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Soldier to Soldier Hawaii

Travel Like A Local: Top 5 Things To Do in Oahu, Hawaii (Kaneohe) for an Epic Vacation

So that's what I came here for…
To eat macadamia nut snowball cookies  On the top of Chinaman's Hat.
Oh! It melts right in your mouth Aloha so today I'm taking you on an adventure to 
five of Oahu's top attractions all within Kaneohe   The city that's known for its 
Koolau Range mountains that   are majestic in nature and a photographer's dream It's just something you got to see for yourself   I was born and raised here been living here 
for almost…

Four decades and it's safe to say   I think I know a thing or two about living here
but I'm here to talk about five things   Five attractions…
First is the Kaneohe Sandbar the second… This will be a fun adventure so 
enough of me talking, let's go! Did you bring your swim gear because you're going 
to need it for the first adventure… Okay… The first attraction is the Kaneohe Sandbar.   The Kaneohe Sandbar is a sandbar 
that's in the middle of the ocean I almost feel like I'm in the 
Maldives… Well, maybe I'm pushing it. I am touching the sand below me! Right in the middle of the ocean People 
like to come here to snorkel it's an ideal   destination for family and friends to 
hang out Party, eat, have a drink or two  Sorry, I forgot the wine and 
alcohol… Next time, next time Cheers But if you're lucky like us, we had the place 
all to ourselves it almost felt like a romantic   getaway, we got to play our own music and 
admiring the view and just escaping the world So here she is enjoying this view while I 
slave and take her wherever she wants to go Where do you want to go? To the end of the 
world.

Okay, I guess that's where we're going Some practical information, some 
people like to come here by boat   Tours but we went there through kayaking Just get a little bit more in the 
middle over there, where they are… And we launched from the Heeia 
State Park and rented our gear there So we're here at the Heeia State Park and we're   going to gain access to the Kaneohe 
Sandbar this way.

Right out here… They have kayak rentals for two people which 
you can rent out for 75 dollars for four hours   and for ten dollars more at 85 dollars you 
can rent it out for eight hours the full day   I highly recommend you going early in the 
morning so you can have more time and I think   it's more low tide during that time period it also 
takes approximately 30 minutes to get out there  So just keep that in mind that you know you 
want to have as much time as possible without   worrying about not bringing it back in time 
because you do have to bring it back by 4 pm  It costs 5 dollars to rent out the waterproof 
bag so you can put all your electronics in  So it doesn't get wet and it costs 
another 5 dollars to rent out the anchor  Just take it! It makes it really 
handy, you can put this thing down   Take photos and videos without worrying about your 
kayak wandering off into the middle of the ocean The second attraction is the 
Kualoa Ranch ATV raptor tour  The Kualoa Ranch is by far the most popular 
attraction here on the island of Oahu If you don't know what the Kualoa Ranch 
is…

Basically, it's a really popular area   Where a lot of movies were filmed, whether it was 
Jurassic World, Jumanji, Godzilla, and many others There are many beautiful mountains here,   it's a big open area and you 
see for yourself when we go in So right now we're here at the Kualoa 
Ranch. My horse friends are over here… But we're not here for horses. We're 
here to go on the Atv Raptor Tour. It's two hours long we're gonna circle 
around this huge area with all the   Koolau mountains, and see some great 
sights like where the movies are filmed Enough of me talking, let's get in line, 
and let's get ready to go on this ATV tour I guess we have our own tables 
that make us feel special  Well, we should be treated special because it 
costs 140 dollars per person for this ATV tour But we'll see if it's worth it and I'm sure it is 
because I hear nothing but great reviews over here   They go out rain or shine!
So when you log on to the site   and go look under atv tours it 
says they go out rain or shine so   I'm assuming it's more fun when it's rainy 
so uh because you get more dirty and…

Some people like to get dirty…   but I don't really… but anyhow we just 
have to wait and let's go on this tour Let's go They have the one-hour ATV raptor 
tour but since you're here you   might as well just go all out and 
do the two-hour ATV raptor tour You go through three different 
valleys… Wow, look at that!  You have the Koolau mountains The ocean view… You have 
all the different movie sites   and there's a vast history about the Kualoa 
Ranch which the tour guide will explain to   you when you stop off at different areas
keep in mind that this space is a lot of fun And you have to at least be 
21 years old with a valid   driver's license to be able to drive the ATV tour You're allowed to swap out at any time In the last part of the tour, we stopped off   and we saw the Mokolii island 
which is also known as…

Chinaman's Hat, which is the third 
attraction that I'm going to talk about… Some of the best attractions 
in Oahu are all in one area.  Right here at the Kualoa Ranch Park, Chinaman's 
Hat, the Kaneohe Sandbar, and many other areas… The third attraction is the Mokolii 
Island also known as Chinaman's Hat It's directly across the Kualoa 
Ranch at the Kualoa Beach Park   and when we got there we decided we 
wanted the kayak to Chinaman's Hat  From the area where we launched off to Chinaman's 
Hat it takes approximately 20 minutes to get there   it's not that long also during low tide 
you can actually walk over or swim there Did you walk the whole way? If you're not an expert or you don't know the area   I highly recommend you kayak instead 
and when you get to Chinaman's Hat,  they have an area where you 
can place your kayak there  I highly recommend that you just circle 
around the island of Chinaman's Hat when   you first get there just so you could 
take in the views and understand the area   Just to let you know it's rocky all the way around Let's go to the top and I want to 
enjoy these snowball cookies that   I have so I'm going to go up there enjoy my 
snowball cookies and be in a world of my own   So this is 100 % the trail, it's a clear 
path and it's right there! Yeah, let's go up! …Hikes aren't made for tall Polynesians Before you get to the top you notice 
that you need a rope to climb up We got this rope here it's 
going to help us get to the top!  That could be quite dangerous so just 
take caution and don't do it if you're not   in athletic shape but when you do get to the 
top We're at the top of Chinaman's Hat now.

