Experience the Reciprocity of Aloha on Oʻahu: Activities to Enrich Your Next Hawaiʻi Trip
“Aloha, welcome to Hawaiʻi.” That’s how nearly every visitor is greeted on arrival to the islands, but the Hawaiian word “aloha” means much more than “hello” and “goodbye.” It’s a term with deep roots in Native Hawaiian culture, and there is, without a doubt, a reciprocal aspect to “aloha” — often encompassed by the phrase “aloha spirit” — the idea that the good you put into the world will come back to you.
There are many ways visitors can embody aloha and leave a positive impact, like volunteering or taking the time to learn about Native Hawaiian history and culture. Get some inspiration for your next Oʻahu visit with these activities that are equal parts fun and fulfilling.
The earliest evidence of surfing can be traced back to 12th-century Polynesia. Called heʻe nalu, or wave sliding, surfing was a sport for everyone in Hawaiian society, regardless of gender or social standing.
But with the arrival of missionaries and their Western influence in the early 1800s, surfing was looked down on. For decades thereafter, heʻe nalu seemed to be an activity of the past — until three Hawaiian princes attended St. Matthews Military School in San Mateo, CA, and introduced surfing in 1885. Then five-time Olympic medalist Duke Kahanamoku arrived on the scene. He won silver and gold medals for swimming at the 1912, 1920, and 1924 Olympic Games and embarked on a world tour to showcase both his swimming and surfing skills, helping to revive the wave-riding sport.
Take to the waves yourself with Moniz Family Surf in Waikīkī, which was a favorite place for Hawaiian royalty to flex their surf skills. Run by a longtime local surf family, this beloved surf school offers expert instruction to help you ride the waves. Choose between a private or a small group lesson (up to four people) for your introduction to this quintessential island pastime.
With its thriving tropical plants and 45-foot waterfall, Waimea Valley is one of the best places to learn about the ahupuaʻa, or traditional land divisions. In fact, according to Richard Pezzulo, Executive Director of Waimea Valley, Hiʻipaka LLC, “it’s the only fully intact ahupuaʻa on Oʻahu that’s interpreted [for] the public.”
At the valley, wander around Kauhale Kahiko, an immersive exhibit with seven traditional Hawaiian living sites. You’ll notice how Native Hawaiians cared for the land with aloha by using every part of a plant. Coconut fibers were woven to make tools and stringed instruments, like the ʻukulele, coconut shells served as kitchenware, and coconut leaves were used to weave baskets and thatched roofs. Nothing went to waste. Authenticity is the site’s standout feature, says Pezzulo, noting that it was “reconstructed on the footprints of a genuine kauhale (village) from centuries ago.”
Pezzulo also encourages visitors to engage with staff and artisans as they tour the valley’s three key cultural sites: Hale Hōʻike, Kauhale, and Kahua Pāʻani. If you can recite the values you learned at the end of your tour, you’ll be rewarded not only with new insights into Hawaiian cultural life but also a Hoʻokipa ambassador certificate and pin.
The Bishop Museum showcases the largest collection of Hawaiian and Pacific cultural artifacts and natural history specimens in the world, making it a fantastic place to delve into the different time periods of Native Hawaiian history. Your journey begins in Pacific Hall, where you’ll see model canoes and learn about the Polynesians who braved the trans-Pacific journey to become the first settlers of Hawaiʻi, arriving between 1000 and 1200 CE.
Polynesian voyages to Hawaiʻi mysteriously stopped around 1300 CE, so Hawaiian culture and society developed on its own. In Hawaiian Hall, learn all about the Native Hawaiian moʻolelo (stories and legends), akua (gods), and beliefs, along with how the people lived their daily lives.
Until the late 18th century, each Hawaiian Island lived independently with frequent battles between their rulers. But between 1790 and 1810, King Kamehameha I fought to unite all the Hawaiian Islands and successfully establish the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, which thrived for nearly a century after that. Peek at this part of history in the Bishop Museum’s Abigail Kinoiki Kekaulike Kāhili Room, where you’ll see portraits and artifacts of the most revered and beloved aliʻi (chiefs).
Tucked away in the verdant Koʻolau Mountains, the locally owned Kualoa Ranch Private Nature Reserve offers several nature-inspired tours. In particular, the Kualoa Grown Tour and the Mālama Experience Tour give glimpses of the reciprocal value of aloha through mālama ʻāina.
On the Kualoa Grown Tour, you’ll learn about traditional Hawaiian food systems and farming practices and visit the historic Moliʻi Fishpond. As one of the four historic Hawaiian fishponds still on Oʻahu, this is where Hawaiians farmed and caught their moi (threadfish), awa (milkfish), and ʻamaʻama (mullet).
The hands-on Mālama Experience Tour changes based on the land’s needs, so your activity will be shared upon arrival. You may mālama ʻāina by working in the loʻi (taro fields), weeding the māla lāʻau lapaʻau (Hawaiian medicinal plant garden), or repairing the roofs of traditional Hawaiian thatched homes.
Kalo (taro) has a long history in Hawaiʻi. According to Hawaiian moʻolelo (legends), the Hawaiian goddess Hoʻohōkūkalani became pregnant, but sadly, the baby, Hāloa, was stillborn. In her grief, Hoʻohōkūkalani buried Hāloa and watered him with her tears until a green, heart-shaped sprout appeared: the very first kalo plant.
Horticulturists tell the story of kalo a little differently. Likely introduced to the islands by the first Polynesian voyagers, the species quickly became a Native Hawaiian food staple due to its high nutritional content. Various parts of the plant were pounded into poi, steamed into kūlolo (coconut-taro pudding), and used as a wrapping for laulau (leaf-wrapped protein entree).
Have your own hands-on experience with kalo through the nonprofit Kākoʻo ʻŌiwi in Kāneʻohe. The nonprofit offers thrice weekly workdays in the loʻi where you can get knee-deep in the mud to weed, as well as plant and harvest kalo. As you work, volunteer leaders will share their knowledge of kalo in Native Hawaiian culture, traditional Hawaiian farming practices, and the mountainous Kāneʻohe region.
At least once a month, this Hawaiʻi Kai nonprofit hosts a community huki — or “pulling” — to remove invasive algae from Oʻahu’s Maunalua Bay. Without intervention, the invasive species would overwhelm the coral reefs, kill native algae communities, and disrupt the bay’s entire marine environment. For almost 20 years, Mālama Maunalua and its 30,000-plus volunteers have cleared four million pounds of invasive algae, continually cleaning the bay and turning the removed algae into soil amendments for local farms.
Oʻahuʻs beauty rejuvenates nearly every visitor. By embracing the true spirit of aloha during your stay, you can give back to the island as much as it gives to you. What could be more rewarding than a travel experience that nurtures both the destination and the traveler? 