Hawaii - Helicopters, Coffee and Beach...and the Best Ice Cream!

Ahhh, Hawaii. Sometimes, you just don’t have enough time to blog. And to be fair, I was just too darned tired yesterday. It was so worth it. 

We began the day with an exceptionally early day. Paradise Helicopter Tours was calling and we were there bright and early for our pre-flight check in. Once through the check, we hooked up our life vests and clambered into the helicopter. I got a window seat for taking pictures and settled into my headset. It was an awesome trip with a very conversational guide. The best parts were having a gorgeously clear day, even over Hilo. The lava was flowing in fire and rivers, and the valley views were amazing. The copter weaved around the flows, and into the waterfalls before landing in the valley for a stop along a river. Just fabulous!

After the tour, we drove south to see the painted church, and to visit Greenwell Coffee Farm. There, we had a phenomenal  tour where we learned about coffee growth, pea berries, coffee berries, roasting and macadamia nuts. The company was also clever enough to offer tastings so then we wound up buying some to take home. From there, I realized that we were close to the Captain Cook monument and a bay that was supposedly great for seeing dolphins. The view of the monument was amazing, but the view of the dolphins was non-existent. 

Coming back up the shoreline, we arrived back at the resort for a swimming session and chill out session. That led to sleeping in drastically so today became a beach day. Since we drove the Island at length, we really hadn’t seen anything better than Beach 69 so we went  back. This time, the group of us turned to the left and found refuge under a cloudy sky and some trees. The water was warm and the surf was a lot calmer. The towels were set out and then I grabbed my snorkeling gear and waded in. The fish were abundant and so colorful in and around the coral. There were sea urchins and large anemones.  However, I had heart failure when on my third go, I was about a foot away from the coral when a turtle decided to swim between me and the coral. The turtles are protected with a no touch rule and well they know it! I scrambled away as best I could, but it was a near thing and I was breathless on reaching the shore. 

Best thing about this beach? (The worst is that it is mentioned as one of the best beaches in the guide so everyone will find it.) The shade, the fish, the turtles, warm water, sand and black sand, interesting drift wood, friendly residents, close to Kona…

Seeing whales breech out of the water on the horizon. It was amazing. 

However, days come to a close. We finished the day by driving in tandem around the northern tip of the island. We found the wind farm and then pulled into Hawi where the guide book says you have to stop at Tropical Dream for ice cream. It is handmade on the island. Might I say that the guide book was so correct? Coffee chocolate chip ice cream in a waffle cone has to be tasted. Yummy.  From there, we drove through the views along the mountain road to Waimea where the children ran around this incredible wooden harry potterish playground before heading back to town very late. This island suits me…yes it does!

Lanikai on Dwellable

Hawaii: Beach Day

Sometimes there are days when you want to do nothing much of anything. The perfect place to do that in Hawaii is Beach 69. And so it was when we got there. There were a few delays, but once out there on the sand, playing in the surf and being joined by a proverbial turtle. Life was good. Once done at the beach, we headed back into town, stopping at a lava tube, an historic site and the pier to watch the fish. Not much to write about, but a good day.

To get to beach 69, you have to find Puako Road, turn onto that and two first rights and you are there. Lovely.

(But there is a story here that I am not committing to blog post as my mother will not be amused. And yes, I know she will read this, but there are some stories that shouldn't be blogged and this is one of those.)

Kamuela on Dwellable

Hawaii: Cowboys and Waterfalls

First off, yes, I mean cowboys. Real live cowboys complete with chaps, bull riding skills, lassos and horses that trek over the gorgeous countryside. The scenery was delightful in the sunshine. And yes, I am still in Hawaii. One of the things that I like to do while on holiday is to find the unexpected. Our family also has a tradition of finding trail rides or horse type experiences. At the Dahana Ranch, I found our Hawaiian horse adventure.

To get there from Kona meant driving up Island then across Waimea to get to the ranch. Thank goodness for Ipad directions or I would have been sunk as it isn't well signed as essentially it is a working ranch. Oh, I should mention that we stopped in Waimea and it had a phenomenal little village, beautifully kept with some amazing shops that were closed because it was Sunday. Starbucks was open and that was all I needed to keep me going. I was highly entertained by the decorative paniolo (cowboy) and the paniolo boot. It was like being around Calgary but on a much smaller and dare I say, prettier scale?

We drove up to the front and found the office. No one was there. It was a bit disconcerting, but there were cats and dogs to pet and love, so the girls did that while I ferreted out the paperwork and filled it out. Still no one came. It was almost 11 before we heard the clipping clopping of the horses and saw people coming back from a ride. Ahhhh....he was working alone today as it was Sunday.

