Sea Life Park has long been a favorite of locals and tourists alike. Located on the oceanfront below Makapu’u Point, where massive waves come breaking against the black cliffs, the ride out to the park is an attraction in itself. Sea Life Park prides itself on being an interactive and educational park. Don’t think of it as merely an exhibit of marine life, sequestered behind fiberglass walls. The park offers a variety of attractions that bring the visitor face to face an eclectic collection (and some of it’s pretty ugly) of tropical marine life. The Seawalker, for example, allows the participant to walk along the bottom of the park’s 300,000-gallon Hawaiian Reef Tank. Diving certification isn’t required since a unique diving system provides even the novice an opportunity to observe the underwater world at a depth of 18 feet, and without even getting their hair wet. Participants actually walk among the numerous exotic fish and sea life surround them. The more faint hearted, however, can still view the action through a full-face window. The tank seeks to authentically recreate the marine life that exists on Hawaiian reefs. Other attractions allow you to stay on dry land. At the park’s Splash University you can learn the techniques used by the park’s experts to train dolphins. You may even choose to get into the tank yourself and interact with some of their star pupils. There are also shows and displays to highlight the park’s California sea lions and endangered monk seals. Since the 1960s, the park has also served as a sea bird sanctuary where injured sea birds are rehabilitated. Numerous other exhibits highlight the marine life of Hawaii’s waters, including an exhibit and breeding tank for the endangered Hawaiian Green Sea turtles (or Honu), which has produced over 2,200 hatchlings.