Nothing to say, just the photo
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Our first stop on our trip to Hawaii was the island of Oahu. For us Australians, we don’t have many flight choices other than to land at Honolulu. This island was also to be our final destination as well. The flight from Sydney to Honolulu was a 10 hour red-eye, and thank goodness that the Pok (AKA my son) slept for a good portion of the trip. This also meant that he got into the Hawaiian islands timezone straight away. My parents were travelling with us as the raison d’être for the trip was my youngest brother’s wedding. They sat in the row behind us on the flight and it was great having another set of “babysitters”. I didn’t realise that this was also the first time that my father had been to the United States, so it was all going to be new for him. As we came into land, I was surprised at how high the lush green mountain ridge line looming on the Northern end of Honolulu was. We arrived at Hawaii!
Oahu is probably the island I knew the most about, having seen many photos, TV shows, and movies all based around Honolulu and Waikiki. But my strangest familiarity was from the taxi ride to our hotel at the Western end of Waikiki. I was familiar with the roads, from a computer game of all things. Back in 2007 there was a game released for the original Playstation Portable called “Test Drive Unlimited”, which was set on the island of Oahu. Not only was this game set on the island, but it was accurate with the road layout gained from satellite map data coupled with the lane widths and intersections. It was a very weird sense of deja vu. We arrived early to our hotel on the first day and that gave us the opportunity to ease into Waikiki. Lunch at a bar on Waikiki which had all of its doors and windows gloriously open to the outdoors would set the tone for the next two and a half weeks. And there were gardens EVERYWHERE, with flowers of all kinds in bloom. This got my son quite excited as he had been looking forward to seeing a “hula hibiscus” that Minnie Mouse searches for in an episode of the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (if you are a parent of a two year old you will understand).
The first place that we stayed at was the Ilikai Hotel and Suites, which is where the opening scenes to the original Hawaii Five-O were filmed – you know the one where the camera zooms into Jack Lord standing on the balcony. You can hire that suite if you want, but it will cost you. Unfortunately Jack Lord was nowhere to be seen.
It is an old hotel by the rest of the Waikiki residential standards, but a good portion of the suites have been updated to modern standards so we were quite happy with where we stayed. It is located on the Western side of the Waikiki beach strip, but a great location for anyone with families as there is a very large lagoon within a quick walk out the back of the hotel that is safe for children to safely swim in without any fear of being wiped out by a wave. From here you are also within walking distance to many of the shops and restaurants including the Ala Moana shopping mall. Below was the view from our balcony at around half an hour after sunset.
A night with Friends in Oahu
Our first night in Oahu was to be spent with an old work colleague Shannon from Sydney (well originally she is from New Zealand), who met the man of her dreams Dave who is in the US Army and has been posted in Hawaii for a few years now. They were set to depart on return to the mainland in a couple of days for Dave’s next posting. Shannon and Dave to my wife and I on a drive to the South Western side of the island near Ko Olina to watch the sun set over the ocean and grab a great bite to eat. We had a fun night telling stories and talking about old adventures. Dave gave us plenty of tips for our trip, and provided me with more items to add to the travel bucket list – more for next time. For Shannon, the move was going to be a big change but she was looking forward to it with optimism and happiness. Thanks guys for the wonderful night out and hopefully we will catch up with you again in the future on the mainland.
Surfing Longboard on Waikiki
While at Waikiki, I told my wife that I had to try my hand at a long board and hit the surf. I woke up early one of the morning and headed out to the beach. There were already a load of surfers out past the break. This was to be the second time I had tried my hand at surfing, but I have had years of experience on a body board in the Sydney surf. But I didn’t realise how out of practice my paddling muscles were. I picked up a 10 foot board and paddled out through the break. A big board is a big piece to get moving, and I underestimated how much energy I would need to catch the waves. 30 minutes into my 1 hour hire I was totally shattered. I had caught onto three waves by that stage, but hadn’t stood up. The first time I stood up, I wobbled and then proceeded to fall backwards into the water. The second time I stood up I was too far back and lasted maybe 5 seconds before falling off the back of the board, while it continued in the broken surf for another 25m or so. The third time I nailed it! I got up and was planted and it was AWESOME! I rode the wave for maybe 15 seconds before the wave petered out and I dived off the board. I managed to catch one more wave but my energy was totally sapped. Seven waves in all in a 1 – 2 foot swell. I was chuffed but totally exhausted. When a couple of the locals saw me walking back in my board shorts they nodded the greetings of the morning, all I could return back was the shaka sign and a big grin.
Waikiki Beach
It may not be the best beach in the world, but it is certainly one of the most famous. And it has got a lot going for it with surf, snorkeling, dining, and shops all nearby. We spent a few days laid out on the beach soaking up the sun and a couple of nights eating by beach side. The second place we stayed at was the Outrigger Reef Hotel and it has a great restaurant, the Shore Bird Restaurant & Beach Bar, located right on the beach with views to Diamond Head. You get to cook your own steak and feast on an assortment of buffet goodies. I had an interesting experience where a couple of drunk (more like hammered) freeloading girls tried to waltz up to the grill and steal my steak and ribs – to which the restaurant staff quickly evicted them.
Very weird.
With the Diamond Head volcano in the distance and great sunset views, it is hard not to like Waikiki. It is easy to be a holiday maker here.
And our boy loved digging up big holes in the beach for him to jump into and request to be buried. This resulted in sand getting into him everywhere, which is an interesting experience when cleaning up your child. He discovered a discarded yellow spade that would end up coming with us on the rest of the trip. When I explained to him that Diamond Head was a volcano, he was a bit confused. This would come in handy later in the trip for when he played up and I would threaten to throw him into the volcano. This is still working for the moment.
