7. Hawaii Five-0.
Overnight the ship made the short hop from Hilo to Honolulu, the largest city of Ohau and capital of the State of Hawaii. It's a big, bustling, high rise city and a complete contrast to our previous port of call and also with Pearl Harbour just along the coast, a bit of a pilgrimage for many Americans. With no excursions booked, but with a definite plan in mind we watched the sunrise as the ship sailed in and after breakfast caught a shuttle to the downtown area.
Once there we bought tickets for the hop on hop off bus and journeyed out to Diamond Head, an extinct volcano which dominates the eastern end of the city suburbs. It would have taken a couple of hours to hike to the lookout point at the top of the crater rim so we decided not to do the walk and make better use of our time. We stayed aboard the bus, just sightseeing, for ether remainder of the loop before getting off where we had started and finding a spot of lunch.
Once refreshed we headed across the wide boulevard which runs along the length of Waikiki beach and took a few steps onto the famous sand, just watching locals and tourists alike enjoying the water. A groin which has been built offshore protects the beach from most of the waves so further out the surfers were riding small but clean, waves whilst closer in the swimmers could swim in safety in a calm, natural swimming pool. We didn't venture in, it was just too busy and besides we had other things we needed to do.
One of those other things was to buy an Aloha (otherwise known as an Hawaiian) shirt as everyone in Hawaii (and I mean everyone, it's a way of life), wears them. Needless to say that every other store sold them so one is spoiled for choice, and in the end I plumped for something in midnight blue with tropical overtones of palm trees, outriggers and volcanic islands. Very fetching it is too.
We strolled along Waikiki beach boulevard which is lined with high rise hotels and every high end designer label store that you can think of. This was, of course, thirsty work and a tasting paddle from the Maui Brewery Company bar provided welcome relief.
In order to get back to the ship we took a second hop on hop off bus route which took us to the more historical parts of Honolulu and also included panoramic city views from the Punchbowl Memorial Park, the largest cemetery in the Pacific as well as brief stops at several filming locations from the ever popular cop show, Hawaii Five-0.
We got back on board just in time for a quick change and freshen up before going to watch a local dance school give a hula dancing display in the Princess Theatre. Although they were mainly older teenage girls, the show was stolen by the little 5 and 6 year olds who danced their hulas perfectly. I have no idea how many times the girls perform their routines for the cruise ships but there is no other word for it, they were simply enchanting and received a deserved standing ovation.
So, in the immortal words of Hawaii Five-0's Jack Lord, if anyone is considering hiring the troupe, don't hesitate, just book 'em Danno!
Once there we bought tickets for the hop on hop off bus and journeyed out to Diamond Head, an extinct volcano which dominates the eastern end of the city suburbs. It would have taken a couple of hours to hike to the lookout point at the top of the crater rim so we decided not to do the walk and make better use of our time. We stayed aboard the bus, just sightseeing, for ether remainder of the loop before getting off where we had started and finding a spot of lunch.
Once refreshed we headed across the wide boulevard which runs along the length of Waikiki beach and took a few steps onto the famous sand, just watching locals and tourists alike enjoying the water. A groin which has been built offshore protects the beach from most of the waves so further out the surfers were riding small but clean, waves whilst closer in the swimmers could swim in safety in a calm, natural swimming pool. We didn't venture in, it was just too busy and besides we had other things we needed to do.
One of those other things was to buy an Aloha (otherwise known as an Hawaiian) shirt as everyone in Hawaii (and I mean everyone, it's a way of life), wears them. Needless to say that every other store sold them so one is spoiled for choice, and in the end I plumped for something in midnight blue with tropical overtones of palm trees, outriggers and volcanic islands. Very fetching it is too.
We strolled along Waikiki beach boulevard which is lined with high rise hotels and every high end designer label store that you can think of. This was, of course, thirsty work and a tasting paddle from the Maui Brewery Company bar provided welcome relief.
In order to get back to the ship we took a second hop on hop off bus route which took us to the more historical parts of Honolulu and also included panoramic city views from the Punchbowl Memorial Park, the largest cemetery in the Pacific as well as brief stops at several filming locations from the ever popular cop show, Hawaii Five-0.
We got back on board just in time for a quick change and freshen up before going to watch a local dance school give a hula dancing display in the Princess Theatre. Although they were mainly older teenage girls, the show was stolen by the little 5 and 6 year olds who danced their hulas perfectly. I have no idea how many times the girls perform their routines for the cruise ships but there is no other word for it, they were simply enchanting and received a deserved standing ovation.
So, in the immortal words of Hawaii Five-0's Jack Lord, if anyone is considering hiring the troupe, don't hesitate, just book 'em Danno!
Comments
Post a Comment