{"id":3276,"date":"2013-08-31T12:01:23","date_gmt":"2013-08-31T02:01:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.soulbridgemedia.com\/news\/?p=3276"},"modified":"2013-10-07T22:48:20","modified_gmt":"2013-10-07T12:48:20","slug":"hawaii-2012-part-11-windward-shore-and-sealife-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.soulbridgemedia.com\/news\/?p=3276","title":{"rendered":"Hawaii 2012 part #11 \u2013 Windward shore and Sealife Park"},"content":{"rendered":"

For most, the main reason to head over to the East coast aka the Windward shore is the Kualoa Ranch<\/a> movie site tour, which is a famous location for movies such as Jurassic Park<\/strong> and 50 First Dates<\/strong>. While some of the off road activities are appealing, its essentially just rain forest and grass with a few pieces of memorabilia, a far cry from a working production set some may be hoping for. There are however, plenty of other things to see and do, along with kilometers of beaches fair less busy than those on the west coast.<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

\"pano<\/a><\/p>\n

Nuuanu Pali lookout<\/strong><\/p>\n

On the way to the east coast via the winding forest roads of the cross country Pali Highway, take a quick stop at the Nuuanu Pali lookout. This will help you understand why they call it the Windward shore, windward being a severe understatement! Even on an otherwise quite warm day of mid to high 20s weather it was quite cold thanks to the wind chill factor dropping temps easily by 10-15C! Needless to say, a jacket is a must, ideally a softshell will give you the most comfort and protection.<\/p>\n

The view however is worth a short bit of discomfort overlooking the valleys towards Kaneohe<\/strong> and the ocean.<\/p>\n

There is no cost for entry but there is also no free parking for tourists (locals just need to show proof of residency). The $3 fee apparently has only come about in the last couple years, its a bit of a greedyy since there\u2019s no facilities or anything else justifying the cost for a short 15-30min visit but worth it none the less.<\/p>\n

If you have time to kill there is a hiking path leading down from the lookout point or to make a day of it, head to near by Manoa Falls<\/strong>. Just be warned that the falls aren\u2019t really falls any more after a landslide a couple years back but terrain may have once again changed since this was written.<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

\"DSC_1536-188\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Byodo-in Temple<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Byodo-in Temple<\/a> is a little north of Kaneohe nestled in lush rolling foothills. It is a commemorative replica of the same temple in Japan and features Japanese gardens, bridge and koi pond with literally thousands of koi carp. The place also lays its claims to fame with appearances in Hawaii 5-0<\/strong> and Lost<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The grounds aren\u2019t overly big so you wont need more than an hour of slow strolling to cover it.<\/p>\n

Entrance fee is $3 for adults but at least here you know that money is going to the maintenance of the grounds and not pocket lining!<\/p>\n

\"DSC_1518-183\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"DSC_1489-175\"<\/a> \"DSC_1498-178\"<\/a><\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

<\/a>

Windward mall
\nImage courtesy of Oahu Paradise Homes<\/p><\/div>\n

Windward mall<\/strong><\/p>\n

On the way down to Sealife park the only major shopping stop is the Windward mall<\/a>. While quite sizable, there is little variation in the stores and probably for the most part can be skipped over if you already hit the big centers on the west coast. One store however that made the stop more than worthy was Sears<\/a>. Normally it falls into the “killing time” category for us with its Myer<\/a>\/David Jones<\/a> assortment of stock but this particular store was more like an outlet version with almost everything on sale or at clearance prices. Brands and content read more like parts of a Karmaloop<\/a> catalogue with Dickies, Southpole, Zoo York, Levis, Lee, Carhartt<\/strong> and a bunch of business attire basics undoubtedly from their incorporated chain, KMart<\/a>. A great stop for the ladies as well with heavily discounted underwear and swimwear.<\/p>\n

Oh, I lied when I said there was no reason to stop.. they have a Wetzel’s Pretzels<\/a> \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

\"IMAG0311-107\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Sea Life Park<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sea Life Park<\/a> made the list for two main reasons, swimming with the dolphins and the Chief\u2019s Luau<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The almost obligatory claim to fame is 50 First Dates<\/strong> \u2013 seriously that movie is like a walking billboard for Tourism Hawaii! There were no penguins in Hawaiian shirts but the dolphin we swam with was in the movie! Real down to earth guy too, you wouldn’t pick it from the obnoxious character he plays on screen \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n

