Makapuu Light On our 1998 trip to Hawaii, we spent 5 days on Oahu, home of two lighthouses: Diamond Head and Makapuu. We decided to tackle Makapuu Lighthouse first and off we went on Monday 8/3/98. First we snorkled at Hanaumau Bay then got back on the road and headed for the mountain where this lighthouse stands guard. I guess I should have paid more attention to the guidebook when it said there was quite a hike up to the top, I never imagined it was as high up as it was. We climbed and climbed and my legs were screaming at me. The path was so close to the Pacific Ocean at some points that I didn't want to look down, but thankfully when we got to that side of the mountain at least there was a wonderful breeze and, when we finally reached the top, the view was great. This lighthouse is famous, it can be seen at the opening credits of Hawaii Five-Oh and was also shown on Magnum PI. It might be famous but, after that long trek up and the even longer trek down (or so it seemed to my tired feet), I decided I didn't want to look at another lighthouse ever again. As you can see, the light is quite a distance up the mountain. When I saw it from this angle (the white spot about 1/2 of the way up that mountain in the pic on the right), I wondered how in the world I had gotten up there without my legs falling off. It was worth the trip though, even if my feet told me differently that night.       Thanks to Pat for the two "up close" pics of the lighthouse - they were so much better than mine! Diamond Head Light Thanks to Pat for the large pics of Diamond Head Lighthouse The feeling that I didn't want to see anymore lighthouses only lasted until Thursday when we decided to visit the Diamond Head Lighthouse before leaving for the next part of our trip to the island of Hawaii. We took off early that morning and headed up to the famous Diamond Head peak, then came down the other side, then looked up and down and never saw a lighthouse. A nice local lady walking on her private beach told us it was "back that way", where we had just come from. So back we went, and finally realized why we had passed it. It's shielded with foliage coming from Waikiki and we didn't see it for the trees. The "trek" to this lighthouse was wonderful, we parked the car and walked across the street to it - no hiking up high mountains that day! Boy were my feet happy about that. It's a shame we couldn't go inside this light, but it's not open to the public. We had to settle for the nice plaque hanging on the gate out front which describes the light and the company of a cute, fuzzy keeper - a little black/calico cat hanging around nearby - as we took pictures from the hillside next to the light.