Large composite red flowers.
After trekking up the slippery and muddy trail to Manoa Falls, I know where the phrase “tough mudder” came from. Even though that moniker applies to running a race through mud, the narrow tourist clogged trail to see the trickle of a waterfall is no less harrowing. The Manoa Mud hike is a contrast to the pleasant Lyon Arboretum trails just a 1/4 mile away.
Fortunately, we walked through the arboretum before attempting the waterfall trail. This was a good choice because I probably would have assumed the arboretum was just as difficult and muddy. The worst part of the arboretum was having to endure the noise of a gasoline powered leaf blower breaking the tranquility of the gardens.
You don’t have to be an arborist or botanist to enjoy
Passage way of roots and vine trunks to Manoa Falls
the variety of tropical trees, shrubs and flowering plants at the Lyon Arboretum. Just walking around the grounds is a nice respite from the crowds and never ending Hawaiian music ubiquitously emanating from every rock on Oahu. Except for the occasional rain shower, the tiny little ankle biting Mosquitoes are probably the greatest annoyance. While the trails are nice and wide, many have stepping stones; some of the older trails have lots of loose rocks, so watch your step.
Had we been a little more adventurous, it would have been fun to hike some of the paths off the main trail. Parts of the arboretum can give you a real sense of wonder at the towering trees and even larger volcanic mountains in the background. The staff at the visitor center was very helpful at identifying some the plants in my pictures. Some of the ID signs in front of the plant specimens have QR (quick read) codes that work with smart phones. This is the best application of QR codes I have seen. As you travel up the trail your phone may lose its signal making the QR codes a little useless until you can connect to the internet again.
Mango the piglet. Destin for a luau?
Before we started our hike to the Manoa Falls we encountered a young gentleman with what we thought was a small dog. The dog was actually a piglet from a family of wild pigs he had found the week before. He said “Mango” was hurt and alone when they found her. He and his crew had nursed her back to health and the plan was for a luau, but folks were starting to get attached to the little pig.
The trail to the falls is so heavily traveled that it is virtually impossible to
Underwhelming trickle of water at Manoa Falls
keep it in good condition. The first half is lined with rock and hikes pretty fast. The last half up to the falls is just a mess. I felt really bad for some of the women wearing white shoes that were being caked with red, sticky volcanic clay. If the falls were overwhelmingly breathtaking, I could see ruining a nice pair of shoes. Manoa falls on the day I visited was a trickle and no where as interesting as the falls at Yosemite or Burney in California.
My recommendation would be to spend your time hiking around the arboretum and leave the Manoa Falls trail to the bussed in tour groups. If you are staying in Waikiki, we took the #8 bus to the Ala Moana transfer station/mall and caught the #5. The last stop of the #5 is where you want to get off the bus and walk up to the arboretum and falls trail.
