Pali Lookout by Hawaii Pacific News

GigapanMagazine.org  vol 2 issue 3

Looking over the Pali can be a site to behold. The lookout is a part of the windward cliff of the Ko'olua mountains. The view gives you a glimpse of Kaneohe, Kaneohe bay, Kailua and most of Ohau's windward side. The Pali is the site of the battle of Nuaunu, where Kamehameha, moi of Hawai'i defeated Kalanikupule, moi of O'ahu for supremecy of O'ahu.

During our trip to the lookout we learned alot of history and some suprising side notes. For instance, many spectators over the years have fallen to their death from this precipice while attempting to soak in the intoxicating view.

On the day we shot the pano, a suave, mid-thirties undercover cop in khaki shorts, polo shirt and a full set of hair was hanging out. He moseyed on over to talk to us and ask if we were taking a panorama. He had seen one in action at a UH baseball game. After talking about the technology and its connection to NASA, google, and Carnegie Mellon, he shared that he was up here hanging out because the day before there was a car burglary. We were amazed because that car happened to be an HPN reporter from the fall 09 semester, and we were talking about her on the drive up Nuuanu. The undercover cop said he thought the bandits hid up the hill to the left (facing the ocean). On the other side of the cliffs, up above to the right we pointed out a white cross with old leis. He said yeah, he thinks someone fell and died from up there. He said it's not uncommon. In fact, just a couple of weeks earlier an 81 year old man had fallen off just a few feet from where we were shooting on the lower rail. He said the man had just come from a lunch of some kind, and his hat blew off and over the rail. The man climbed over to grab his hat. Later, firemen parked down by the lower tunnel you can see from the rail, and rappelled down the cliffs to retrieve the body. Popular lore tells of the love-lorn and desperate who have jumped from the cliffs, only to be blown back up by ferocious winds. The Koolau mountains in these parts are famous for the waterfalls that go up the mountains, not down.

the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2010/Jan/05/br/hawaii100105075.html 
oahu.aloha-hawaii.com/tours/pali+lookout /
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Nu%27uanu 
HPN Crew: Matt Boo, Chris Wilson, Pete Britos

First Pali Pano:
Old Pali Road (Pali Lookout) #1: gigapan.org/gigapans/35711/