Quote
"Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness."
Updated: January 22, 2016
Location: Access to the hike is located at Kualoa Regional Park across from Kualoa Ranch. Most people kayak or paddle board out to the island, some people swim or even walk during low tides.
Type: Off-island hike
Hike Difficulty: Beginner/Intermediate
Total Time: 30 minutes to kayak to the island, 30 minutes to the top of the hat.
Distance:
Elevation:
Things to Consider
- Kid friendly: no
- Pet Friendly: no
- Kualoa are known to have Portuguese man-o-wars and even sharks at times. Please keep updated with the news before getting into the water.
- Although the hike is short, it can be a little demanding due to the uphill climbs throughout the hike.
- Kayak rentals from Hawaii Beachtime is the best I've seen and they also deliver it right to the beach! Double Kayak for $54 per day and stand up paddle board for $44 per day.
- Make sure to bring a life vest. Better to be safe than sorry.
- Also only bring things that you wouldn't mind getting wet. Kayaks are sometimes unstable when the waves get rough and could flip over.
- When using a two person kayak, have the heavier person in the back and synchronize your strokes. Back person will steer the kayak.
Your backpack
- 1 Liter of water
- Snacks
- Extra clothes
- GoPro/head strap mount
- Waterproof pouch for electronics (phone, camera, etc)
Directions
Take Kamehameha Hwy towards Kualoa Ranch. Then turn into Kualoa Regional Park. Get as close as you can to China Man's Hat and then paddle out on your kayak. Total time to get to the island will be about 30 minutes depending on the current.
Our Journey
We got our kayaks from Sport's Authority which wasn't a very good idea. Kayak rental was $40 for the day and $5 for the straps and stuff. I think its better if you have the kayak delivered to the beach, much easier! Kaneohe didn't have any kayaks so we rented it from Ward Sport's Authority. Going over the Pali with the kayak on top the car was scary! It felt like it would fall off at any second so we drove really slow! Once we made it to the park, we had to carry the kayak all the way to the beach from the car. A two-person kayak is not light. Eventually we just dragged it to the beach. We were already tired by the time we got the kayak in the water! Then, being it was our first time kayaking, we didn't know what we were doing. I sat in the front and tried to steer but we didn't end up going in the right direction. Luckily, we still made it to the island within a reasonable amount of time. Hey, at least we didn't flip over! We left our kayak on the sand, and hoped that no one would steal our kayak and leave us stranded there. We did the short hike to the top and the 360 panoramic view was incredible! We even explored the back side where there's a secret beach and cave, and some tide pools as well. You can even see the Hawaiian monk seals basking in the sun. Definitely an awesome full day adventure!
On our way to China Man's Hat.
The island seems so close, until you start paddling. It takes some time to get there.
After we landed our kayaks, the first thing we did was climb to the top!
The views going up are amazing!
Lots of rock climbing and scrambling on the way up.
Some parts are super narrow so be careful.
Nice views from the top! You can see our kayaks below. Hope nobody steals them!
Doing the wise China man pose!
We also brought the ukulele and played some jams for a bit.
Alright time to head back down and explore the back side.
We headed back down to where we left our kayak and explored the left side of the island.
We tried to bring the kayak around the island, but its too rocky. Just walk to the back side.
We found a cool cave and a hidden beach!
A nice spot to relax in the cave.
There's some tide pools in the back as well.
Waves were getting a little rough on the back side, so we decided to head back.
A last look at the hat before kayaking back to our cars.
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