We were introduced to our horses, and had a clear lesson on how to ride the horses. Fortunately, he was able to lead both girls so I was free to ride to my hearts content. You see, this was NOT a trail ride. This was a ride over the hills of the ranch, around the cattle and other horses. It was a lesson in how to ride a horse that was a working horse. Absolutely no following a trail nor following another horse. You had to be in charge of your mount. I  had Sammy and Sammy suited me well. We got to canter and/or trot. Amazing. I loved this experience and would recommend it to anyone that wants something different from Hawaii.

Dahana Ranch Office

Bouncy the horse

Since we were out that way and the clouds were down, it was off waterfall hunting. We found Waipou Valley, Unauma Falls, Akaka Falls and Rainbow Falls. The downfall was at Akaka Falls. There was this incredible bakery that had Mr. Ed inside. Who is Mr. Ed? He is the maker of jams, marmalades, spreads (the Kona Coffee Spread...a party on the taste buds...sigh) and he will ship them to you. He has everything homemade in his little shop and well...there were over 100 varieties. He just likes to play with Fruit. From the waterfalls, the Saddle Road beckons and we had some magnificent views over the landscape including snow on the peak. For the record, I have no idea why the road is considered bad. It was paved and easy to navigate. It does get as narrow as an English country road, but it is in good nick.

Unauma Falls

Akaka Falls in the pouring rain

Rainbow Falls in the heavy cloud of Hilo

Snow on the Summit seen from Saddle Road

I should also mention that this was the road trip where shop fronts managed to really make me laugh. I will leave you with the signs...I am still laughing.

Hilo on Dwellable

Hawaii: Polynesian Cultural Center

Sleep...my whole self wants sleep. However, if I don't journal the experience before bed, it will escape and elude me as first impressions often do. This is a day that must be blogged while fresh.

It was a later start today, which was awesome. The coffee shop at the base of the hotel is starting to know exactly how I like my morning beverages and have given us the frequent flyer card to boot. Maybe this is becoming a habit. They can even make me a delicious London Fog. But because of my habit, I still managed to nearly miss the bus. I made it by the skin of my teeth. The buses wait for no one, especially if they are on time. In fact, as we pulled out of Aloha Landing on time, I was rather puzzled as every other thing has been late. All became clear when we realized our tour guide was in fact from New Zealand. He knew what a clock was.

The bus ride to the Polynesian Cultural Center takes about an hour. During this hour trip, the tour guide (Germaine) didn't stop talking. We saw scenes from movies like 50 first dates, and scenes from Lost. Ocean views, tunnels and the Chinese Hat. He was humerous and informative. Anyway, we had the advantage of being the first tour bus into the parking lot. So, we departed the bus.

Now, he had strongly recommended upgrading to the guided tour. We did that as it included lunch. The buffet lunch was amazing, I have to say. Then, we were led to demonstration after demonstration. Now, for the family visiting you need to know that all the shows are fabulous and with the guide, you see as much as possible. The downside is that there is no time (by which I mean zero time) to explore things on your own. Unless of course, you are me. I cocked a wary eye at the guide and gauged my time to slip off to the tattooing stations, explored a couple of buildings, took my eldest to climb a coconut tree and so on. But those were NOT scheduled into the program and it was only by my determination to get my girls a more hands on experience that it worked.

Music demonstration...banging da bamboo

Tahiti

Escaping for a tattoo

Men do the cooking...he's making coconut bread (so delicious!)

Canoe Parade

By the end of the day, we had seen the Canoe Parade, and shows at Tahiti, Fiji, New Zealand, Samoa and Hawaii stations. We had wandered all over the map. I should also note that there were no refreshment breaks or bathroom breaks on the tours for kids. I had smuggled some stuff out of the buffet and purchased a bottle of water for $3.13. Then, we went for a canoe ride and to the luau show. Very cool and yummy. After that, we went to wander the market place and then to the main show. Breath of Life is absolutely incredible to watch and is a kalediscope of music, color, water and fire, song and dance. It is a magnificent production that would give Disney a run for their money.

One other reason that I liked this so much was that every cent that you spend is put towards the students that are working at the site. They come from all over Polynesia to come to the site to work. They get free room and board, $2500 off their tuition. In return, they put in 19 hours a week into the site. You get authentic culture through a win win program. I was impressed and the graduates that are still employed there are truly happy with their experience.

The bus ride home was long and quiet. The worst part was having to carry a sleeping child off the bus. When did she get so freaking lanky and heavy? That is a problem to be considered tomorrow. I could rave some more about today, but hopefully the pictures will demonstrate. The lighting today was odd with the mixture of sun and cloud so I tried. Have a great night...as I mentioned before...I am sooooo tired.