– Dolphin swimming<\/strong>
\nWant to mingle with celebrities? Well you know you gotta drop some coin to let them know how you roll! Luckily costs are available on their website and you don\u2019t need to leave a Benjamin for the \u201chelp\u201d. Take your swim wear, cos, you know, you\u2019ll be swimming (more like wading and fighting the powerful currents stirred up from the dophin’s wake). There are a couple change room areas, there\u2019s even one in the briefing area so you don\u2019t have to arrive in your swim gear. The staff along with a short video will explain everything pretty clearly and there\u2019s really not much else to it.<\/p>\n

Travel tip: A note to those with piercings, you will be asked to remove them so if you have a face full of metal you may want to get a start on that before hand. Girls, if you have something like a belly button ring, wearing a one piece may help you avoid having to remove it, but they are very strict and rightly so to protect ocean friends.<\/em>
\n
\nPhoto tip: since you cant take anything into the pool, let alone a camera, photos are taken by staff and sold at the usual exuberant theme park prices. The shots look like they\u2019re taken on full auto, with no colour correction which leaves you looking a nice shade of sea sick green! So its best to get someone in your group that isn\u2019t swimming to snap some shots for you (or maybe sweet talk a stranger into emailing some to you). Spectators are free to move around outside of the barrier so a good angle wont be too hard to find.<\/em><\/p>\n

The rest of the park houses the usual aquatic life from small tanked fish and sea life to large compounds with seals and penguins.<\/p>\n

If you purchased one of the value combo deals which includes the Chief\u2019s Luau, its just a short walk from the gift shop. Those hip shaking good times are up next!<\/p>\n

\"DSCN3676-155\"<\/a> \"DSCN3684-158\"<\/a> \"IMAG0312-108\"<\/a> \"DSCN3663-151\"<\/a><\/p>\n

As always, if you have any questions about our adventures or where to buy something, just hit us up on the Soulbridge Media facebook page<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Hawaii 2012 part #1 \u2013 Arrival<\/a>
\nHawaii 2012 part #2 \u2013 Waikiki<\/a>
\nHawaii 2012 part #3 \u2013 Honolulu shopping \u2013 Part A<\/a>
\nHawaii 2012 part #4 \u2013 The Big Island \u2013 Volcano tour<\/a>
\nHawaii 2012 part #5 \u2013 Shopping Honolulu \u2013 part B<\/a>
\nHawaii 2012 part #6 \u2013 Tattoo Honolulu \/ Boardshorts: A Perfect Fit art exhibits<\/a>
\nHawaii 2012 part #7 \u2013 Pearl City area<\/a>
\nHawaii 2012 part #8 \u2013 Swap meets and Made in Hawaii festival<\/a>
\nHawaii 2012 part #9 \u2013 Cook offs and Car shows<\/a>
\nHawaii 2012 part #10 \u2013 North shore<\/a>
\nHawaii 2012 part #11 \u2013 Windward shore and Sealife Park<\/a>
\nHawaii 2012 part #12 \u2013 Chief\u2019s Luau at Sealife Park<\/a>
\nHawaii 2012 part #13 \u2013 South shore \u2013 Diamondhead crater, Hanauma bay<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For most, the main reason to head over to the East coast aka the Windward shore is the Kualoa Ranch movie site tour, which is a famous location for movies such as Jurassic Park and 50 First Dates. While some of the off road activities are appealing, its essentially just rain forest and grass with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1883,388],"tags":[1507,2100,2103,2104,1886,487,2101,2098,2095,2099,2097,1920,2075,2105,2096,2102,990,2094,100,488,391,2093],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.soulbridgemedia.com\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3276"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.soulbridgemedia.com\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.soulbridgemedia.com\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.soulbridgemedia.com\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.soulbridgemedia.com\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3276"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"http:\/\/www.soulbridgemedia.com\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3276\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3535,"href":"http:\/\/www.soulbridgemedia.com\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3276\/revisions\/3535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.soulbridgemedia.com\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.soulbridgemedia.com\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.soulbridgemedia.com\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}