January 4th, Secret Island Beach at Kualoa Ranch, Lunch at The Poi Factory

For the first big activity of the day on our Go Oahu card we headed again to Kualoa Ranch to enjoy their Secret Island beach experience. The beach is one that formed over hundreds of years along the sea wall of rocks made to create the ancient fish pond.

Once again we were taken by bus to the fish pond and ferried across it in one of the Catamaran ferries used to take groups across for various activities. The same walk through the woods brought us to the beach. There were basic changing booths, and outdoor shower, and picnic tables under shelters.  Hammocks were strung between trees, and kayaks and stand up paddle boards were arranged along the beach. There was also volleyball and ping pong, horseshoes and so on. I was eager to get out on a kayak and directed Harry to snag one while I changed. He was already in his suit.

Outdoor shower, rustically wrapped in heavy rope

Changing booths

Once we got ourselves set with water shoes and life jackets, we set out, and headed back immediately. Harry discovered that without a seat to support his back that he was not able to paddle without throwing his back into a spasm. We beached the kayak and Harry spent some time sitting and observing the beach action while I took the kayak out on my own. It was nice to have some time on the water. The water was fairly calm, the waves are far offshore, beyond the Chinaman's Hat island. The water stays very calm in the area.

Eventually, after I had enough of kayaking I tried snorkeling, but didn't get very far. The water was quite murky, and I couldn't see a thing. It was disappointing. I could have tried going out further, but i had noticed while kayaking that the water seemed murky wherever I paddled.

Eventually I ended up in a hammock and just relaxed for quite awhile, taking some lazy photos from that vantage point. We had three hours, and it was a lovely afternoon.

Secret Island Loo...

Our ride back to catch our bus

We couldn't resist one more quick stop at Tropical Farms for some more macadamia nuts, since Harry made such inroads on the bag we bought the day before. After the usual round of sampling the flavors, I noticed for the first time that the interior of the building is designed to look like a little town similar to the look of historic Haleiwa. I took some photos.

We had a luau scheduled for the evening, but stopped along the way back down the windward coast at a place to eat called 'The Poi Factory'. It is located in an old building along the coast and serves only authentic Hawaiian food. We wanted to try Laulau, packets of pork and butterfish wrapped in taro leaves and steamed for a couple of hours in a pot on the stove.

Harry had Luau beef, which was beef stewed with taro leaves. I had the Laulau. I wasn't a big fan. the pork was quite fatty, so there was not a lot of edible meat, and the fish tasted really strong. The mushy cooked leaves were ok, but didn't inspire me to eat very much of them. I did like the pork meat though. There didn't seem to be a lot of beef in Harry's luau beef, it was mostly mushy cooked green taro leaves, but they had warned him that it was almost gone, so they scraped the pot for his portion.

Laulau pork and fish with Lomi Salmon in the little cup

Luau Beef with rice and Lomi Salmon

There were a lot of diners there enjoying the fare, and the outdoor seating had a nice view of the mountains and bay.