And, I now even know how to save myself from a rip tide. What I enjoyed the most was that the tour was a bit of everything. Steve told us about the island history, flora and fauna, current economic conditions etc. etc. If I had any complaint it would be that Steve would not take us back to the Fish Farm for seconds on those yumm…New Waikele Premium Outlets Combo Tour
Lately, we’ve been getting a lot of inquiries about offering other shopping tours in addition to our popular Waikele Center & Waikele Premium Outlets Tour (Tour #10). We thought about this for awhile, thinking of other ways to take guests to some of the island’s popular shopping spots, and
The combo is perhaps the ultimate shopping experience you can get while on Oahu as it combines a visit to the island’s only outlet shopping center with a trolley pass to Hawaii’s world-class shopping (and dining, of course) destinations such as Ala Moana Center, Royal Hawaiian Center and Waikiki Beach Walk® along Lewers Street.
Read More »Tiki Tourist has fun at Ala Moana Beach Park!
I went on a picnic to Ala Moana Beach Park! It’s easy to get there, just take the Waikiki Trolley Pink Line Trolley to Ala Moana Center, and it’s right across the street!
Ala Moana means “The Path to the Sea.” The park is 100 acres of banyan trees, baobab trees, palm trees and grass, making it a nice area for picnics with family and friends. Quite a change from the duck-ponds, taro ponds, fishponds and wetlands that used to cover this entire area!
Read More »Tiki Tourist in The Valley of the Temples – Byodo-In
Hidden behind a famous cemetery in a valley of the Pali, stalked by wild peacocks and black swans, is the Byodo-In Temple, a replica of Japan’s 900-year-old Buddhist temple. The original stands in Uji, on the outskirts of Kyoto; the Hawaiian version was erected in 1968 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants to Hawaii.
I remember seeing this place on TV! It was on Hawaii Five-O and Magnum, P.I. Lost, seaQuest DSV and in the movie Pearl Harbor.
E Noa Tours sure does take me to some interesting places! This was totally awesome for a little tiki to get to come here!
The Temple was surrounded by a large pond with little waterfalls, little bridges, and lots of really big Koi fish, some almost 100 years old! Way older than me! The Temple is home to Amida, a golden Buddha unique to the entire world. The 9-foot meditation Buddha, is thought to be the largest figure carved outside of Japan. It is an original work of art carved by famous Japanese sculptor, Masuzo Inui. When it was finished, he covered it with cloth and painted it with three layers of gold lacquer. Gold leaf was later painted over the lacquer finish. Around the Buddha are 52 smaller sculptures depicting Boddhisattvas (enlightened beings) floating on clouds, dancing, and playing musical instruments. The hall and all the artistry it reflects are regarded as representing the essence of the culture of the Fujiwara aristocracy.
The Bell House, called kanetru-ki-do, contains a five-foot-high, three-ton brass bell, called bon-sho (sacred bell), cast in Osaka, Japan, from a mixture of bronze and tin. It resembles the bell hanging in an identical Bell House at the Uji Byodo-In. The original is more than 900 years old and comes from India. It has a distinctive shape, and the tone of the bell sounds a message of deep calm and peace, cleansing the mind of evil and temptation. A soft wooden log called the “shu-moku” is used to strike the bell.
The bell is customarily rung before one enters the temple to spread the eternal teachings of Buddha. Ringing the bell will purify the mind of evil spirits and temptation. It is said that ringing this bell will bring you happiness, blessings, and a long life. I tried to ring the bell but I was too short. I couldn’t reach it!
Here are some photos of my visit. Enjoy!
Byodo-In Temple is one of the exciting Oahu tour stops on our Tour #1: Majestic Circle Island Tour.
