I had originally contemplated renting a car and taking a drive around the perimeter of Oahu. Upon further review and conversation with Debbie, we decided to sign up for a professonal tour company (Hoku Luxury TOurs) … a small one of only twenty people … and were glad we made that choice.
After being picked up just a block form our hotel,
we bypassed Pearl Harbor (which Debbie and I havd visited before), Pearl CIty, with a few murals,
and Waipuha where the urban scenery quickly disappeared.
In Wahaiiawa, passed Wheeler Field and the Schofiled Barracks, now a joint military base, but in 1941 a target of Japanese bombers
Waianae Mountain Range to our west
Main entrance to the base
Our first scheduled stop was at the Dole Plantation, which is today a grower and packager of pineapples and a toursit center to provide an education about growing pineapples.
By way of background,
The company traces its origin to the 1851 establishment of Castler & Sooke by missionaries Samuel Northrup Castle and Amos Starr Cooke.. Castle & Cooke rapidly became one of the largest companies in Hawaii, investing in shipping, railroad construction, sugar production and seafood packing.
The other half of Dole's corporate heritage, the Hawaiian Pineapple Company, was founded in 1901 by James Dole, who opened his first pineapple plantation in the central plateau of the Hawaiian island of Oahu. Sanford Dole, the cousin of James, had been president of the Republic of Hawaii from 1894 after the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii and first governor of the Territory of Hawaii until 1903. The annexation of Hawaii to the United States made selling agricultural products to the mainland much more profitable, since they would never be subject to import tariffs.
In 1932, Castle & Cooke purchased a 21% interest in the Hawaiian Pineapple Company. In the 1960s, Castle & Cooke acquired the remainder of the Hawaiian Pineapple Company and the Standard Fruit Company. In 1976, it acquired Bud Antle Inc., a California-based lettuce and celery farmer; it was renamed Dole Fresh Vegetables in 1989. The company was renamed "The Dole Food Company, Inc" in 1991. Castle & Cooke Inc, a real estate company. Dole's Wailua Sugar Mill closed in 1996. Dole acquired Coastal Berry in 2004 and Sunnyridge Farms in 2011 to enter the berry business.
Dole operates plantations in Hawaii, throughout Central and South America, and the Asian-Pacific region.
Our tour of, and train ride
through the plantaion was interesting and, in some places beautiful.
Pineapple
Mango
Coffee
Red Pineapple
Dates
Bananas (Dole is one of the two largest producers of bananas in the world)
Papayas
Never did get an answer to what these were
Bromeliads
Koa Tree – used throughout the Capitol Building
Avodado Trees
Sugar Cane
Coconut Palm
Pineapples
The plant is indigenous to South America and is said to originate from the area between southern Brazil and Paraguay; however, little is known about the origin of the domesticated pineapple (Pickersgill, 1976). The natives of southern Brazil and Paraguay spread the pineapple throughout South America, and it eventually reached the Caribbean, Central America, and Mexico, where it was cultivated by the Mayas and the Aztecs. Columbus encountered the pineapple in 1493 on the leeward island of Guadeloupe. He called it piña de Indes, meaning "pine of the Indians", and brought it back with him to Spain, thus making the pineapple the first bromeliad to be introduced by humans outside of the New World. The Spanish introduced it into the Philippines, Hawaii (introduced in early 19th century, first commercial plantation 1886), Zimababwe and Guam. The fruit is said to have been first introduced in Hawaii when a Spanish ship brought it there in the 1500s.
John Kidwell is credited with the introduction of the pineapple industry to Hawaii; large-scale pineapple cultivation by US companies began in the early 1900s. Among the most famous and influential pineapple industrialists was James Dole, who moved to Hawaii in 1899 and started a pineapple plantation in 1900.
Pineapple plants are placed in the ground by hand; and an experienced worker can plant between 6,000 and 10,000 plants per day. The plants take approximalely 18-24 months to product fruit. They will be productive for 5 to 7 years after which their fields are plowed under and lay fallow for another year before thsoe fields can be replanted.
Cacao (from which chocolate is produced
Norfolk Pines
Tanada Reservoir
Ironwood
Macadamian Nut Tree
Red Ti Leaf
Heliconia
Chameleon
Pineapple Ice Cream – INCREDIBLE!
Debbie finds a pearl in an oyster shell
Very tired visitor
Clouds shroud the high summits of the Waianae Mountains
Large pineapple fields
Norfolk Pines used as a wind break around coffee plants
Continuing north we arrived in
a surf-dominated town on the northwest coast of Oahu,.
