A Sunday Well Spent

Last weekend my friends and I really wanted to do some kind of activity, but it wasn´t a day for a 6hour long hike in the heat – and that was when Chinaman´s Hat came to my mind.

Chinaman´s Hat, or Mokoli´I, is a small island located off Kualoa Regional Park on Oahu´s windward (eastern) cost. The island is called Chinaman´s Hat because of its cone shape, which resembles the peasant’s hat worn in rural China.

To get to the island you can either kayak or walk. If you want to walk, you really have to keep track of the tides. My friends and I chose to kayak, and we had a really fun 15minute kayak session out to the island. I believe kayaking is a big part of this Sunday adventure, so I would really recommend to kayak out to the island. With the sun shining and swells splashing us around, we had a good time out on the sea.

The hike

When we got to the island, we pulled the kayaks up onto the rocks so that they would be safe from the tide and then we grabbed our bags and began the little hike to the top of Chinaman´s hike. We went here on a really sunny day, so the trail was dusty and dry, but it looked like it could get very muddy and slick after some rain. I would recommend to bring shoes that you can climb in. Some of us hiked in slippers, and it was a bit difficult to not slip in some parts of the trail. There are a few areas towards the end of the trail where you´ll have to climb up the rocks, but the hand and foot holds where easy to find.

When you reach he top, you´ll be rewarded with a stunning view of the Koolau Mountains and the windward coast. I believe this spot is on my top 5 lunching spots. Don´t forget to bring a nice lunch or snack you can enjoy at the top while you admire the view.

Marine life

We also tried snorkeling in the water near the island, but we only saw some small colorful fish, even though the reefs around Chinamans´s Hat is known to have a variety of marine life. You can even see hammerhead sharks on your way over to the island. We did obviously not see any sharks, and I am very glad about that.

To summarize, if you want a nice day out in the sun – kayaking out to hike the Chinaman´s hat is the perfect way to spend a sunny day!

We kayaked out from Kualoa Regional Park.