Read More »Makapu’u Beach and Lighthouse
We stopped by Makapuu Beach on My E Noa Tour and as usual my E Noa Tour Gude knew EVERYTHING about this place! Is there anything these guys don’t know? Did you know that Makapuu Point rises 647 feet above the ocean? It was created by many lava flows thousands of years ago. This Lighthouse is one of Oahu’s most famous landmarks with a spectacular view of the Eastern Ka `Iwi coastline. The 46 foot tall lighthouse was first built in 1909 and then automated in 1974. It has the largest lens anywhere in the United States! The lighthouse is still active today, run by the US Coast Guard. Maybe I should join the Coast Guard? Then I could stay in Hawaii forever!
According to Hawaiian legend, Makapu`u was a supernatural being who, came to Hawaii from Tahiti, and lived on the point now called after her. She had a set of eight bright eyes, which is reflected in her name Makapu`u, which is Hawaiian for “bulging eye”. Some people think I have bulging eyes, maybe I should change my name to “Makapu`u”!
A whole bunch of sea captains and ship owners got together and signed a petition, to get a lighthouse built on the point. They presented to the Hawaiian government in 1888, after the American ship S. N. Castle had run aground in the area. Some preliminary planning for the lighthouse had been enacted by 1901, but when the territorial government learned that the U.S. Government would soon be assuming responsibility for navigational aids in the Islands, they decided to let the U.S. government do it!
In January of 1906, a report stressing the importance of the Makapuu Light was presented to the Fifty-ninth Congress. In June of 1906, they appropriated $60,000 for construction of the lighthouse. Two months later the $2,500,000 passenger liner Manchuria ran aground off Makapu`u Point. After all passengers and most of the cargo were safely off-loaded, the steamer was finally pulled off the ledge that held her for almost a month and towed to Honolulu Harbor.
They built three houses for the Lighthouse Keepers made from the abundant lava rock on the point, and built them in a depression near the summit. At a height of 395 feet above the water, a notch, large enough to hold the lighthouse, was blasted out of the lava face. A trail linking the lighthouse and dwellings and a road connecting the station to the nearest highway had to be carved into the lava point.
The tower was ready for the lens by October of 1908. Plans called for a first-order hyper-radiant lens. The Lighthouse Board had purchased the 12-foot-tall lens, which had an inside diameter of roughly eight feet nine inches, in 1887. The lens was exhibited at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, and then placed in storage for several years before being shipped to Oahu. We have a very famous lens here in our lighthouse!
Hawaii’s first radio beacon was installed at Makapu`u Point in 1927. The signal could be picked up from two hundred miles away and could be used to determine one’s position. A generating plant was established on Makapu`u Point to provide electricity for the radio beacon, and the lighthouse was converted from oil-vapor to 500-watt incandescent electric lamps.
The Makapu`u Light Station was automated on January 4, 1974 by the Coast Guard, and was then monitored remotely from Honolulu. Sometime during the next year or so, the dwellings were secretly used to house prosecution witnesses during the trial of a crime boss, who was facing federal tax evasion charges in Honolulu! In 1987, the government declared part of the land around the lighthouse and the keeper’s dwellings as surplus. The property was turned over to the state of Hawaii, but a group of armed Hawaiians took up residence in one of the dwellings as part of a land-ownership protest. After several weeks, the squatters were evicted without bloodshed, and shortly thereafter the dwellings were razed by the state. The only surviving outbuilding is an oil house near the trail that leads to the lighthouse.
I’ve seen the lighthouse on TV in episodes of Lost, Magnum PI, Hawaii 5-0, and in the Movies: 50 First Dates and Baywatch. This is also a great place to watch for whales! I like whales. I never met one though. Maybe this year!
Visit Makapu’u Beach and other great points of interest along the Kalaniana’ole Highway through our Tour #5: East Oahu Circe Island Tour!
Read More »The Tiki Tourist Explores Moli’i Fish Pond at Kualoa Ranch!
Wow! This was great! This time my E Noa Tour took me to this really cool ancient fishpond and we went out on a boat! Cruising over the waters where ancient Hawaiians raised fish for the Ali’i and then they had big luaus!
