http://youtu.be/lXS7HV1YDlw
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If you know Brad, Kodiak and I, you'll know we love jungly hikes in Hawaii! Lush, green, rainforest trails that lead to beautiful waterfalls! And that's exactly what Waimano Falls is!
TO GET TO WAIMANO FALLS, you drive to Komo Mai Dr, (near Waimano Home Rd), and go all the way down until you reach the Komo Mai Dr culdesac. And the trail is RIGHT there, you can't miss it!
We took the bus there, but had a bit of confusion as to where to get off and didn't realize there was another bus that could have taken us almost straight to it. So in order to avoid OUR mistake, take bus 53 (Towards Pacific Palisaides) and it's the very last stop on Komo Mai Dr. There's a stop right across the street as well for coming back so you won't have a problem finding it; it just might be a little wait depending on your timing.
Anyways lucky for us, as we were waiting for another bus, a local drove up in his pick-up and offered us a ride to the trail head, which we were SO thankful for!! As Brad said in the video, we haven't been called "How-lees" yet at all here on Oahu. (He did however, on Lanai-but those guys were drunk and weird). Most locals are super nice as long as you respect the island and them as well! Brad tried to pay him, but he wouldn't accept. Another thing about people here. Even lots of the homeless people won't accept food/money.
We get to the trail head and start the hike! It starts off paved then gets dirty! You quickly pass a water tank on you right, then some power lines (which look like they would be awesome to zipline haha), then you get near the top of the hill. That's the easy part. The HARD part is coming down! It's muddy/steep/slippery, especially after it rains! There are lots of roots which kind of help your footing, but it's also easy to trip on them haha. I fell twice...on my butt! Brad had many close calls but never made the plunge.
The trail gets very narrow and shaded by rainforesty trees, and rocky as well. (Oh yes, be sure to wear tennis shoes that you don't care about getting dirty! But bringing an extra pair of slippahs (flip flops) in your bag for the falls is a good idea too.
Kodiak did incredibly well on the hike! He had no problems; he likes to lead the way the whole time, but always waits for us to catch up. The perfect hiking dog. There was another dog there too, and they got along. People love to see Kodiak on hikes, with his little backpack. He loves people too so everyone has a great time. I'm sure to lead him to the side for kids to pass, just in case they lose their footing or are scared of dogs. But hikes are Kodiak's favorite thing ever!
FINALLY THE FALLS!
You get to the falls and you are hot, muddy and sweaty so the first thing that happens is the clothes come off! (With swimsuits underneath of course!) We went to the lower part first, busted out the cameras and went straight in. While on person stayed with Kodiak, the other went to jump/swing. There's a rope you can climb up the side of the rocky area with (some muscle strength required), and then you are on a little ledge. Luckily there was someone there catching the rope as it swung back after someone used it. If there isn't, it can be a bit of a challenge to get it over to you.
You don't want to swing too close to the rocks..because ouch. But you don't want to swing too far into the shallow area. The trick is to swing out, then as you swing back a teeny bit, let go. But man it's so fun and so worth it! We did that a couple times, and then jumped in without the rope too. It is SO refreshing!
There's another way to climb around to get to the upper part of the falls, which has the bigger waterfall, and a little wading area. This is where the dogs would swim around in, and is perfect for pictures. I climbed up to the falls and got some cool GoPro shots right next to it. It feels so magical!
So after spending an hour or two at Waimano Falls, we made the trek back. The steep hill is actually called Cardiac Hill, which makes sense. It really gets your heart pumping! Be careful doing this hike with little kids, they WILL get tired, and it will probably take you twice as long. Coming back up we stumbled upon a cranky toddler (and wife) coming down. And they still had a long ways to go!
We got back to Komo Mai and within 5 minutes you are at a bus stop. A bus came within 20 minutes and we had to transfer once to get back to Waikiki. Be sure to research where you're getting on/off in advance.
Back home everyone had a shower (and Kodiak had a bath), and we were pretty tired after that. So a nap was in order, then we did a grocery run. The day was over just like that!
I am posting pictures below, and be sure to go see the video of our hike/rope swinging/fun at Waimano Falls here!:
http://youtu.be/lXS7HV1YDlw
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