HAWAII - Blogabond

I arrived at our Hostel in Waikiki (Honolulu) late on a Saturday night, 12pm locally, to find Smalls almost asleep in his room. That quickly changed, with the pair of us enjoying some beers in some beach side bars & catching up.
The next day we watched the superbowl (which was a very good game), then went for a swim on Waikiki beach, before heading out for more beers with an Aussie & an American (v.funny guys) we had met during the game. We played pool & drank beer, before recruiting people from the hostel for a jam session on the beach. Smalls got his first hit of traveling guitar playing, in a truly fantastic setting, with amazing people.

Above = Waikiki Sunset

Waikiki is the brash beach of Hawaii - meaning that it is the most like LA. Honolulu is the biggest city on the Hawaiian islands, which is both good and bad...the beaches are gorgeous, although the place is busy. Especially during the Pro Bowl party - where they shut the main Beach Blvd for live music & food/merchandise stores. Hawaii has hosted the Pro Bowl (end of NFL season all-star match) for the last 20+ years, and this was its last year on the island = a big party.

Smalls & I decided that it was cost effective to hire a jeep, ensuring that we saw all that Oaho (N.Hawaiian island) had to offer. We decided to call her Betty...

We covered the whole island (following the coast) in one day, about 200miles. We were stopping off occasionally to check out the beaches & views along the way, all of which were greatly varying in terrain & size. Hawaii is an amazing place. We were visiting in the rainy season/winter...although i cant imagine anyone in the UK complaining about 20-25oC heat in the middle of winter? The weather was mixed during our time on Oaho, although we got sun/cloud the majority of the time. We managed to hire bodyboard (aka - boogie boards) & went back to the North Shore to catch some waves. After a couple of poor wave beaches (3-4ft waves), we arrived at Waimea beach - which was home to some 10-15ft waves :-O

It was an incredible rush riding atop a wave of that size, all the way into the beach! I managed this a couple of times, before being mercilessly dumped upon by wall after wall of water. It was well worth the experience - I have never felt the power of the ocean like that before.

After conquering the North Shore's MEGA waves, we found one deserted beach on the North Shore called "Houki Lau",pictured below,(sp??). We decided this was a perfect site for night on the beach - Ray Mears style!

Having collected many BBQ supplies (& beer) from the nearby supermarket, we hit the beach, setup our makeshift camp, & collected fire wood before the sun set. We were then faced with the ordeal of combatting v.strong winds in order to get the BBQ going. Needless to say: where there is a will...there is a way!

During the night the sea level came within 10ft of our sleeping bags, although thankfully no nearer! It wasn't the most comfortable surface, but it was amazing to sleep so close to the ocean in such a natural setting.
The next day we drove up the West coast to Paradise Cove, which is four man made swimming coves - all with backing hotels (nice ones!) These are the postcard Hawaii resorts...very nice, but quite stereotypical & plastic.

Having returned our jeep, we caught the bus to Pearl City - which is where Pearl Harbour is located. We got to see the memorials for all of the submarine crews lost in WWII, S.S.Boudin (below left) submarine & the Missouri (below right).

We also visited the Pacific Aviation Museum, on Ford island, although it wasn't really worth the admission price - the submarines & ships were the thing to see! It was on the Missouri that the WWII peace treaty was signed, indicating the end of the war. Very interesting, in my opinion at least!

Having conquered the best that Oaho has to offer, we set off on a 1 hour flight to Hawaii's "big" island, in order to see some real Hawaii. We landed in Hilo, which is the islands' capital, to be greeted with a run down (practically falling down) & dirty town. Only when we read up that the place had been demolished by a 500mph Tsunami wave, did we understand & give the place a break.

We bought enough food for the week (fruit & pasta mainly = cheap) before waiting for our hostel shuttle to arrive. An old VW arrived, driven by the hostel manager - Mojo. Mojo explained about the hippie culture of "Puna" - the SE area of the island we were located in. The principle of the hostel is in keeping with that of the land...reuse, recycle & no waste. The hostel could not be closer to this philosophy - as all of the huts were made out of whatever materials were available at the time of construction. Our huts walls were made out of the side of a tractor, one large fly net, bamboo sticks & a sheet of old tents sown together! Very unique indeed! (pic left)

The showers & toilet were located outside (pic right), powered by renewable energy, & there was a large recycle centre for all hostel residents too. The only problems with this jungle utopia setting was the damp (jungles in the rainy season get very damp!) & the mosquitoes! You wouldn't believe how tasty us English are to Hawaiian mozzies.

In our four days on the big island we went and checked out the vast lava fields, & a lot of the coastline. It is incredible to see how much of the land has previously been consumed by lava flow, & how life has managed to survive in spite of this. Getting around the island was made a lot easier by hitch hiking - which is the done thing in a hippie district (it takes no more that 10mins of thumb action to get lucky)

We visited some warm pools (pic right), which were heated by the volcano rock beneath them. The pools turned out to be more luke warm - as a result of them being fed by the sea & the fact that it is actually winter in Hawaii at this time.

We spent one whole day dedicated to the Volcano. We caught a ride (1&1/2hrs) to the Volcano's craters & walked across the floor of one of them (the one that wasn't spewing out molten lava!). It was breath taking. I, however, forgot my camera that day - so you will have to wait for those pictures off of Smally. I did remember my camera when we went to the Lava flow viewing point that night - which was spectacular! The amout of steam coming off of the ocean at the entry point was awesome, even from a distance of 2miles (restricted for safety). Hawaii hasn't had a full on explosion for over 25 years, so they are due one any day. Pretty cool.

I would strongly recommend to anyone visiting Hawaii to check out other islands, other than the commerical Oaho & it's capital Honolulu, because only then do you get a real feel for the landscape, the people & the lifestyle. It is clear to see why so many people are content living the simple life in these beautiful surroundings.

Fiji next...

written by

johnnoble on February 11, 2009 from Hawaiian Beaches, United States

from the travel blog: John's year off...

Send a Compliment

I think I speak for myself and Mr Spindlow here when I ask: Have Smally's body boarding 'skills' improved since Newquay?

written by Dave Pritchard on February 13, 2009

I think Betty and Trevor would have been very good friends :-)

written by Erin on February 17, 2009

comment on this...