalani

The insurgents abolished the monarchy and established the Republic of Hawai’i, which later successfully lobbied for annexation to the United States.

On the morning of December 7, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in Oʻahu, bringing the United States into World War II.

I’ll get back to that later; Photo: Britannica

After World War II, Oʻahu became a tourism and shopping destination with more than 5 million visitors per year, mainly from the contiguous United States and Japan. Popular tourist attractions include multiple beaches, the Ala Moana Center (shopping), the Bishop Museum, the Honolulu Museum of Art, ʻIolani Palace, Diamond Head and Kualoa Ranch.  Caty and I visited one of those.

We did walk around Waikiki

So, let’s talk about what we did – and didn’t – do.

Snorkeling

Caty and I love to snorkel, even though many of our recent attempts have been less than successful, primarily because of weather. Snorkeling is best with calm seas and sunlight that reaches through the water to what you are looking at below. 

Nope, not on O'ahu; Speckled Butterflyfish, Ofu, American Samoa

Earlier in the year, Scott and I had attempted to snorkel at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Florida, but the trip was cancelled because of low temperatures and high seas. So, that remains a bucket list item.

I knew that O’ahu wasn’t Hawai’i’s top snorkeling location, but, since we had to go there to get to American Samoa, why not?

Where I really wanted to go to Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve, which was a reason I booked our hotel close by in Waikiki.

Hanauma Bay, 1986

Then, I found out that Hanauma Bay State Park is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Bad coincidence: those were the days we would be there. It couldn’t e helped. But, even though I was truly bummed, let me explain …

Hanauma Bay is in an open volcanic crater, which affords it greater protection from wind and surf. About 400 species of fish are known to inhabit the bay along with Green Sea Turtles.

Hanauma Bay; Photo: SDI

Understandably, one of O’ahu’s most popular tourist destinations, it suffered from overtourism. At one time, more than 3 million people visited per year. In 2014 and 2015, 47 percent of the corals at Hanauma Bay suffered from coral bleaching and about 10 percent died. 

Before visitors were limited

When the Bay was closed during the pandemic, scientists discovered significant recovery of both corals and fishes. So, it reopened with a strict reservation system and steep entry fee ($25 per person) to keep the numbers down. Now, only 1,400 people can visit per day and it is closed completely two days a week.

The Bay is greatly improved; Photos: Hanauma Bay State Park

We briefly contemplated trying to go the morning of the day we were flying out, but that seemed too stressful. Then, we just decided we’d go to the overlook above it that morning, but – even though the website does not explain this – you can’t even get in after 9:00 a.m. without a reservation. We pulled in at 9:04 and were turned away. 

Drat! Photo: Honolulu Star Advertiser

We looked at a lot of other snorkeling options, but almost all mentioned currents, tides or long swims. Since it was windy with rather significant waves, we didn’t feel comfortable going out alone. I’ll talk a bit more later about the options we tried.

But, let me first touch on the things we did do as planned.

Diamond Head

Early our first morning in O’ahu, Caty and I hiked to the top of Diamond Head. I had done this so many years ago that I have virtually no memories of it. So, it seemed like a thing we should do. 

Diamond Head is an iconic landmark overlooking Honolulu

Diamond Head is featured as a backdrop to Waikiki in numerous movies and TV shows, including the original 1968 Hawai’i Five-O and 2010 reboot, as well as the original 1980 Magnum, P.I. and 2018 reboot.

Iconic; Left: SilverScreen Mementos; Right: 

The Movie Share Spot

 

A volcanic tuff cone on the edge of Waikiki Beach, it was named by 19th century British sailors for the calcite crystals on the adjacent beach.

It is part of the system of cones, vents and eruption flows collectively known as the Honolulu Volcanic Series, formed by renewed eruptions from the Koʻolau Volcano that took place long after the volcano formed and had gone dormant. These eruptive events created many of Oʻahu's well-known landmarks, including Punchbowl Crater, the aforementioned Hanauma Bay, Koko Head and Mānana Island.

