On the outskirts of Honolulu, in a quiet local neighborhood, there’s a novelty wave. It’s not just any strange, curio of a surf spot however; it’s notoriously dangerous.
China Walls breaks right up against a sheer cliff face. It’s a lefthander, with the rocks on the right, and the takeoff zone is a test of commitment and skill. If you fall, there’s a good chance you’re going into the rocks. If you make it, there’s a reeling lefthander cruising all the way into the bay to enjoy. Even the best surfers suffer the former occasionally.
It’s also a popular, off-the-beaten path tourist attraction. And like a tale as old as time, when tourists venture out to dangerous Hawaiian ocean locations, there’s carnage. Click here to see a clip with a handful of folks get rocked (literally) at China Walls. And below, see a POV clip of how to surf the spot correctly, courtesy of novelty wave expert, Blair Conklin:
The carnage clips come from HHHNEWZ, which sadly, could not be embedded here. It shows a man and a woman, bobbing in the water, when a wave comes and sweeps the across the cliff face. The damage doesn’t look too terrible, but who knows, there could be a few black and blue (or red) souvenirs for them to take home. In the second clip, a much larger wave wrangles a man over a ledge, as huge faces break behind him. That guy got it a little worse. Sort of like a Hawaiian waterslide for experts only.
Last year, a teenage surfer was critically injured while surfing China Walls. According to official reports: “Firefighters and Ocean Safety assisted the injured surfer and brought him onto an HFD rescue boat. Crews then took him to the Moanalua Bay boat ramp where he was transported to a hospital by an ambulance.”
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And Jamie O’Brien, who surfs Pipeline like it’s Waikiki, has called China Walls “The Most Dangerous Surf Spot on the South Shore.”
Then, not to mention, there’s Spitting Caves nearby, a popular cliff jumping site with its own cadre of casualties. Back in February of this year, a tourist jumped from a 50-foot cliff at the spot, and never resurfaced. As one local warned:
“Just because you swim in a swimming pool, or a lake, or jump in a quarry, it doesn’t make you qualified to do that here. Even though you tell ‘em not to do it on a day that would be too dangerous for an outsider. They see our kids do it, and they’re like, ‘I can do that too.’ Then they get in trouble.”
Related: Man Dies Jumping Off 50-Foot Cliff in Hawaii (Video)