Tuesday afternoon trail report: Maunawili Falls and Kaiwa Ridge

Tuesday afternoon trail report:  Maunawili Falls and Kaiwa Ridge

Posted to OHE on 26 January 2005 by Dave Webb

Tuesday afternoon I hit two of my favorite windward trails to do a little sightseeing, swimming, birdwatching, and moonbathing.

My explorations began at the Maunawili Falls Trail around 3:00 in the afternoon. Weekday afternoons usually afford a bit of a break from the weekend crowds on this trail, so I took full advantage of the solitude. Not far from the trailhead, on the right-hand side, I encountered a small group of red-billed leothrix. These conspicuous birds must live in that area since I have seen them there before. I’m not sure if they are all that rare, but this trail is the only place I can remember seeing one on Oʻahu.

Continuing on, I encountered a lot of mud—particularly in the flat area near the banana forest. I have never seen that kind of mud on this trail before, so it must be getting a lot of foot traffic. Upon reaching the falls, I enjoyed a nice swim, including a visit to the upper pool where the waterfall splits around a large rock. I swam across the pool and found a seat under the falls, with the water pounding down on my back.

I enjoyed the area around the falls for an hour or so in complete solitude. I have never had this area to myself before due to its popularity, so the peace and quiet was a very pleasant surprise.

On the way back to the car, I enjoyed the beautiful vistas and the clouds hanging on the Koʻolau range. There were many more birds to enjoy as well. I saw and heard a number of shama quite close to the trail.

After departing the Maunawili Falls area, I stopped at the 7-11 on Pali Highway to pick up a musubi, then headed for Lanikai. I parked just outside the gated entrance to the exclusive Bluestone condos and, after a quick change of clothes, headed up the trail to the bunkers atop Kaiwa Ridge.

The sun was already setting behind the Pali to the west, and the sky lit up beautifully. It was a fine evening for this hike due to the light winds and sparse cloud cover on the windward side. I made my way to the highest bunker on the makai portion of the ridge and sat down to enjoy the show.

The remainder of the sunset was quite nice, and at about 6:45 p.m. the moon began creeping over the horizon just above Moku Nui. The moon cast a beautiful orange glow, providing spectacular viewing. Several times, when the moon itself was obscured by passing clouds, its rays cast a striking shadow of Moku Nui across the calm waters of Kailua Bay.

Toward the end of my stay, I was joined by about a dozen members of a Japanese hiking club. They were very nice people, and I was happy to see others out enjoying such a brilliant evening. I hung around until about 8:00 p.m., then decided to head for home—before my wife called the police to report me missing.

— Dave