Paddle Boarders
Unfortunately July is probably the worst month to visit Oau if looking for big waves … which do not occur until late in the year.
Fisherman
Truning northeast along the Waimea Valley
There are roosters and hens everywhere
FOR SALE – Any takers?
Lunch anyone – Shrimp is their specialty?
Shrimp Farming
Typical home for former farm worker
Our next stop was at the Marriott for lunch
We are now paralleling the Koolau Mountains
and a tour through "typpical" villages found within the Polynesian Triangle.
generally defined as Polynesia is generally defined as the islands within the Ploynesian Triangle, although there are some islands that are inhabited by Ploynesian people situated outside the Polynesian Triangle. Geographically, the Polynesian Triangle is drawn by connecting the points of Hawaii, New Zealand and Easter Island. The other main island groups located within the Polynesian Triangle are Samoa, Tonga, the Cook Islands, Tuvatu, Tokelau, Niue, Eallis and Futuna and French Polynesia.
We continued around the furtherst north point on Oahu, presently the location of the Turtle Bay Resort
San Joachim Catholic Church
Recognize this scene?
Some of the scenes from "Jurassic World" were shot here
Fishing hook
Next stop …
King Kamehameha (1758 – 1819) was the king of all of the Hawaiian Islands. Kamehameha's mother was Kekuiapoiwa, daughter of a Kona chief. His father was Keoua, chief of Kohala. But in order to be the king, he had to battle for his place as a monarch. On May 1975, he battled King Kalanikupule for his rule of Oahu. He was a leader that changed the history of Hawaii. He united Hawaii under one monarchy. King Kamehameha made Hawaii a better place because he always put his people first.
he Battle of Nu’uanu took place on Oahu, Hawaii. It was a Battle between King Kamehameha, and Kalanikupule, the King of Oahu. They fought over the island of Oahu.The Battle of Nu'uanu took place on the Nu'uanu Pali in May, 1795. This battle took place because it was the war to unify the Hawaiian Islands. The last major Hawaiian battle that occurred united the island tribes under one monarch, King Kamehameha from the the Big Island of Hawaii. The Battle of NuÊ»uanu began when Kamehameha's army landed on the southeastern portion of Oahu. Splitting his army into two, Kamehameha sent one half of his army around the crater and the other straight to Kalanikupule. Kalanikupule and Kaiana, the leaders were wounded, Kaiana fatally. With its leadership in chaos, the Oahu army slowly fell back north through the NuÊ»uanu Valley to the cliffs at Nuu’anu Pali. Caught between the Hawaiian Army and a 1000-foot drop, over 400 Oahu warriors had to make a choice, jump or get pushed over the edge of the Pali. In 1898 construction workers working on the Pali road discovered 800 skulls which were believed to be the remains of the warriors that fell to their deaths from the cliff above.
Flanking the the overlook are two steep peaks, each signed to forbid people form climbing
However, not everyone pays attention.
A traditional Hawaiian kiss involved touching noses and forheads and breathing on each other
Makapuu Point Lighthouse (the tour didn't have time for the mile-plus walk to the lighthouse)
Hanola Blowhole
Mongoose are a weasel-like animal native to India. Sugar plantations first introduced the species to Hawaii in 1883 to control rats in cane fields. The mongoose didn't control rats as planned but instead preyed on turtle eggs and birds. Further, the rats were nocternal and mongoose active during the days.
(l to r – female and male Red-brested or Brazilian Cardnials
Wiamanalo Beach Bay
Backside of Diamond Head
Tunnel leading to the Diamond Head caldera
Recall that on January 13, 2018, a false ballistic missle alert was issued via the Emergency Alert System over television, radio, and cellphones in the U.S. and State of Hawaii. The alert stated that there was an incoming ballistic missile threat to Hawaii, advised residents to seek shelter, and concluded "This is not a drill". The message was sent at 8:07 AM local time. However, no civil defense outdoor warning sirens were authorized or sounded by the state.
A second message, sent 38 minutes later, described the first as a "false alarm". State officials blamed a miscommunication during a drill at the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency for the first message. The delay on the false alarm message was allegedly due to an individual who couldn't remember his password.
View from the Kahala Lookout, just outside the tunnel leading to the Diamond Head caldera
Ever see a BLUE stop sign?
It directs pedestrans to STOP for cars
While waiting for a table for dinner we took a walk and ran into a group of Hari Krishna
and watched a group of hula dancers on a large sidewalk television.
