I rarely travel to the west side of the island. The west side of Oahu is traditionally home to the local Hawaiians. It is the most impoverished area on the island, and most rural. Due to the Hawaiian people's history, they do not look kindly on none locals- who in their eyes stole their land. Non locals are not particularly welcome on this side so I have only been a handful of times. Pokai Bay is a military owned area with cabins for rent on the bay. The beach is stunning, on the left side is a calm bay, separated by an underwater wall, to the right is a rougher surfing area. My dad has tried to teach me to surf here, it never ends very well.

         The west side is mainly the only place you will see wild dolphins, and Pokai bay is a favorite spot of pods. The last time I was here we saw a pod of dolphins about a mile off of shore. My mom, sister and I paddled out and swam with them, a dolphin tour boat pulled up and let their visitors swim too. Suddenly all the dolphins disappeared, and the tourists got back on the boat, we were a little confused until one of the boat drives told us they had spotted a tiger shark in the area. Lesson learned- never go swimming in murky water after a big rain! Luckily the boat towed us to shore and we survived unscathed.