One day in Oahu was dedicated to hiking and exploring. Hitting Diamond Head at 6:20 am was wise, but we didn’t realize a Triathlon was taking place that made it hard to catch our shuttle. We had to join the sea of joggers to meet our van. This also added almost a mile to our hike, but we persevered and we can say we ran in a triathlon, hiked Diamond Head, and swam in Hanauma Bay all in one day. It was a fun day of exercise, super views, and a good way to beat the heat.
Following our Diamond Head hike, we shuttled over to Hanauma Bay for a little snorkeling and relaxation on the beach. Hanauma Bay is the collapsed crater of a Tuff cone as is Diamond Head and KoKo Crater which is beside Koko Head. A Tuff Cone is subtly different from a volcano. A volcano is an opening in the earth’s crust where lava pours forth over a period of several years to perhaps hundreds of years. A Tuff Cone is a very short burst event where a crack in the earth’s crust results in the escape of hot gases to just under the earth’s surface. The result is an explosion, not unlike the bubble that erupts in spaghetti sauce cooking on the stove. Our guide said scientists believe the event that resulted in the creation of Diamond Head lasted between 1 to 7 days. In the soil around these you can see the particles of reef, old volcanic material, and sand all mixed together where they were expelled in the creation of the Tuff Cone.
After a couple snorkel swims I felt the tug of another hike out Koko Head, so I gathered my camera and lenses and I was off. The elevation above the bay created some excellent views. My only disappointment was that I didn’t have the beautiful blue sky that proved fickle a few days while we were in Hawaii.
I’m not complaining though, I mean it was Hawaii, right?!
areliablefaith 