Before leaving Ha'ena beach Park, we crossed the street to check out the Maniniholo Dry Cave. The name means "swmming Manini fish" and is about 300 yards deep. You can't really go anywhere inside because it's just an opening of the towering mountain above you. They say that the opening was wider than it is now but a tsunami in the 1950s almost filled it with sand.
The Limahuli Stream is in between the dry cave and the wet caves. We saw a few people washing the sand off their bodies in here but we did not join them because of a sign that warned waders of the bacteria that could be found in the waters. No, thanks.
If you drive a few minutes towards the end of the highway after the Maniniholo Dry Cave, you can reach the Waikanaloa Wet Cave, the more accessible of the two because it is by the side of the road. You have to hike a small hill to get to the Waikapalae Wet Cave but this one is definitely more "wet" because you can access the Blue Room from here if you want to brave the ice-cold water.
The water in both caves comes from underground springs that eventually feed into the ocean. The caves were formed when the ocean was at a higher level than it is today.
Maniniholo Dry Cave / Waikanaloa/Waikapalae Wet Caves
Highway 560 starting just before Mile Marker 9 |
