Here are a list of the few things we are doing while we are in Oahu!
On the 12th we are taking a day tour of o'ahu. I figured this was a good way for Brad and I to see as much of O'ahu as we could in our brief stay. We will be seeing just some of the following:
Diamond head crater...the best lookout point in all of Hawaii where you can see around the whole island.
Halona Blowhole
Waimanalo where Hawaiin Homesteads are
Nuuanu Pali lookout on the windward side of Oahu
Byodo-In Temple
Dole Pineapple Plantation
We did get to see all of the above and more! It was a great way to tour a whole island in a short time. The tour guide gave us a good history of everything we saw, and the history and mythology of the island and its people. He also talked a bit about the politics of Hawaii, in terms of its native peoples. Right there it was worth it because Brad got the history, I got the politics and we both got the scenery...which was amazing! The day we went it was overcast and rained off and on, so we couldn't have chosen a better day to sit in a bus. There were enough stops that you didn't get tired either. The Pali point was amazing! ANd if I can figure out how to upload some video I have some clips I took with the digital camera. It was really interesting to learn that the rainforests on Oahu were all hand planted. Because the islands were formed by volcanoes there was no native vegitation, other than a bit of scrub that grew from seeds from bird feces. They planted the rainforest to stop the erosion of the islands and to collect all of the rain water. Its really neat because you'll see these extravagent vines and palm trees you expect in a rainforest right next to firs and norfolk pines that you would find in South Dakota!
And who can forget Pearl Harbour & Waikiki!
One of the first things we knew we wanted to see when we found out we were going to Hawaii was Pearl Harbour. The history is right up Brad's alley and its the only place he's set on seeing. I too think it will be neat to see a part of history. We hope to do a tour of the sunken boat, etc.
The interesting thing about Pearl Harbour was that for such a huge tourist trap is was very poorly organized! In fact, we skipped out on most of it! The area is pretty and you can go in and walk through a museum and through some old battleship parts and stuff. But when you first get there they hand you a ticket and don't really explain to you what its for...they just told us in about an hour our number would be up. So we went and stood in line. It was only after asking someone that we found out that the ticket number told you what tour group you were in. When it was up, you would watch a 20 min video on Pearl Harbour and then board the boat that took you to the actual memorial. Our number was 15. Number 8 was up. How did they expect it to only be an hour before our number was up if the video takes 20 min??? By calculation that would be over 2 hours. So we toured the free roaming museum area and went over to the submarine. See there's three areas to visit...the USS Arizona Memorial, The Battleship Missouri and the Submarine which was the USS something fin...bluefin maybe? I've forgotten...anyway, that's what we did. We went through it using the audio tour. I couldn't believe how small it was...no wonder seamen always look so small..I had to duck everywhere I went, let alone anyone bigger than me! The navy museum that was there too was pretty good. Very informative and they have a mock ballistic missle there that was neat to see. It talked a lot about the culture too. So all in all, it was worth it, once we knew what was going on.
And what would a trip to Hawaii be without exploring the most famous beach in the world. Or without watching a sunset there! So excited!
It was beautiful. Amazing. Wow! The sun rises at 5am, so we were up every morning bright and early. I couldn't believe how many people were int he water already! And we couldn't believe how quick it gets dark. Sunsets are literally 10 seconds! But we didn't spend much time there. We went to the international market place. Cheap great souvineers, but its like they repeat the same 10 stores 50 times over...typical tourist trap, but it keeps them off the beach!
Oahu was very busy and city like. Not calming at all. But it was great to be able to sit out on a dec in October drinking slushie drinks and watching hockey! That was great! The wildlife is so different there too! It was amazing! And everyone thinks they have the right to a bikini and that's just wrong! But at the same time its not like all inclusive resorts. No one is walking around in beach coverups and bathing suits. They wear shorts, jeans, t-shirts, typical canadian summerwear really.
