Extreme Sports

Oahu with its huge sea waves has long been acknowledged as the birth place of surfing. He`e nalu as surfing is known in the Hawaiian language has been around for ages. The earliest reference to it is found as petroglyphs on lava rocks. There are many chants dating back to 1500s about surfing. These chants narrate  stories of great feats that the surfers had.

References have also been found in the journals written by Captain James King,   1779. Surfing as we know has been around for quite some time. Here is a little background on surfing history.

The Hawaiian Tradition of Surfing

In ancient Hawaiian society, surfing pervaded every aspect. It touched the social structure, religion and even myths. Surfing was done on long narrow hardwood boards.

Surfing was such a major part of the ancient Hawaiian society that it even finds mention in the code of taboos, kapu. The Kapu defined the social strata, the royals and the commomners. The surf zones were not untouched from these taboos. Specific beaches were allotted to the chiefs, ali’I and the commoners, maka ai nana, could use beaches specified for them only.

The Demise of Surfing

The play activities of Hawaii, surfing, hula and others saw a decline during the 1820s with the advent of Christian missionaries. They imposed a puritanical code and work ethics. The Kapu system was overthrown by the favorite queen of Kamehameha, Ka`ahumanu and the beaches were freed for everyone, but for more than 150 years no one enjoyed them.

The Resurrection of Surfing  Read more...

“A cool way to enjoy and be adventurous in the beach of Oahu is through surfing. However, if you are a first-timer, hitting those huge waves won’t be that easy. It’s a good thing that in Oahu, surf lessons are being provided to let tourists like you take more pleasure in experiencing the wildness of nature.

A surf camp in Oahu offers a wide variety of surfing techniques and moves, which are always demonstrated by professional surfers so that learners are properly guided.

Not knowing how and what to do when surfing is really quite embarrassing at times. This feeling, however, should not be since professional surfers also started with zero knowledge about surfing. If not for enrolling in a surf school in Oahu, they wouldn’t have learned the basic and advanced techniques of the sport. Besides, you’re doing this just for fun, right? You do not need to pressure yourself into becoming a surfing pro all at once.

Learning to surf is similar to writing for the first time. In writing, you need to know how to hold and maneuver your pen while in surfing your surfboard represents the pen. As you proceed in writing, you gradually learn the curves and lines of each letter; in surfing, the waves might seem scary at first but eventually you’ll learn how to be one with it. Surfing is almost always perceived a difficult and complicated sport in the beginning but a reputable surf school in Waikiki will teach you all you need to know so you don’t have to worry about messing up in the beach. Concentrate on the basics as you take up Surfing 101.  Read more...

Hawaii’s Oahu have many fascinating scuba diving locations and perhaps the most popular dive site in Oahu is the Hanauma Bay. Hanauma Bay was formed by the erosion of one side of a volcano crater and is very well protected from the trade winds and surf making it a fantastic scuba diving and snorkeling site in Oahu.

Hanauma Bay’s crystal clear water and diverse coral reef are good introductions to Hawaiian marine environments and its waters are seldom considered to be dangerous to scuba divers.

After the Hanauma Bay are the sea cliffs of Koko Head where scuba diving is done almost exclusively from liveaboard diving boats out of Hawaii Kai. The deep blue color of the water here contrasted beautifully with the mesmerizing white water cascading down the dark brown hilly cliffs.

As you round out Koko Head, you will come into contact with the gusty trade winds. However, the wind will subside when you cruise into Maunalua Bay.

The waters of Maunalua Bay are a lot calmer than the windward side of Oahu. There is even a WW2 fighter plane wreck for those who love wreck diving, an artificial reef of hundreds of concrete modules and even sunken barges. The bay ends at Diamond Head, the final windbreak before the calm waters of Waikiki. There are also some good scuba diving locations off Waikiki on some outer ledges and artificial reefs.

On Maunalua Bay is the Fantasy Reef. Erosion has created many places for the fish to play hide-and-seek. Although live coral coverage is not that high in Fantasy Reef, the corals are healthy and undamaged and thus can be considered as one of the better scuba diving spots in Oahu. Marine life is plentiful here with eels, barracudas, octopus, turtles and sharks are often seen.  Read more...

“A cool way to enjoy and be adventurous in the beach of Oahu is through surfing. However, if you are a first-timer, hitting those huge waves won’t be that easy. It’s a good thing that in Oahu, surf lessons are being provided to let tourists like you take more pleasure in experiencing the wildness of nature.

A surf camp in Oahu offers a wide variety of surfing techniques and moves, which are always demonstrated by professional surfers so that learners are properly guided.

Not knowing how and what to do when surfing is really quite embarrassing at times. This feeling, however, should not be since professional surfers also started with zero knowledge about surfing. If not for enrolling in a surf school in Oahu, they wouldn’t have learned the basic and advanced techniques of the sport. Besides, you’re doing this just for fun, right? You do not need to pressure yourself into becoming a surfing pro all at once.

Learning to surf is similar to writing for the first time. In writing, you need to know how to hold and maneuver your pen while in surfing your surfboard represents the pen. As you proceed in writing, you gradually learn the curves and lines of each letter; in surfing, the waves might seem scary at first but eventually you’ll learn how to be one with it. Surfing is almost always perceived a difficult and complicated sport in the beginning but a reputable surf school in Waikiki will teach you all you need to know so you don’t have to worry about messing up in the beach. Concentrate on the basics as you take up Surfing 101.  Read more...