Stop 4: Waimea Beach
Just a few minutes walk away from Waimea Park is Waimea Beach, which shows many of the different aspects of Hawaiian beaches if one compares summer scenes with those in winter. During the summer, the ocean is REALLY flat, and there is great swimming and diving along the coral edge. Even large rocks that stick out of the water are favorite places for the locals to jump off.
But in winter, when storms off the coast of Alaska generate MASSIVE waves, the whole beach is transformed into a surfer's paradise. Here the wave can often reach 8 meters high, and sometimes the beach has to be closed since the ocean is so rough. Here we see the same parts of the beach with the waves crashing in -- plus a close-up view of "body surfing", which is great fun when the waves are not too large.
From here you can continue on to Stop 5 , or you can pick another point from the Southwest Oahu Virtual Field Trip page.
Return to Southwest Oahu Virtual Field Trip
Author: Peter Mouginis-Mark
Copyright by P. Mouginis-Mark
Curator: Lori Glaze