Hawaii

Winter started getting a bit cold and wet in Auckland, so we decided to flee North to the warmer climes of Hawaii. 

We flew up on Sunday morning and arrived Saturday night (time machine!!).

James the pre-booked taxi driver picked us up at the airport and 30 minutes or so later we checked in at the White Sands Hotel in Waikiki. We got two inter-connecting rooms. One of the rooms had an air-con unit that sounded like a jet engine, but otherwise the hotel was entirely fit for purpose.

Sunday was a day for exploring the neighbourhood and getting our holiday groove on. We walked the two blocks between us and Waikiki Beach in about five minutes and sat down on the sand to soak it all in.

We strolled along the beautiful beach past the Waikiki Hilton Village.

 

And we kept on walking until we got to the Ala Moana shopping plaza. Allegedly the biggest indoor/outdoor mall in the world. 

There we had a late lunch; Sushi, ramen and Japanese curry. Clearly missing Japan a little ...

Monday we decided we'd take a walk to Diamond Head. We set off from the hotel down the side of the Ala Wai Canal, past the Honolulu Zoo and up to the Diamond Head State Monument Park.

Diamond Head is a volcanic cone and from the late 19 century has been a site of strategic importance for the military. We walked through the tunnel at the crater edge and into Diamond Head itself.

The walk to the top of Diamond Head was hot work, but the view from the top was rewarding.

We could look down on the Pacific Ocean and back to Waikiki.

On our way back down the boys were super impressed to see a surfboard on a fire engine!

We walked around Diamond Head until we reached Kaimana Beach where stopped for a swim and a cool down.

After about six hours of walking on our first real day of holidays, everyone was pretty tired.

Tuesday we went back to the beach, but also checked out the Army Museum in Honolulu. This museum covers the whole military history of Hawaii, but particularly focuses on the 442nd Infantry Regiment who were Japanese Americans and is "the most decorated unit in U.S. military history."

Wednesday was our day to visit Pearl Harbour. We had a booked tour to cover all of the attractions at Pearl Harbour. The bus picked us up at 7am.

The Arizona Memorial was very special. On 7 December 1941, the USS Arizona was bombed and 1,177 men were killed.

Oil still leaks from her bunkers more than 70 years later.

 

It was quite special visiting this place, the start of the US involvement in WWII.

As we headed back to shore, we saw jets involved in the RIMPAC exercises and a variety of US, Chinese and other warships.

Our next stop was the USS Bowfin launched exactly one year after the Pearl Harbour attack. We had audio sets that told us about each part of the boat and its history.

Wall-E

The submarine was really cool. We then went to the Pacific Aviation Museum on Ford Island. 

A real highlight was the "Swamp Ghost" which was a B-17 Flying Fortress that crash landed in Papua New Guinea in 1942, was re-discovered in 1972 and recovered in 2013.

We also ran into some movie and rockstars.

F14 Tomcat was also popular; The Aussie F1-11 was an immaculate plane.

We then went to visit the USS Missouri. 

16 inch guns can fire these 1,200kg shells accurately 32km.

On Arizonza the surrender document indicates the end of the WWII. We noted that the very last signatory was is Air Vice-Marshall Leonard Issit from New Zealand; So the war didn't end until we said it did!  

The USS Oklahoma memorial was an elegant piece, with each vertical marble one of the 429 pieces is for a sailor who died in Pearl Harbour.

Thursday we went on a bike tour in the mountains above Waikiki.

After a picnic lunch in the leafy suburbs, we headed back up the hill for a hike to the Moana Falls.

The tropical jungle contrasted with the dryer lowlands around the coast. It was a little cooler and a lot more moist.

We got to the falls after about an hours walk.

Lots of birdlife and plants to see

Another day that finished with a swim and a surf at the beach.

One of the things we did notice was the number of Japanese honeymooners having their wedding photos taken at the beach.

Looking gorgeous

Next one in the background

This couple were lucky enough to get a "four-boy photobomb" - let's hope it's something they'll treasure

Friday we decided to go snorkelling at Hanauma Bay. We had a 'man in a van' pick us up and drive us to the bay, about 20 minutes from Honolulu. The boys were quite excited to see the stair run from Hawaii Five-O

The snorkelling in the bay was magnificent with lots of fish to be seen.

There was all sorts of wildlife to see

 

On Saturday we caught the local city bus to the North Shore

We travelled through the middle of Oahu, passed the pineapple plantations and to the north shore town of Haleiwa. We stopped there for lunch.

The North Shore was very cool: Laid back and rural. 

 

The big wave beaches of Waimea Bay, Sunset Beach and the Banzai Pipeline are legendary surf beaches. They go off in the winter when the northerlies bring the big swells: we arrived in the summer when it was flat as ...

Chinaman's Hat

We loved Hawaii and will be back