This scene is found at the beginning of the trail to Makapu'u Point Lighthouse. That mountain to the far right is Koko Crater. This area is the eastern most point on the island of Oahu; the southeast coast or windward side of the island. This area is hot and dry and more desert like than the rest of the island. There were a lot of cactus along the trail.
Here we are at a higher level, and I rather like this photo for a reference for a future painting.
The trail is paved all the way to the lighthouse, so it is really more of a walk than a hike. People of all ages come here (with their dogs sometimes) and it is an easy walk; it is a two mile distance and uphill all the way to the lighthouse. It took us about an hour to reach the lighthouse, but we stopped along the way to take photos.
As we reached closer to the lighthouse and at a very high elevation, down the cliff many feet below were people enjoying the tide pools; they looked like tiny dots to us from up high, but I zoomed in with my camera and took a few shots of them.
Makapu'u lighthouse itself is not a very tall structure, but it sits on a 600 foot sea cliff and it has the largest lens in the United States; the lens is 12 feet tall and has over 1000 prisms and the light can be seen over 19 miles out to sea. The lighthouse was built in 1909 and automated in 1974 and is now owned by the coast guard. Below is a video (not mine) showing views along the hike.
Below are a couple of photos of mine taken from Makapu'u Beach Park looking towards the lighthouse. They will give you an idea of the height of the cliff where we walked.
There is so much beauty found on Oahu as well as the other Hawaiian Islands. I feel blessed to live here and I am constantly inspired to paint and photograph all the wonders of this paradise.