I took this as we flew in

Like the rest of the Honolulu Volcanic Series, Diamond Head is much younger than the main mass of the Koʻolau Mountain Range. While the Koʻolau Range is about 2.6 million years old, Diamond Head is estimated to be about 400,000 to 500,000 years old.

View from the crater rim

The interior and adjacent exterior areas were the home to Fort Ruger, the first United States military reservation on Hawai’i. Now, only a National Guard emergency operations center and the Hawai’i State Civil Defense Headquarters remain in use in the crater.

The government offices are in the foreground

Diamond Head is both a State Monument and, since 1968, a U.S. National Natural Landmark. While part of it is closed to the public and serves as a platform for antennas used by the U.S. government, a 0.8-mile trail open to tourists leads to the summit from the Visitors Center at the crater floor.

The first part of the trail is flat and somewhat shaded

The trail was originally built in 1908 as part of the Army Coastal Defense System. The trail rises 560 feet and includes a series of steep paths, stairs and tunnels. At the summit are several bunkers that were used as a control station to direct artillery fire in case of war. The view from the top and its proximity to Honolulu's resort hotels and beaches makes the summit a popular tourist destination.

Caty on the way up

We made reservations in advance (now a must for practically anything), and arrived at about 7:00 a.m. so that we could hike up and back down before the day got too hot. 

Early morning sun; Photo: Caty Stevens

It was warm-to-hot and very sticky, but not unbearable, especially since the hike was punctuated by some very light rain showers.

The trail is steep, but not horrible and, blissfully, not too slippery, even in the rain. Part was shaded and part enjoyed (!) full sun. The track also includes a couple of steep flights of stairs (even these Colorado girls were huffing and puffing). And, oh, parts (especially the top) were crowded. 

I imagine it gets worse as the day goes on

The views were lovely ...

Lush green hills … 

… gorgeous turquoise water … 

… the Waikiki shoreline …

… Honolulu beyond …

… and the Diamond Head Lighthouse, a navigational lighthouse built in 1917

Plus, we were treated to some beautiful rainbows at the summit

An extra treat of the trip were a couple of birds, including a Zebra Dove in gorgeous morning light …

This is a bird I have seen many times before, but this is definitely my best shot

And, even more exciting, a very cooperative female White-rumped Shama … 

This was a lifer – on my first morning – so the trip was getting off to a good start

She was sitting on a branch right over the walkway

The beauty of staying so close to Diamond Head was the ability to shower and change after a damp hot hike before we took off to explore.

So, we zipped back, cleaned up and had a breakfast cheeseburger at the kitschy Cheeseburger in Paradise. Actually, we omitted the egg, so we split a cheeseburger (a good one) for breakfast.

It was good!

We had no specific goal for the rest of the morning except to explore the coast and take photos. And, even though the weather forecast was iffy, that morning was gorgeous.

Southeast Coast

We headed out from Waikiki to see the sights and made a good choice: we headed east and hooked up with the Kalaniana’ole Highway (Route 72), an 18.5-mile scenic route connecting Honolulu and Hawaii Kai (a very nice residential area) to the town of Waimanalo. 

The route; Left: Google Maps

The highway is named for Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole, a former prince of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi and later a Congressman who attempted to restore Queen Liliʻuokalani to the throne.

The road winds high above the ocean with dramatic views of lava flows, bays and volcanic cliffs. 

Kalaniana’ole Highway; Photo: Explorest

It passes Hanauma Bay, which, as I mentioned, was closed, and continues on to the Hālona Blowhole, where we stopped a couple of times.

The stop was just 12 miles from our hotel

Set by cliffs formed by molten lava flows from Koko Crater thousands of years ago ...

Where lava met water

... the Hālona Blowhole is a natural oceanic “geyser” spouting out of a volcanic rock formation. It shoots seawater up to 30 feet high when waves surge through ancient lava tubes. 

