Welcome to the tour of the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. Before we get underway, if this is your first tour of Hawaii, you might want to look at some basic information about Hawaiian words. Although we won't be needing to pronounce words correctly to find our way on the tour, spellings, directions in Hawaii, and the general oddity of some Hawaiian words are often confusing to first-time visitors here. We'll be visiting the main campus of the University of Hawai'i today. There is also a large campus on the Big Island. That's the University of Hawai'i Hilo which is visited on the Big Island Tour. On today's tour, we'll be traveling through Honolulu a little way to get to the University of Hawaii campus, and we'll also take a short swing through the Manoa community and to Punahou School that is nearby. Of the eight tours of the Island of Oahu, we're most apt to run into rain on this one. Manoa is tucked in a valley at the foot of the Koolau Mountain Range and gets a lot of rain. Because of this, the campus and even moreso the neighborhood that extends farther back between the mountains are green and lush. So no grand vistas, but some nice settings today nonetheless. Click here for a note about your comfort on the tour. 1. Leaving Waikiki This tour is more or less the "school tour" that takes in Iolani School, Punahou School, and Chaminade University, as well as the University of Hawaii at Manoa. The community colleges are visited on other tours, Hawaii Pacific University Windward on the Windward Tour, and Tokai International College in one photo on the Arizona Memorial Tour. To get to the University of Hawaii where we'll spend most of our time, we're going to go up Kapahulu Avenue starting on the Diamond Head (east) end of Waikiki, turn west parallel to Waikiki and the Ala Wai Canal to Kapiolani Avenue, then angle toward the mountains where the main campus of the university is located in Manoa Valley. At the corner of Waikiki is the Waikiki Public Library beyond the fountain in the photo at the right, and from here we'll proceed up Kapahulu Ave. 2. Kapahulu Avenue Kapahulu Avenue is a fairly typical street in a small business area -- lowrise buildings, a few gas stations, pizza and other fast food restaurants, specialty shops, on-street parking, etc. The beginning of Kapahulu, however, might be a little more attractive than the rest because of the Ala Wai Golf Course on the left. Looking toward the mountains, two views of Kapahulu. The University of Hawaii is located roughly at the foot of the mountains in the distance -- maybe a little to the left. Both views here are from near the Hawaiian Dredging Building, about the only building between the street and the length of the golf course on the left. 3. Ala Wai Golf Course The Ala Wai Golf Course runs along the left side of Kapahulu the entire distance we'll travel on the street.

A view across the golf course back toward Waikiki at the left and approximately Punchbowl (Oahu Circle Island Tour) that is in the far distance and out of sight at the right. This is one of the most popular and (for Hawaii residents, anyway) inexpensive courses on the island. Because of its land value and "excessive" open space per golfer at any particular time, there is rather on-going consideration being given to moving it. Also, although it's located next to Waikiki, reservations need to be made so far in advance of tee times that most tourist golfers cannot use the course. One thoughtful proposal is to move the course to nearby Diamond Head Crater (Windward-East Honolulu Tour). Redevelopment of the current golf course as a park for use by more people and by non-golfers as well as golfers would then be most likely. At the present time, though, it does provide welcome green space next to Waikiki and recreational opportunities for many people. 4. Rounding the Corner to Date Street We'll turn off of Kapahulu and drive along the "mauka" (mountain side) boundary of the golf course. A bike path (photo on the left) cuts the corner and runs between the Hawaiian Dredging Building and the golf course. Just around the corner we look across a pond (or water trap) on the golf course (photo on the right) toward Waikiki. 5. Iolani School Iolani School, a private K-12 school at the far end of the Ala Wai Golf Course, is one of the very best schools on the island. The campus is very nicely landscaped, and both the grounds and buildings are excellently maintained. In the photo at the right is the entry to the school from Kamokii Street off of Date Street on which we're driving roughly west. Most of the buildings on the campus are located on the straight-ahead school drive to the left of the sign. In the photo on the left is an interior courtyard on the campus. On the right is a view between two buildings as we proceed straight ahead on the single drive through the campus. On the left, the campus drive. On the right, a view of the kindergarten and elementary school buildings at the end of the drive. The schoolhas athletic fields and other facilities behind the buildings on the right side of the drive. We'll proceed on Date Street to University Avenue, turn right onto University, and head toward the university itself. 6. Kapiolani Boulevard 7. Chaminade University

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