Kahuku is a tiny little town, just between Laie and Turtle Bay, and is part of the Ko’olauloa District, on the island of Oahu, in the County of Honolulu. ‘Ka Huku’, meaning “The projection” in the Hawaiian language, is generally thought as a reference to Kahuku point, which is the northernmost tip of the island of Oahu. It had a population of about 2,614 people in the 2010 Census, over an area of 2.3 sq. miles (including water), which gave a population density of 1,100 people per sq. Mile. The zipcode of this area is 96731.
Despite being quite a small town, there are quite a few attractions and things you can do here. Scattered on the sides of the Kamehameha Highway that passes through this town, you’ll find many trucks that sell shrimp. There are shrimp farms very close to this area, and hence these shrimp vendors are seen very often, one of the more famous ones being “Giovanni’s”. Their shrimp dishes are quite well known and delicious. For a cost of 13 USD, you get one of three flavors of shrimp of your choice, namely Scampi (with garlic), lemon and butter, or spicy, as well as two scoops of rice. Kahuku Beach is also popular among fisherman, although it’s not ideal for swimming, since the limestone shelf would make for a pretty bumpy swim. In close proximity of the beach is Kahuku Golf course. The Turtle Bay Resort is also worth visiting, complete with a close-by beach with swimming and snorkeling possible there.
Kahuku is also known for its high school, Kahuku High. The students that are in this school always seem to excel at either academia, or extracurricular activities like sports. It is very well known for it’s Football, and is ranked nationally in the United States. In 2007, it was the High school with the second largest number of active football players from any single high school (Second only to De La Salle High School of Concord, in the state of California). Kahuku students seem to dominate even in sports like Water Polo, Track and Field, Wrestling, Basketball, Volleyball, and Judo.
But besides sports, some students excel even in the Arts. Just some of the awards won by certain students include the photography portfolio category in the Scholastic Arts Category, and some students stood in the top ten lists of various U.S. based quizzes such as History Day and We the People. In fact, till date, the students of this high school have recieved some sort of recognition in over 25 different national contests, more than any other public school in the entire state of Hawaii.
Besides all of this, The alumni of this high school includes some famous personalities. People such as musician Jack Johnson, Member of German Parliament Alexander Bonde, Public figure Earl Anzai, Chef Sam Choy, and famous surfer Pancho Sullivan, are all graduates of this high school.
This town has also been a location for filming. A popular game show of the name “The Diamond Head Game” was filmed nearby Turtle Bay Resort, which at that time was named Kuilima Hotel. A FoxTV show called North Shore was also filmed there much more recently.