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Touring the Islands - Our concise guides The
Islands Oahu... |
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Oahu Unlike
Maui
or the Big
Island,
Oahu is a low profile kind of place, a
characteristic perhaps inspired by the fact that
more than half of it lies below 500 feet. Oahu has
no big mountain, just two parallel ridges -- the
Koolau and the Waianae -- which time and weather
have worn razor-thin. At the southern or leeward
end of the island, these two ridges form the walls
of the biggest deep-draft harbor in the state --
Pearl Harbor. Next to that, sheltered between the
Koolau range and a large coral reef, is the
commercial and political hub of the Pacific -- the
capital city Honolulu. The name Oahu,
which means "the gathering place," has proven
prophetic. Eighty percent of the state's population
lives here on the third-largest island, and most of
them live in Honolulu. There's nothing like
Honolulu anywhere else in the Pacific -- a big,
multi-ethnic, polyglot, and beautiful city that
still manages to retain a sense of neighborhoods,
Hawaiian culture, and Polynesian informality. Its
world-renowned Waikiki
Beach,
lined by high-rise hotels,
draws a million visitors a year.
Honolulu offers certain delights that you'll find nowhere else in the state. Night life after ten o'clock, for example. Enough shopping experiences to sate even the most avid consumers. The city also has its own history and culture. Consider Iolani Palace, the only (former) royal palace on U.S. soil. Or the sunken memorial to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Or the authentic Chinatown district with its lei shops.
By contrast to Honolulu's scale, the outlying and windward areas of Oahu are more like the rest of Hawaii -- lots of scenery, not many roads, and few buildings taller than a coconut tree. There's the occasional town (and several large military bases), but most of Oahu is green and wild-looking with beautiful views of the steep, pleated cliffs and wild coastline. Most visitors take in the countryside as a day-trip from Honolulu; a trip that might include snorkeling at Hanauma Bay or watching a show at the Polynesian Cultural Center. But non-urban Oahu is best known for its North Shore surf breaks -- the most famous being the Banzai Pipeline and Sunset Beach near Waimea. For those who follow the sport invented by the ancient Hawaiians, North Shore Oahu is the holy of holies.
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