Hawaii - Day 8 (O'ahu)

Our last full day in Hawaii. This time we took a road trip south and west. First stop was Diamond Head, so called because it sparkles like a diamond. Sadly they are not real diamonds, just calcite crystals embedded in the rock.

Waikiki Beach and Honolulu

Diamond Head was used as an Artillery Observation Post in 1908. Relics still remain like this observation bunker.

Old Artillery Observation Post - Daimond Head

From the car park inside the near perfect circular crater, the trail to the summit takes about 2 hours. It passes through parts of the old artillery fortifications. A flashlight is handy for the tunnel sections.

Switchbacks inside Diamond Head Crater

After Diamond Head we drove along the southern coastal road around the island. The seas were rougher on the south but beaches were few and far between.

Breaking Waves

A lone ligthhouse watches over the rugged south coast.

Lone Lighthouse

After driving around the southern coast we cut back across the island to Honolulu and went for a obligatory swim at Waikiki beach. I took the waterproof Olympus camera for a swim too.

Hnonlulu and Daimond Head

Later that night I took a few long exposure night shots of Honolulu from our hotel.

Honolulu

That's it from Hawaii. We fly back to Japan early tomorrow morning. Just one short week here. However it's a fascinating place that I would like to come back to some day. Etsuko really wants to visit Maui next time.

Hawaii - Day 7 (O'ahu)

Today was our first day to look around O'ahu Island. We have two days here so we chose to take a road trip around the north and west half of the island.

Cutting straight across the island from Honolulu, our first stop was Byodo-in Temple in the Valley of Temples. It's actually a 3/4 size recreation of a temple in Japan. I've seen the original in Kyoto but this one is much more colourful. This temple also features on the Japanese 10 yen coin.

Reconstructed Byodo-in Temple - Hawaii

After that, we took a drive around the coast line heading to the world class north shore surfing beaches. It's a bit flat for surfing today. Apparently the big waves develop from winter storms to the north.

Tropical Hawaiian Waters

Apart from the beaches, the mountains that make up Hawaii are fantastic, rugged yet green.

Rugged Green Mountains

There are plenty of rocky outcrops along the coast. Still no big waves though.

Rocky Coastline

Some volcanic rock pools. The inner area is shallow enough for some good snorkeling and there were a few divers on the seaside too.

Rock Pools

Some locals were enjoying the rock pools on a hot afternoon.

Hawaiian Children Playing Around

I spend an hour or two swimming around in these rock pools and then watched the sun set.

Hawaiian Sunset

Hawaii - Day 6

Today was our last day on the Big Island. Our flight to O'ahu was in the afternoon so we had the morning for some last minute sightseeing.

We spent the morning at the Pu'ukohola Heiau National Historic Site. To get there we crossed some older lava flows that are starting to regenerate. It'll be another few hundred years before this volcanic rock breaks down enough for farming though.

The Pu'ukohola Heiau (temple) that was converted into a fortress to protect the harbour below.

Pu'ukohola Temple Fortress

After that we visited another historic site that contains thousands of ancient petroglyphs. The original meaning of all these carvings has been lost to antiquity.

Hawaiian Petroglyphs

Some interesting plant foliage along the coast of Hawaii near where we stopped for lunch.

Hawaiian Vegitation

Finally the hour of our flight back to O'hau arrived.

Leaving the Big Island

Our adventure is not over yet. We still have two days to look around O'hau.

After checking into our new hotel we headed down to Waikiki beach. A statue to Hawaii's most famous sportsman stands at the entrance to the beach. He's a 5 times Olympic swimming medalist and credited with the spread of surfing world wide.

Statue of Duke Kahanamoku

While watching the sun go down we watched a free performance of the hula dance.

Hula Dancers