Thank God for Koko Head stone (rock) bridge hike! 10/5/16

Finally got a chance to do this one. This can be a fairly long hike depending on how fast you can find the route to the bridge. I brought my friend Kevin who was vacationing from Spokane. It was our first time doing this hike so we backtracked alot. There are two ways in entering this area, though be warned, it is considered government property and there are security guards, but they really don't care if you enter this area. I knew this because some hikers posted this a while back. But if you want to play it safe, then simply don't continue reading. Even though I did this hike, I do not encourage anyone to do so if you feel like this hike is illegal.

The first way in: Upon entering Hanauma Bay entrance where the cars are steering in, look to your right of the bus stop and you will see a gate that will tell you to stop and all that government speech. Just enter. This was the route me and Kevin took. Walk up the paved road. If the guard does decide to stop you then you are not out of luck yet.

2nd way: By Nawiliwili st where we parked (lots of street parking by the way), as you make your way around the corner that leads to the main road and towards Hanauma Bay, you will see two  yellow poles that are chained to each other: Look to the bush left before the chained poles, you can enter a trail that leads you to the paved road of the hike. Some people prefer this method and not deal with the guards. It is also a short cut. I was lucky to not get stopped by the guards. They just simply didn't care when we walked in. Lucky us.

Regardless, which route you choose, you will end up in the afformentioned paved road heading upwards. This can kill your legs if you aren't in shape. Take your time and bring water for it does get hot up here and there is barely any shade in this hike.

As for the hike, I didn't take much pics so I can't offer the route how to get there really, but if you see this pic (2nd radio tower), then you ventured a little too far. But don't despair, you can go down Ocean side at this point. It's a little steep so be careful. This is a loop trail so we took this route instead of the one early on ( there is one that will lead you to the rock bridge actually quicker early on, but where is the fun in that?)

Your path should start to look like this.

 

On the 2nd pic right above, hike to that smaller forest green area closest to the Ocean ( just head North basically). It should be roughly 20-30 mins at this point. Remember to be careful because it's a little steep. You will come eventually come across two pathways but keep to your left until you enter the "North" area.


Once you get there, it gets a little tricky from here because you can't see over the edges, but never fear just keep going and it will be another 5 min steep rocky areas going down. Just take your time because you are there. You will see a marker at this point.

 

If you are in the right place before going down to the rocky area, this is your view of Hanauma Bay. Also, to your left (not pictured), this is the quicker route I talked about earlier. This is pretty much where you will make your way back to the paved road. It is an up slope so it will be some workout for your legs I kid you not.

The Rock bridge and it's surroundings:

A Fisherman memorial.

Mini Puka.

Kevin

Me again doing another shaka.

A fisherman supposedly was swept away to sea back in 1934. This memorial marker was dedicated to him. The Rock bridge is to your right when you touch down here. There are various pukas around here, so have fun doing what you wanna do with them. I did not get close to the bridge because the tide was super high today, so trust me and other hikers when we say that it's not worth a picture on the bridge to lose your life. 

Tidepools and the Cave

 

The cave and water spots on my lenses.

Sadly, at this point the waves peaked over this rock (last pic) and splashed me, Kevin, and my camera. I was able to take a pic of the cave before my camera lost it's visual playback ability; my camera can still take pics but I can't see the display anymore :( Oh well, better invest in another one and I guess I gotta be more cautious next time. The waves on this part actually took me and Kevin by surprise. 

All pau. Had to climb back up the rocks and the "earlier" path I mentioned. We took the 2nd way back down and drove to Ala Moana to have lunch at the Shirokiya walk and juice at Pressed Juicery. Thank God nobody was hurt and that our hiking mission was a success even if my camera sustained damage. Laters.