It is most active during winter swells; Photo: Caty Stevens

Even though it was breezy (a polite description) and there were some pretty significant waves, we never saw any major surges.

The waves pounding the cliffs

The blue sky, wispy clouds, dramatic rocks and blue ocean kept us busy snapping photos

Tucked right next to the blowhole is Hālona Beach Cove, a tiny beach that gained Hollywood fame as a backdrop in classic films including From Here to Eternity. 

The "secret" beach

It appeared to have a pretty rugged path down and, even though people were on the beach, we weren’t sure if people were “allowed” to go there (oh, I PhotoShopped the people out of my pictures). What I read said: 

Visitors must stay behind the safety rails at the upper lookout. Hiking down the steep, unpaved trail to the cove or approaching the wet, slippery blowhole rocks is dangerous and strongly discouraged due to powerful, unpredictable rogue waves. 

 

Yeah, no!

The view from the top was fine. 

More than fine!

An extra treat was Tropicbirds flying around the cliffs. I snapped a few shots of the fast-flying birds, but didn’t try too hard because I had already captured a Red-tailed Tropicbird on a visit to Maui a few years earlier.

I did get a few!

It wasn’t until Caty looked at her photos later that we discovered that the birds above the Blowhole were both Red-tailed and White-tailed Tropicbirds! 

White-tailed Tropicbird; Photo: Caty Stevens

So, I got a lifer with no photo. Fortunately, as you will see later, I saw many more on this trip. Blissfully, the Hālona Blowhole is free to visit, requires no reservations and has an ample parking lot.

Looking farther down the road; Photo: Caty Stevens

After the Blowhole, we continued on, enjoying to gorgeous coastal views and stopping at the Makapuʻu Overlook. Actually, our first attempt failed because there were no parking spots in the much smaller lot. But, we stopped there on our way back, which I’ll get to.

We ended up swinging back by the Hālona Blowhole on our last day on O’ahu as well, but I have included photos from that day here and won’t cover it again.

The entrance to Hālona Beach Cove

After Makapupu, the Kalanianaʻole Highway turns to the northwest, traveling away from the coast where it ceases to be as interesting. My original plan had been to turn south and take the Pali Highway over the spine of the island back to Honolulu, since the Pali Overlook was on my list of things to do. But, the weather said no, no, no. 

Even though it was gorgeous on the southeast coast, it was rainy over the central mountain crest. 

We needed to get back to here

We couldn’t even see the peaks and, therefore, knew a view back down would be non-existent. So, we turned around and meandered back to Waikiki where the weather was good.

Now, we stopped at Makapuʻu, the extreme eastern headland of the island of Oʻahu. 

It’s famous for the Makapuʻu Point Lighthouse, which we could see while driving, but never from a place where we could photograph it. 

Makapuʻu Point Lighthouse; Photo: LAURALOHA Travel

There is a two-mile round-trip paved trail to it, but it looked like that rain was on its way, so we didn’t attempt it. The lighthouse itself is off limits to the public and is protected by three locked gates.

In Hawai'ian, Makapuʻu means "bulging eye," derived from a mythical supernatural being who lived in a local cave named Keanaokeakuapōloli (try pronouncing that).

Offshore is Mānana Island, a 63-acre offshore tuff cone known as Rabbit Island because it looks like a large rabbit's head rising out of the sea. 

It was also once inhabited by rabbits that a rancher released there

The island is now a protected bird sanctuary. In front of it is the smaller Kāohikaipu, a low volcanic islet that is also a bird sanctuary. 

Both were just a bit too far for productive bird photography

Makapuʻu Beach is a popular body-surfing beach, but the shore break can be dangerous. We don’t do dangerous beaches, which Hawai’i seems to have a lot of.

This came with warnings

We only had the morning to explore anyway because we had late afternoon reservations at the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. So, we had to head the other direction.

I’ll cover that in my next blog

Trip dates: June 7 - 29, 2026