Scenic Drives Around Oahu

Ahem. About that geology.

When you start exploring Oahu by car, the volcanic origins of Hawaii become very apparent. It makes for some stunning vistas.

Here is a close-up of that volcanic rock.

There are a total of eight islands in the Hawaiian archipelago — Oahu is the third largest. Our first glimpse of the island’s geology was along the Pali (paa-lee) Highway, which we took from the airport in Honolulu, through the twin Nu‘uana Pali Tunnels that pass beneath the Ko‘olau Range, to the windward side of Oahu and our home exchange in Lanikai. Directly above those tunnels is the Nu‘uana Pali Lookout. Pali is Hawaiian for “steep cliff.” If you look to the left, this is what you see.

And if you look to the right, this is your view over the windward coast of Oahu.

Much of the Pali Highway was built along traditional foot paths over the Pali pass. The tunnels were built in 1958; the highway that was used before then is the Old Pali Road, now a popular hiking route.

An alternative to the Pali is the Likelike (lee-kay-lee-kay) Highway, whose delightful name comes from the Hawaiian Princess Miriam Likelike. This trip, however, we always ended up taking the Pali Highway.

We also wanted to explore the coast, as much as we could by road, and take a peek at the famous surf of Oahu’s North Shore. This route took us along the Kamehameha (ka-may-huh-may-uh) Highway, named after King Kamehameha I.

Perhaps somewhat foolishly, my sister and I went for a dip in this surf. It’s invigorating, I’ll give you that.

After we rounded the northern tip of Oahu, the highway then took us down the middle of the island, between the pineapple fields, all the way back to Honolulu.

The last highway we drove along was the Kalaniana‘ole (ka-la-nee-ah-na-oh-lay) Highway, named for Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanaina‘ole. This drive took us from Lanikai to the backside of Diamond Head. That’s it, there, in the next photo.