About Hina Adventures

     "He Ali‘i ka ‘Āina, he kauā ke kanaka"

                              - The land is a chief; the people its servants  (Hawaiian proverb)

In ancient Hawaii the people, the land and the living creatures embraced each other as family and as balanced components of an integrated world.  Rocks, plants, humans, birds and fish shared both physical and spiritual relationships, nourishing each other.  The living Land was indeed a beloved Chief.  With Hina Adventures our driving philosophy is to recapture and promote the Hawaiian respect and love for the land and its life forms and to reveal the Hawaiian culture in its full environmental and historical context.

Hina Adventures' eco tours of our home island of Oahu focus on the deep cultural heritage of the islands and the fragile environment of one of the most unique and endangered ecosystems in the world.  We go in-depth to provide you insight into this remarkable island archipelago by visiting sacred sites and places of great mana (power) embedded in the landscape; exploring the rugged beauty of Oahu's rain-carved mountains; and experiencing the knowledge and skills of a 2,000 year old people.  Our offerings include hiking, star-gazing & Polynesian navigational theory, interactive cultural tours, sightseeing, and botanical and archaeological restoration projects. 

Hina Adventures is owned and operated by experienced ecotour guides with extensive background in the operations and management of ecotourism companies on O‘ahu.   Both owners were born and raised on O‘ahu and have spent a lifetime acquiring a love for and knowledge of Hawai‘i nei.  Both also volunteer with ‘Ahahui Mālama i ka Lōkahi to help preserve and restore archaeological sites and native lowland forests in Windward O‘ahu. 

Every aspect of this website was designed as such for a reason.  Click here to find out more about us and this design. 

Our Guides

With Hina Adventures, you get what you see.  We are a small tour company, currently with two guides to serve you while on tour with us.  Each guide brings a different energy to the mix, providing you with a well-rounded experience during your Hawaiian vacation.  When you book with Hina Adventures, these are the guides you will be sharing your days with: 

Ena

Ena is the primary guide on all hiking tours.  She specializes in storytelling, botany, geology and ancient history aspects of all tours. 

Ena grew up under the green cliffs of Windward O‘ahu, a fourth generation kama‘āina (resident) of the islands and descendent of a Danish sea captain who sailed under the Hawaiian flag.  An experienced outdoorswoman, her first love has always been the mountains and she has accumulated many miles hiking and backpacking in the Hawaiian Islands, the Himalayas, the Sierras, Europe, and the Andes.  Ena is an active member of the Hawaii Trail & Mountain Club, participating in maintaining and clearing the many trails of O‘ahu’s mountains, and is also a member of ‘Ahahui Mālama I ka Lōkahi, an O‘ahu group restoring cultural sites and endangered plants.  She also has experience kayaking the rugged and remote windward coasts of the islands of Kaua‘i, Moloka‘i and Hawai‘i.

Ena is a graduate of Brown University with degrees in History and International Relations.  Her passion for world history led her into leading walking tours, first as a historical tour guide of Rome, the Vatican and the Vatican Museum for two years, then returning to the Islands to lead historical, eco-tours of O‘ahu for many more years.  Ena’s love of knowledge and physical adventure has led her around the world, but always back home to the beautiful islands of Hawai‘i.  She is also a mosaic artist.

Ulu

Ulu is the primary guide for the Ho‘olaulima: Community Service Project & Sacred Sites Tour.  She specializes in the monarchy history, Polynesian voyaging and navigation, and Hawaiian language aspects of all tours. 

Being part-Hawaiian, Uluwehi has a passion for sharing her culture with anyone who will listen.  Her education and work experience with various Hawaiian-based organizations such as the Polynesian Voyaging Society and the Kamehameha Schools has provided her with a wealth of knowledge of Hawaiian history, culture, land and language.  That experience, combined with a love for and desire to be outdoors, led to her becoming an eco-tour guide on O‘ahu.  She holds a degree in Hawaiian Studies from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, and is currently in the Master's program in the same field. 

When she's not focusing on work, Uluwehi volunteers at Nā Pōhaku O Hauwahine, helping in the effort to restore a native Hawaiian lowland forest.  She also loves to travel, often to experience different places and activities.  She has spent a cumulative total of about 1 year in Rapa Nui (a remote island approximately 2,000 miles off the coast of Chile and the south eastern point of the Polynesian Triangle), and went backpacking on the Kalalau Trail in Kaua‘i.