Oahu, Hawaii

Oahu, Hawaii

ALOHA, HAWAII!

Thanks to Jetstar Australia, we were jetting off from the southern to the northern hemisphere to explore a new part of the world – the Americas. The trip was made possible when I received an email titled ‘Friday Fare Frenzy’ that Jetstar tempt me with every Friday evening. Booking this impulse trip for less than $300 one way Sydney to Honolulu led to more adventures that you can continue reading about below:.

As the plane came in for landing, I was completely in shock at what looked like a city below me and nothing of what I had imagined. Coming from an island like Rarotonga in the Cook Islands, where you can drive around the whole island on the one road in under an hour, I imagined Hawaii to be somewhat similar. Oahu is huge and very much developed but this place is beautiful and an added bonus of both city & island life. My biggest recommendation in Hawaii is to hire a car. It’s the best way to see the whole island from the North Shore, to the East & West coast and everything in between. As our friends Mitch & Kiah were under 21, they weren’t able to hire a car so we upgraded to a Jeep Wrangler for almost the same price & started our drive to the North Shore.

Ke Iki Beach Bungalows on the North Shore of Oahu is where we spent our two weeks, a self-contained apartment with garden views only short steps to the beach. We relaxed in hammocks on the beach out the front of palm-fringed bungalows, affected by jet lag but enjoying the sea breeze as we awaited check-in. Staying a few beaches from Pipeline, it was amazing watching the huge waves & Hawaiian dare devils surf them.

Famous for it’s giant shore dumping waves, we visited Waimea Bay. Across the road is Waimea Valley where a beautiful walk through the forest led us to the waterfall. On the drive home we stopped by a random beach, easily identified by all the cars parked on the side of the road. So many Hawaiian green sea turtles were swimming in the shores and lying on the beach – It wasn’t until this holiday that we all fell in love with them!

Driving around the whole island, we visited Wet n Wild & saw massive waves crash right on the shores of the east coast. Explored the west coast where it felt like a scene from Jurassic Park & enjoyed the views of Chinaman’s Hat. Did a self-guided walk of Pearl Harbour, went to a Hawaiian Gun club, walked Diamond Head Crater, ate plenty of Taco Bell and visited the famous Waikiki beach. This beach really is as pretty as the photos make it out to be!

Picking a spot on the sand to relax, Wade head to a nearby shack to hire a stand up paddle board. Kiah & I decided to hire a long board. The boards were so huge, the only way we could get them to the water was by dragging them! Before we knew it we were out the back on Waikiki beach yelling out to Wade as we realised how big the waves were (to us anyway). Wade heard us yelling & was amazed that we were so far out, laughing that we didn’t even have our leg ropes attached! It was such a fun afternoon catching waves & getting dumped by them.

One thing you can’t miss is snorkelling with wild sea turtles in the beautiful Hanauma Bay! This marine preserve is rated 1 of the top 10 snorkelling spots in the world and there’s good reason for it. From memory, entry is $7 and parking is around $1 which is a fair price to pay for this paradise snorkelling spot. Before entering, an introductory video of the bay is mandatory to watch and learn about the sea life & the coral you are about to encounter and how it should be treated. It’s roughly a 4 minute walk downhill to the beach with the option of a tram ride if you’re feeling lazy.

The first day was overcast as we snorkelled in the cold waters. In order to see the real beauty of the amazing coral and wildlife, you have to snorkel past the reef as unfortunately most of the coral is dead before you reach the outer reef. It’s sad to see so many people stepping and touching the coral even after watching the intro video.

Out the back, the water drops off. Really deep. And I was a little scared to swim past the reef, especially when the water was so cold. I swam back to the beach, glad to be in the warmth of my towel as my friends swam on. I was absolutely devastated as my friends came back after snorkelling with huge sea turtles!

I convinced them to go back the next day & collected some courage to swim out past the reef, boyfriend in hand. It helped that the sun was shining today so the water was warm & it was the best experience ever! All the different colours, corals and fish, the best by far were the turtles! They are such amazing creatures as I swum amongst them it felt so peaceful.

I’m not the biggest fan of American food but I have to say that along the north shore, the shrimp trucks are amazing! I think we ate at one almost every day. The seafood always tasted fresh, even though it was served out the back of a dodgy looking campervan! We found a food truck close to our bungalow – I wish I could remember the name. The shop owner was from South America and made these amazing spinach and cheese wontons. We also ordered a Acai bowl – A berry from South America that he used to make a smoothy, so delicious! .

After 12 amazing days in Hawaii our last day sadly came. Our friends’ flight was at 0800 and being an international flight, we had to drop them off 2 hours before. We said our farewells at the airport as it would be the last time we saw our friends until we returned home from our adventures at the end of July. Starting the day early, we drove to Makapuu Point and walked the lighthouse track – the views from the top were absolutely breathtaking! It was such a beautiful day as whales breached out of the water in the distance.

We didn’t quite make it to the lighthouse as we were running late. We booked a Seal Lion Encounter & Dolphin Swim at the Sea Life Park, Hawaii. Such an experience! Back in Waikiki, we enjoyed our last huge meal in Hawaii at California Pizza Kitchen before heading to the airport for our flight that departed at 20:30 to a destination I have always wanted to visit… ALASKA!