Waimea Beach

Waimea Bay sits at the mouth of Waimea Valley. At the other end of the valley is Waimea Falls. And for years, there was not much more than that between the bay and the falls. It was a very pleasant hike back to the falls, and a pleasant swim in the pool at the bottom of the falls. Brave souls (braver than I) would even jump from various point on the cliff into the pool. Very few people seemed to know of the place.

So I was quite surprised to find a theme park now occupying most of the valley. The park's owners, Atlantis Adventures, also run Sea Life Park Hawaii, Atlantis Submarines, which takes people under the ocean off Waikiki, and the Battleship Missouri Memorial in Pearl Harbor.

Waimea Valley Adventure Park offers a number of attractions, from kayaking and ATV riding, to a vast collection of flora and fauna, including more types of hibiscus than you can imagine, as well as presentations of Hawaiian dance, culture, etc.

It turns out that Waimea was an important cultural center in ancient Hawaii, and there are numerous archeological sites on the grounds of the park.

Hawaiian style wrestling.

This traditional Hawaiian toy is made from a bit of palm frond, and represents a fish.

A butterfly house gave Calvin an opportunity to make a friend.

Michelle made friends with a flower. (No, she didn't pick it)

The grounds of the park were literally crawling with birds of all kinds. Even common pidgeons fascinated the kids.

I gave Calvin a camera, and he shot a whole roll of film on the birds. He chased one bird around the park for 10 minutes trying to take its picture, but it wasn't interested and kept running away. This peacock was more cooperative.

We hiked back to the falls (a very pleasant hike) to discover that the once isolated falls were now the centerpiece of a tourist show, complete with hula lesson.

Yoko and the kids joined in, but Steve was too embarrassed and pretended that he was a photographer on assignment for a well-known international news magazine to document the activities of a typical family on vacation in Hawaii. Right.

Note that Calvin has my hat.

Auntie Myrtle, dem.

I mentioned at the top of this page that friends used to dive off the cliff into the pool. That is now part of the show.

One of my favorite pictures of Michelle, taken at the show. Somehow, she got my hat away from Calvin. MY hat, dammit!

So I was quite surprised to find a theme park now occupying most of the valley. The park's owners, Atlantis Adventures, also run Sea Life Park Hawaii, Atlantis Submarines, which takes people under the ocean off Waikiki, and the Battleship Missouri Memorial in Pearl Harbor.

Waimea Valley Adventure Park offers a number of attractions, from kayaking and ATV riding, to a vast collection of flora and fauna, including more types of hibiscus than you can imagine, as well as presentations of Hawaiian dance, culture, etc. It turns out that Waimea was an important cultural center in ancient Hawaii, and there are numerous archeological sites on the grounds of the park.


Hawaiian style wrestling.

This traditional Hawaiian toy is made from a bit of palm frond, and represents a fish.

A butterfly house gave Calvin an opportunity to make a friend.
Michelle made friends with a flower. (No, she didn't pick it)
The grounds of the park were literally crawling with birds of all kinds. Even common pidgeons fascinated the kids.
I gave Calvin a camera, and he shot a whole roll of film on the birds. He chased one bird around the park for 10 minutes trying to take its picture, but it wasn't interested and kept running away. This peacock was more cooperative.

We hiked back to the falls (a very pleasant hike) to discover that the once isolated falls were now the centerpiece of a tourist show, complete with hula lesson.
Yoko and the kids joined in, but Steve was too embarrassed and pretended that he was a photographer on assignment for a well-known international news magazine to document the activities of a typical family on vacation in Hawaii. Right. Note that Calvin has my hat.
Auntie Myrtle, dem.
I mentioned at the top of this page that friends used to dive off the cliff into the pool. That is now part of the show.
One of my favorite pictures of Michelle, taken at the show. Somehow, she got my hat away from Calvin. MY hat, dammit!