Laie on Dwellable

Hawaii: Navatec Whale Watching and Diamond Head

Hawaii. The land of Hawaiian Time. Today was an early start to catch the bus to catch the Navatec Catamaran to go whale watching. Actually, it was the promise of being out on the water with minimal opportunity for seasickness - even in rough seas that won me over. I really love being out on the water, provided I feel safe and like the boat is really on dry land. I know, I'm crazy. But I was so pleased that I wasn't seasick - despite me forgetting the copious amounts of gravol that I usually take. I digress.

This morning, we boarded a lovely Catamaran, complete with photographers and naturalists. It was an interesting tour, and we learned a lot about the endangered Humpback Whale. The waters were calmer than they have been and we were part of a slickly run operation. The boat went out and we found three humpback whales to photograph. Or in my case, attempt to photograph. I always seemed to be on the wrong side of the boat. The views to Diamond Head were appealing. So, I took a lot of pictures of blow spouts, cityscapes and humped backs. The breezes were fresh and the sky slightly cloudy. It was close to perfect. Of course, at the end I felt obligated to buy a print from the professional photographers who did manage to get some decent shots. Who knew what I had at the time. There was $20 of insurance if you like.

Tale of the Humpback Whale

Then, it was back on the bus and back to the hotel for lunch. Diamond Head was calling so it was off to find the bus stop and wait for the bus. Fortunately, it came quickly. So, we rode the bus and then climbed the Diamond Head volcano to the crater and then to the peak. It was an awesome hike. The views were amazing and the observation posts left over from the Second World War were appealing as well. They provided a wind channel and that elusive thing called shade! I still have to wonder at the energy of my youngest who pretty much ran up the hill. I was huffling and puffling, but I had one of my workout bosses voices in my head, so that kept me going (and chuckling).

Lighthouse as seen from Diamond Head

Holy smokes its hot!

Of course, after such a hot climb, the next reasonable thing to do was visit the ColdStone Creamery for dessert. It was cold, creamy and necessary. Then, we walked the waterfront of Waikiki beach, visited the market and window shopped. Found an art gallery and a restaurant that looked amazing as well, before finally coming home to eat dinner. The kids crashed and all is quiet. Now to plan for the Polynesian Cultural Center for tomorrow.

Diamond Head Beach Hotel on Dwellable

Hawaii: Pearl Harbor

The internal time clock that I function by has seemingly abandoned me. I have been awake, very uncharacteristically of me, at 7:00 am. However, this meant that by the time we had to go to the Aloha Landing to catch our tour bus, I was very ready to go. 

A hazelnut latte in hand, I watched as tour buses came and went. Or came and stayed. Japanese was spoken in a frenzied rush, and an Asian male, with navy blue suit, black loafers and man purse slung cross shoulders scurried past people to fling paperwork at various drivers. There didn’t seem to be any logic to it. He didn’t run, nor did he walk. He moved his feet really really fast without bending his knees. After 30 minutes of this, I was in stitches laughing inside my head. The tour bus? Well, it was late thanks to the Aloha Marathon.

Once we were on a bus, we drove around the hotels and picked up more folk. We drove around some more and then had to switch buses. Then finally we were onto the destination of the day, Pearl Harbour. It wasn’t the most cheerful of destinations, but I think it is important to reflect on all aspects of a culture and since Hawaii is 1/3 military in population, I thought it would serve me well as a tour. We toured with Cousin Ben. He was a hoot with his running commentary and bad jokes. 

On arrival, we went to the USS Bowfin and did the audio tour. That was well done as it had one set of numbers for the children and another set for the adults. I really enjoyed it, and honestly, I think it was the best part. From there, we legged it to the theatre for the movie and then were herded to the memorial. You really don’t get much chance to reflect on the history as they seem to think you should. I would like to have felt that I did the memorial justice but there were too many people, with too many modern day stories and interruptions to really feel like you were acknowledging the historical impact of what the Arizona stands for. However, I am glad I went. The girls also seemed to get something out of it. Then, it was a skim for food and drink (you can’t bring anything with you), and a skim through the galleries and then back to the bus. We were the last aboard but two. Oops. And he left people behind. Oops again. 

USS Bowfin

The USS Battleship Arizona

Oil still leaking from the ship

Reality

The Punch Bowl as seen from the bus

Hawaii 5 0 anyone?

The bus tour then drove us all over Honolulu to point out landmarks and places of interest before depositing us back at our hotel. The girls had been dying for a trolley ride, so we found the free one and went for a ride. We shopped for a bit and then waited for a shuttle. Lots of time is available to bond with your fellow traveller while waiting for transport that runs on Island time. Today’s batch were from Barrhead and were delightful.

This evening was shopping and dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. Yummy, but I think I should have packed larger clothes. I have never seen portions this big. Well, ever. So, I am nursing my sunburn and have to be up for whale watching in the morning. And so, good night.

Ko Olina on Dwellable