The Hawaiian word is loko (pond), or loko i’a (fishpond). Loko i’a were used for raising and storing fish for food. Royalty enjoyed the privilege of dining on the larger fish, while commoners were put to death if found poaching. The fishpond is one of the largest in Hawai’i and was built upon Hawaiian royalty high holy ground, a place where the art of war, history and social tradition was passed on.
The Moli’i Fishpond shows the most progressive aquaculture found in early societies. Hawaiians are the only Polynesians known to harness the ocean in this manner using brackish water ponds near the ocean for stocking and harvesting fish.
Back in 1776, the Naturalist on James Cooks third voyage wrote:
“They [the Hawaiians] have numerous small lakes and ponds, frequently artificial, wherein they breed fish of various kinds, and in tolerable abundance.”
The 4,000 foot long wall that separates the pond from Kaneohe Bay dates back to the earliest Hawaiian settlement of the land, and is traditionally attributed to the Menehune of Hawaiian mythology. The Menehune have traditionally been great friends of my people, the Tikis! Actually though, all the people in the community came together to build the fishpond.
The Hawaiian fishpond was really just a grazing area in which the fishpond keeper grew algae, just like a cattle rancher grows grass for his cattle! These were really smart guys!
They built this whole thing by hand, stacking large lava rocks on top of each other to create a wall from the bottom of the ocean floor to several feet above the high tide level. Little rocks and small pieces of coral were used to fill in gaps in the wall. Then they built sluice gates that allowed fresh water and the little fish to go in and out but kept the big fish inside. This is one of the biggest fishponds in Hawaii, over 125 acres and up to 30 feet deep. It produced over 2,000 pounds of fish a year. Moi (threadfish), ‘ama’ama (mullet) and awa (milkfish) have been raised in it and are still there today!
Kualoa Valley was considered sacred to natives of Oahu and is even today shrouded in legend. Thanks to the ownership of Kualoa Ranch, Moli`i Pond is one of the most well preserved ancient fishponds in Hawaii.
Click below for more pictures of me at Moli’i Fishpond!
Visit the Moli’i Fishpond, Macadamia Nut Hut and other points of interest at Kualoa Ranch through our Oahu Tour #2: Royal Circle Island Tour!
Read More »Special Pearl Harbor Tour on December 7th!
In observance of the 71st anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the following tours will be closed:
- Tour #3: Pearl Harbor & Circle Island Tour
- Tour #3P: Pearl Harbor, Circle Island & Polynesian Cultural Center Tour
- Tour #6: USS Arizona, Missouri & Punchbowl Crater Tour
- Tour #7: Pearl Harbor Excursion
However, we will be offering a very special tour to commemorate the historical events of December 7th, 1941. For a limited time only, we’re launching our Special Pearl Harbor Tour – A Day of Remembrance, an expertly guided tour that takes you back to the past through stories and anecdotes carefully crafted to give you a vivid yet somber picture of the events that happened on that fateful day.
You’ll have the option of choosing three different tour times throughout the day:
- 9:15 AM Departure
- 10:10 AM Departure
- 11:15 AM Departure
The tour will start off with a visit of the USS Oklahoma Memorial, followed by a visit of the USS Arizona Memorial and the USS Missouri, finally ending with a visit to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl Crater.
This tour is ONLY AVAILABLE this FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2012. Seats are filling up fast so reserve now!
Read More »Introducing our newest resident blogger: The TikiTourist!
Once upon a time, there was a little Tiki named Joe. He was mostly a happy little Tiki, but he had a dream… Joe always longed to visit Hawaii. He imagined lying on a tropical beach with the waves lapping at his toes, snorkeling with turtles, sipping a Mai Tai while watching the sunset, and visiting all the wonderful places he had always dreamed about. But Joe, living in California, was thousands of miles away from his island paradise. So he had an idea… Joe got a fun job in a little Hawaiian restaurant in California, where he spent all day happily opening beer bottles for all the customers. He sat on the counter, and liked to get dressed up for special occasions. Many people who came into the restaurant were from Hawaii, and they always told him stories of all the wonderful places they had been. Every week all the people would come into the restaurant and play their ukuleles and sing Hawaiian songs, and Joe was so happy! He opened lots of beer bottles on those nights!
