Kualoa Regional Park

Lonely Planet review

The 153-acre Kualoa Regional Park on Kualoa Point provides an expansive vista of offshore islands and inland mountains. In ancient times Kualoa was once one of the most sacred places on O'ahu. When a chief stood on Kualoa Point, passing canoes lowered their sails in respect. There are picnic tables, rest rooms, showers and a lifeguard. Camping is allowed from Friday through Sunday. The children of chiefs were brought here to be raised.

It may also have been a place of refuge where kapu (taboo) breakers and fallen warriors could seek reprieve from the law. Because of its rich significance to Hawaiians, Kualoa Regional Park is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

The park is largely open lawn with a few palm trees shading a long, thin strip of beach with safe swimming. Pali-ku (Vertical Cliffs) - the mountains looming precipitously across the road - look like a scene from a classic Chinese watercolor when the mist settles.

According to Hawaiian legend, the main offshore island, Mokoli'i, is the tail of a nasty lizard slain by a god and thrown into the ocean. Following the immigration of Chinese laborers to Hawaii, this conical-shaped island also came to be called Papale Pake (Chinaman's Hat).

Apua Pond, a 3-acre brackish salt marsh on the point, is a nesting area for the endangered aeo bird (Hawaiian stilt). Beyond the park, you'll see a bit of Moli'i Fishpond, visible through the trees as a distinct green line in the bay where the rock walls are covered with mangrove, milo (a native shade tree) and pickleweed.