Wow, they have amazing views of the 
ocean, Koolau mountains… Born and   raised here in Hawaii, and I hike a lot… 
and I've never seen views like this before   Everything that's awesome usually isn't easy So that's what I came here for to eat macadamia 
nut snowball cookies on the top of Chinaman's Hat   Oh shout… I got to eat my macadamia nut 
snowball cookies when I was up there It's so crunchy, it melts right in your mouth… There's nothing better in life 
than eating snowball cookies   with this ocean view and the 
Kualoa Ranch in the background  I've had snowball cookies from all 
different types of cookie places Cookie corner, wherever else I can find 
them, and no one beats the macadamia nut farm So right now we're approaching the 
macadamia farm outlet tropical farms…   They're open today that's great This place is so highly underrated 
it has the best macadamia nuts   coffee but to be honest I'm 
here for the snowball cookies It's free but uh I do feel the pressure to buy…

They're the best hands down…
I'm gonna go eat them at Chinaman's Hat Macadamia nuts snowball cookies… What is it? I shared it with some of those guys that are 
pretty buff because you know, I was hoping that   maybe they'll get fat and um they wouldn't have as 
big muscles because I wanted big muscles like that If you do decide to walk over during 
low tide at least be a strong swimmer   and keep in mind that it might 
get high tide on the way back I know that in the past there have been 
a couple incidents where people have died   trying to swim back from Chinaman's Hat Because the current is unpredictable so please 
keep that in mind have a waterproof vest on,   be a strong swimmer, and go with 
a couple other people… Got it? Good! Now off to the fourth attraction So, right now we're going to 
the Byodo-in temple in Kaneohe  and it's at the valley of the temple 
cemetery, and boom this parking lot over here   The Byodo-in temple is a buddhist 
Japanese temple and I like how the way   is combined with the Hawaiian-feel with 
the Koolau mountains in the background   Adults and teens cost five dollars, 
seniors cost four dollars to get in   and children cost two dollars so keep that 
in mind when you go to the Byodo-in temple Hello..

Two adults, please
Do you want the kamaaina rate?  Oh and the kamaaina rate! Three dollars if you're a Hawaii resident, 
like me… Oh, you can't tell by my nose?   This place was first opened up on june 7,   1968 to celebrate the 100th year anniversary 
of the first Japanese immigrants to Hawaii  So they established this, and 
this is beautiful check it out! This is an exact replica of a 
950-year-old Byodo-in temple in Uji, Japan So, the very first thing you do over here is 
that you ring the Bonshō which is the bell here Please keep in mind that before we enter the 
temple this place is not really a place of worship   I mean we don't have Buddhists and monasteries 
coming here to worship although we do pay our   respects over here to the culture um this is 
more like a tourist attraction, to be honest Be nice, swan… It is not going to hurt you There you go, there you go… Ah! All right guys that's it for the Byodo-in temple   I'm going to be out and I want to 
say one thing before we left…

ALOHA So right now we're heading 
to the Nuuanu Pali Lookout How can I get there? Oh right here! Just for your information Pali means cliff 
in Hawaiian we are here at the Pali Lookout,   so we'll be looking out over the cliff… Just for your info Seven dollars for parking… So Hawaii residents pay for free so 
I just complained for nothing here  If we just walk a little bit more down I'll 
show you the entrance to the Pali Puka Hike.   The Pali Puka hike is approximately a mile, 
even though it's only a mile long, it's really   dangerous it's because if you slip you could 
fall a thousand feet um that's why they have   it closed off because um it's too dangerous for 
people but people still get to go through here See that cliff right at the top 
that's where they're going to   One of these days I'm going 
to build the courage to do so   I'm a fan of hikes but I'm not a fan 
of hikes where uh if I slip…

(I die) This place has significant 
value as far as Hawaiian history   of course it has great 
panoramic breathtaking views But this place was known as the area in the 
late 1700s where King Kamehameha may have fought   to try to unify all the Hawaiian islands and during this battle,   King Kamehameha and his people have 
thrown hundreds of warriors off this cliff Don't be throwing people off this cliff because 
if you do… You're gonna end up in jail, if   you end up in jail that means you can't like and 
subscribe to this channel and you can't share… So over here at least to another cool area which 
is the old pali road and this would be a hike   that you might find called the Likeke Falls, I 
have another video about me passing to this area …and you can find that in the 
link down below, so check it out!  All right guys…

So that's it!
A big mahalo for watching this whole video   subscribe to this channel and follow 
me at @hawaiiantraveler on Instagram   which is located on the bottom below…
I'm gonna go finish up this Friendship   Garden trail, you know the fourth trail 
in my other Kaneohe video that you're   gonna watch right after this…
Alright, guys, I'm gonna go… Aloha! See! See what this Buddhist temple does? 
It makes us all-loving and peaceful   because most of the time we're just arguing 
and yelling and breaking things but when   the camera's on we're all lovey smiley and we 
act as we've never been in an argument before   I'm joking…

We love each other very much.