Finding all the Waterfall Chutes in Manoa Valley

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Kahuwai'iki - June 29, 2014


Initially I thought I found all the waterfalls in Manoa in 2011. I was content and thought all my hard work paid off. With limited information on the web, solo hiking, and unbelievable passion, I spent dozens of hours in Manoa Valley looking for those waterfalls on my own. Then in 2012, hiking friends Baron & Marvin mentioned to me another waterfall called Kahuwai'iki, which spills from a stream that converges with Wahi stream in Manoa Valley. My first reaction was denial since I spent so much hard work trying to find the Manoa waterfalls on my own. This denial went on for at least 2 years. I was like ahhh, I found all the waterfalls in Manoa, so I'm done. But when hiking groups do the Manoa waterfall tour, they go to Kahuwai'iki which reopened my quest to at least make an appearance to this waterfall. 


Being that today's Lulumahu to Olympus hike was canceled because of weather and it was 6:15am, we had some time to figure out what plan b was for the day. At the meet up place were OAG's ~ Erik, Darren, Bernice & Aprille. We looked at our options, Bernice hasn't done the Manoa waterfall tour and Aprille hasn't done Mo'ole, both hikes were in the neighborhood. Knowing how our crew is, we made an attempt to accommodate everyone's needs. So we tried not only to accommodate, but to get most of the OAG's to hike today. Communication was key, we knew Janice and DJ were out. But there was a chance that Allison and Daniel would come. After a few text, Daniel and Allison would meet us at the Mo'ole trailhead at 10:30am. We had about 3 hours to kill and thought that would be good enough time to do some of the waterfalls in Manoa, that would not be the case. 


Kahuwai'iki starts on the Manoa falls trailhead. About 20 minutes in (about half way to Manoa falls), there is a junction to the right. According to my backcountry app., this is where Kahuwai'iki converges with Wahi stream. This path is not as open as the other Manoa waterfall trails, but it isn't too difficult, just gotta deal with going up and over branches and of course the mud. After 20+ minutes, we got to this beautiful waterfall, similar to Lulumahu falls. Erik said I was in for a treat, I was and so was Bernice. This one did not disappoint, it actually looks better than Lulumahu. Of course today, with a lot of rain, Kahuwaiki was full and glorious.



OAG Group Shot in Manoa Valley

group shot


Going back felt short and we were ready to do more waterfalls. However at the Manoa falls parking lot, we seen (speak of the devil) Baron and his crew ready to do the Manoa waterfall tour. We talked for quite sometime and didn't have enough time to visit another waterfall. We got into our cars and it was off to the Pali Hwy. to do Mo'ole...



Waterfall Silk in Manoa Valley
waterfall silk


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