We waited at the lobby of our hotel for only a minute or two before the white Oahu Nature Tours van rounded the corner and slowed to a stop directly infront of us. The driver got out carrying a clipboard and checked out names off on his list before sliding the door of his van open and inviting us onboard.
Once we were loaded onto the van he began driving through the city in the uphill direction. In a remarkably short amount of time we had completely left the city and found ourselves completely surrounded by a lush tropical rainforest without a single building in sight. It wasn’t long before our driver eased the van into the dirt lot at the trailhead of our days hiking area.
The hike that we did is known as “Manoa Falls”. It is a local favorite because of it’s well maintained trail, lush rainforest, easy access from downtown……and of course, the waterfall at the top of the trail. As we got out of the van our guide passed out our supplies, and a few minutes after that we were trekking through the jungle.
The jungle was beautiful, huge bright green plants with enormous broad leaves lined the trail for many sections. We passed some really beautiful areas. Our guide was great at taking the time to explain different facts about the area as we made our way down the trail. Soon enough we had reached the waterfall. We spent some time admiring the view. Eventually, our guide explained that if we wanted to get a head start on the way back down and go at our own pace we could. So we decided to go on ahead of everyone so we could have some time to set up the tripod and snap some pics. We really couldn’t have asked for more from the days experience, the setting, guide and timing of it was excellent.