Showing posts with label Diamond Head Beach Park. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Diamond Head Beach Park. Show all posts

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Diamond Head Dazzles

Diamond Head from Waikiki's
J.Smith photo (c) 2011
Hula Babe's Hawaiian love affair begins with Diamond Head. I simply can't get enough of it. 

I didn't keep my pre-trip promise to myself though, which was to climb to its upper rim and around it on its well-maintained  pathway while we were staying in Waikiki.  I am blaming that on Polynesian Paralysis - the condition that takes away all goals and vows to do things replacing them with a distinct feel of contentment over doing absolutely nothing.  Well, nothing except staring at something magnificent. And in Hawaii there are plenty of magnificent things to stare at:  waves breaking on the shore, sun rise, sun set, and of course, my beloved Diamond Head. 

While we didn't make it to the top of Diamond Head we did walk to the Diamond Head Lighthouse beach and explored it at length.  The beach that wraps itself around the base of the lighthouse and Diamond Head is a favorite with darkly tanned surfer boys and girls waiting for the right waves to develop - not many folks the ages of Hula Babe and Beach Boy.  We logged 9 miles on the pedometer that day, I might add, even without climbing to the top of my favorite peak.

The first lighthouse was built above this beach in 1899 and then rebuilt in 1917.  Today it stands tall and white against the tropical foliage surrounding it. 
Diamond Head Lighthouse
J. Smith photo, (c) 2010

There was a time that Diamond Head was known only as Le'ahi, which in Hawaiian means, "wreath of fire" as the native Hawaiians used to light fires on the crest of the volcano to light the way back for those out in canoes on the sea.  It was in 1825 that British sailors found calcite crystals among the black rocks and thought they were diamonds - thus, it become known as Diamond Head.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Diamond Head's a Gem


We opted this trip to skip our walk around Diamond Head and haven't yet been inspired to climb up Diamond Head; instead we climbed down the switchback path to the beach at Diamond Head Beach Park and wondered why we had never done it before. The beach was of the finest sand around areas of long-ago lava flows. . .that today make for spectacular tidal pools. The climb back up the hill was made easier by using a beacch access road we found on the Waikiki side of the lighthouse. It was an easy two mile walk to the park from the hotel and a mile or so along the beach. . .and justified another one of our ono grindz dinners.

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