If you are lucky, you might chance an impromptu hula show encouraging you to attend the many Luaus that are present at the hotels and resorts. My son was giddy with excitement when he saw the performers dancing and proceeded to shake his hips. He was having a good time already, and nothing makes me happier than seeing him happy.
Even the evenings on Waikiki are special
Honolulu was the base for us to journey to Pearl Harbor, but that is for the following post. For now, I am going to keep unpacking the bags and get settled back into normal life. Missing Hawaii already, but in Honolulu I got the chance to knock off two of my travel bucket list items for the trip.
It has been a few weeks now disconnected and on vacation in Hawaii. What a trip it was! We saw and did some amazing things while there, and got to enjoy my brother and now sister-in-law’s wedding. I arrived back in Sydney yesterday afternoon to dreary weather and now rain soaked streets – so I am already in the throngs of travel withdrawal. My wife has said that I turned to being grumpy on the plane, she noticed the withdrawal in action.
The Pok (AKA my son) had a great time, and even the turbulent landing into Sydney airport cheered him up. While he slept for a good portion of the 10+ hour trip, he was wide awake and itching in his chair for the last 2 hours of the trip. When we hit our holding pattern over Sydney and were getting jolted around, the Pok started squealing giddily like a 2 year old does in excitement. Every time the jolting eased up, he would yell “can we do it again?” After about the 10th time, I told him he had to ask the captain of the plane – to which he responded at the top of his voice “Captain, can we do it again?” At least it calmed the nerves of all the passengers within 20 rows of us who don’t like turbulence.
BTW – if any parent is wondering what that special seatbelt thing is around him, it is a CARES harness and it was awesome. My wife bought it from a mother in Honolulu who children had outgrown it and it fits over the seat , but within the space of the tray on the back of the seat. It is FAA approved and he seemed reasonably content with it. There were only two catches to it; it doesn’t provide much head support when your little one drops off to sleep, and we were lucky that I had my parents behind us (otherwise it would have taken some negotiation with the air crew and the passengers immediately behind your child to install it). And yes, he stole my wife’s noise cancelling headphones.
We are definitely going back to Hawaii. I didn’t knock off everything on the travel bucket list, and discovered a whole lot more. Sure Honolulu is a tourist kitsch destination, but if all your holiday is to stay in a hotel and roast on Waikiki beach then you have fallen into the trap. There was so much to do just in Honolulu, but the best was getting away from the city and Oahu island.
For today, while I download all my photos and video this post is going to finish off with this sunset (to remember the many others that I will miss over the ocean). Well worth the 20 hours of flying.
The ANZAC Bridge is Sydney Harbour’s other bridge. It is the one that is often forgotten by the tourists, but equally important in keeping Sydney moving. In my opinion it is an engineering beauty whose elegance lies in its myriad of cable stays and it’s two sentient towers. The area in which the bridge is situated holds lots of Sydney’s working history, with the old sandstone quarries being located on the Pyrmont side (East) and one of the many old dockyards surrounding the harbour foreshore being located on the Rozelle side (West). For many American GIs posted to the Pacific Theatre in World War II, they would have departed from Sydney in boats docked near where the Western footings now stand.
The weather this last weekend has been pretty much rubbish, but at sunset on both days the heavens opened up and provided a spectacular sky show with the ANZAC bridge as its star. Come to think of it, the weather this Summer has just been bizarre – and I think there may be another heatwave coming our way later this month. Both my Canon EOS 400D SLR and Canon Powershot G15 came out for a play and here are the results. As usual all the photos link through to larger images on my Flickr photostream.
The last shot is of the cycle path that loops around on itself on the Pyrmont side to bring you up to the height of the bridge deck. I have ridden this too many times to count. If you are interested in going for a walk to the bridge you can find it at the location below on Google Maps. Make sure you stop at the Sydney Fish Markets for a bit to eat while you are at it as well.
I have recently been travelling to Melbourne for work quite a bit. In fact, I have been to Melbourne so many times that I have lost count – and the number of trips would easily number over 200. As a Sydney-sider I find it awkward to say that I love Melbourne. It is a totally different city to Sydney, in the same way that Los Angeles is to New York or Toronto is to Montreal. I love going there, and I love visiting family and friends that I have down there too. The client that I am working for is based in the Docklands, and it is interesting to hear what the locals think about the precinct. Empty, soulless, heartless, dead are adjectives that I have heard numerous times in describing the new modern construction going up all around.
So I decided to see what my perspective would be through the lens. I took my new trusty Canon Powershot G15 to see if I could put it through its paces and what I decided to focus on in the end were some of the fascinating patterns that the modern architecture and buildings presented. There have been huge leaps in building construction since I left university over 15 years ago, and the new materials and manufacturing processes mean that architects and engineers can produce patterns in exterior cladding that were just not possible before (or more correctly cost viable – the Sydney Opera House being a perfect example). So here is what I found. The strange thing is that in some ways, these patterns remind me of the skins of reptiles – but made of metal and glass.
BTW – All the photos link through to the larger images on my Flickr page.
My photo excursion was beautifully ended with a spectacularly dusk setting over the unusually calm Docklands with a crescent moon over the water. I love the colour of the sky in this last shot – no Photoshop necessary!
My next photo excursion down in Melbourne will probably involve either two wheels or the myriad of cool sculptures that grace the city.
Something for Kiki and the Pok 