And then finally, one day, Joe saved up enough money for his trip to Hawaii! He was coming to Oahu! He was determined to explore the entire island and meet everyone who lived here! Maybe if he was lucky, he might even find a job and could stay in Hawaii forever!
These are the adventures of Joe, the intrepid little “Tiki Tourist!”
Thanksgiving Weekend Specials!
Yep, you read it right. We’re doing our first-ever Thanksgiving Weekend Special by providing GREAT DISCOUNTS on select tours. It’s our way of saying “Thank You” for allowing us to be contributors to millions of Hawaii’s visitors’ vacation experience. Get a straight, no-fuss, full money-back guaranteed discount of 20% on our ever-popular Royal Circle Island Tour (Tour #2) and our exciting Historic West Oahu Tour – Makaha Day Experience (Tour #18A). It’s a great way of taking advantage of the Thanksgiving weekend sales for your upcoming Hawaii vacation.
Here’s a quick glance of these two tours’ special prices:
Tour #2: Royal Circle Island Tour
- Adult: Was
$68.75now only $55.00 - Child (6-11 years old): Was
$56.00now only $44.80 - Child (5 years old and under): Was
48.75now only $39.00
Tour #18A: Historic West Oahu Tour – Makaha Day Experience
- Adult: Was
$128.00now only $102.40
And that’s just the beginning. We’re also offering special pricing on the following tours:
- Tour #1: Majestic Circle Island Tour
- Tour #3: Pearl Harbor & Circle Island Combo Tour
- Tour #6: USS Arizona, Missouri & Punchbowl Crater Tour
- Tour #9: Dole Pineapple, North Shore & Half Circle Island Tour
What do you have to do to get our special pricing? Click on the links above and click on the Tweet (Twitter), Recommend (Google+) or Like (Facebook) button found on each tour’s respective page to unlock our special reservations section. These buttons are just right under each participating tour page’s pricing table. It’s as easy as that. Click to see a sample of how the section looks like.
Of course, we can’t offer these great discounts for long. You have until the end of Monday, November 26th 2012 (Hawaii Standard Time) to take advantage of our special offers.
Questions? drop us a line or leave us a comment below. We’re always happy to assist you.
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Happy Thanksgiving from E Noa Tours!
For those of us living in the US, today is quite a special day. It’s a day marked by being with family & close friends, and gathering around a traditional feast of turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie. More importantly, it’s a day of being thankful for the bountiful blessings we’ve been given throughout the year. Some people affectionately (and sometimes jokingly) call it “Turkey Day;” others call it the “Harvest Feast” as it marks the last days of harvest season before Winter, but all Americans know it as Thanksgiving Day.
It’s been a long and trying year for a lot of people, particularly with the recent devastation brought about by Hurricane Sandy in the Northeastern part of the country, but this doesn’t mean that we don’t have a lot to be thankful for.
WE SELL THE BEST TOURS ON THE ISLAND AND GET A LOT OF GREAT COMPLIMENTS. Those are just some of the things we’re thankful for here at E Noa Tours.
To celebrate this occasion and in the spirit of giving back, we’re giving some great discounts on select tours starting tomorrow and through the weekend, all the way until the end of Monday! We’re truly excited by this and we can’t wait to let the proverbial cat out of the bag, but we still have a turkey to cook, potatoes to mash and pies to bake!
So check back tomorrow and throughout the weekend and reserve your tours with some of the best specials and discounts available on the web!
Again, have a Happy Thanksgiving from the tour guides, reservationists, mechanics and everyone else at E Noa Tours!
Read More »Battleship is Being Filmed on the USS Missouri This Week!
A $150 million movie called the Battleship was filming at the USS Missouri this week at Pearl Harbor. Customers had the privilege of seeing some of the actors in action while touring sections of the ship that was open. Liam Neeson has joined the cast and Rihanna was spotted in uniform. Come join us and hopefully you might get the chance to see someone famous!
Read More »
