traveldk.com

Hau’ula (“red hau tree”) is the starting point for three easy to moderate rambles. (A fourth hike, Sacred Falls is closed indefinitely due to landslide danger.) The two most worthwhile treks are Maka’aua Loop and Maka’aua Ridge Loop (aka Papali Trail); both offer good views, interesting plants, and guavas in their late summer and fall season.

As if the miles of beaches aren’t enough, this inland water park forms another attraction, especially for children. They just can’t get enough of the tube cruises, six-story speed slide, beach volleyball, and special birthday area.

A contemporary masterpiece of glass and soaring white columns, the Convention Center, across the Ala Wai bridge from Waikīkī proper, was dedicated in 1998 and contains dozens of artworks and more than a million square feet of meeting space. Lecture tours are held on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

The era when more than 400,000 immigrants and Hawaiians labored on sugar and pineapple plantations is memorialized in the 30 original structures gathered to create this living history museum. Tours are led by volunteers, many of whom are former plantation laborers or descendants of workers.

North on Kamehameha Highway from Kāne’ohe, surrounded by mangrove swamp, this grassy, well-maintained state park offers a view of the 80-acre He’eia fishpond, the largest intact aqua-culture zone in the islands. When in use, fingerlings of the prized ’ama’ama (mullet) and ’ahole (Hawaiian flagtail) would swim into the rock-walled ponds through vertical gates called kahala , but would be unable to swim out. In this way, the fish were successfully farmed.

The 50+-year-old Market Place, originally a fanciful shopping area and cultural park, is undergoing a $150 million renovation project through 2007. Expect pathways beneath spreading trees and across ponds that recall the area’s illustrious past, when it was Queen Emma’s garden. Performance areas, a low-rise shopping and food hall, and spots for hula, artisans, and storytellers are also planned.