“Hawaii 40” Carmel, Gina, Maree & Rebecca

How lucky are we!

Late night Air NZ flight AKL HNL. Once again the Captain got us safely here. The island of O’ahu, Hawaii.

We hitched a ride with the crew from the airport to their hotel - Prince Waikiki. We walked to our hotel - the Ilikai Condos - which is literally next door. Had an early check in so unpacked and hit the beach for a swim. The lagoon is lovely and water temp refreshing. Swam across the lagoon to the ocean where Carmel and Rebecca had a dip in the pacific.

We are in an awesome location and the apartment complex is very convenient. We had $2 Ice creams at Dave’s - amazing range of flavours. I had the pumpkin cheesecake ice cream.

Off exploring. Walked thru Ala Moana mall on our way to Wholefoods.

An interesting experience as we realised everything there was organic and therefore higher $. \240We got the the essentials and justified it as we will probably have our breakfasts and some meals in the apartment. Got an Uber back - with our first language lesson - the boot of a car is a trunk!

Mike joined us at 5 for drinks and sunset viewing. \240We got an Uber to Waikiki central area for dinner. \240After dinner we went for a cocktail at the Moana Surfrider. Amazing hotel on the beach.

All and all a fabulous first day in paradise.

Day 2. \240Awake around 7. No jetlag here as only 1 hr time difference and a day behind.

Got an Uber to Moana Falls approx US$27. \240 Amazing rainforest experience. A 40 min walk thru beautiful rainforest to the waterfall. Light rain but warm. Back thru the botanical gardens.

We spent the afternoon at Mike’s hotel pool. Really posh with a cool infinity pool. Cocktails in Mike’s room to watch the sunset. Very nice room also.

Off to town for dinner at the Maui Brewing Co. Some window shopping - shops open till 1030pm.

A roadie at ours before saying goodbye to Mike. He has been an amazing host for the last 2 days.

Day 3 - a very early start for our Sunrise Photo Tour. Jenny from Blue Hawaii Private Tours, picked us up at 0530. Just us and Trish from Maine.

An amazing day - driving around the island taking photos - Jenny shared lots of tips of how to take better pics with our iPhones.

Sunrise was at Sandy Beach - go figure!

Then we headed north. Lots of stops including a Japanese temple.

It was a great day. We got back to the apartment at 1330 so had lunch and went to the beach. It was very busy as they were filming a episode of Magnum PI. \240Watch out for us as extras in Season 5!

For dinner we headed off along the boardwalk and ended up at PF Changs. Yum yum.

Lots more window shopping at the end of another great day.

Day 4 - Yah - a sleep in. Another beautiful day. Breakfast and off to Diamond Head. A booking is now required as they limit the numbers of people - we booked for 8-9am, and they now charge $5 pp.

A nice steady climb to the top. We measured it to the climb up Mt Maunganui and decided slightly more challenging due heat and track condition.

Fab view from the top.

Rebecca took the steep staircase down and back up and then ran down the path - you go girl!

Back to the apartment for some food stamina and chill time.

Carm, Reb and me headed off on a snorkeling adventure. We walked to the pier (30 min). Living Ocean Turtle Canyon tour - 2 hrs. Very professional and safety conscious. 15 min boat ride to the spot off Waikiki beach, half way down. Was great to look back on where we were staying.

Snorkel gear in place and into the water. I’m always a little anxious but once the breathing is settled I’m good. Visibility didn’t seem great but once on top of the reef we started seeing so many tropical fish. Very cool. The turtles took a bit longer to appear but then there were 2 and then 3. Amazing. They come to the reef shelf to get their shells cleaned by little fish. They have to come to the surface for air so we got quite close. Amazing.

A successful venture. Tour cost USD85. Good reviews.

Back to the apartment for Hula night and fireworks.

Hula night was in the courtyard of our hotel. Every Friday night. Was a good show.

Got hotdogs from John’s food truck and then sat and watch the Sheraton fireworks show. The lagoon area was chocka with so many people. Fireworks went for 5 min and then people cleared out very quickly.

We went to the Swap Meet market which is held every Saturday at the Aloha stadium.

Lots of local goods, souvenirs and nic naks. Had lunch from the many food trucks at market.

Then we went to the Pearl Harbor National Memorial. It was a very moving experience.

Headed back to Waikiki to Dukes in the beach. Very cool spot. Got a table with a primo view of the beach and sun going down.

Had my first Pacifico beer - delicious, actually had two, as well as a shared nachos. We had a very chatty neighbor at the next table - John, he just wanted to chat chat chat.

The sun was setting so we moved to the beach for the view and more sunset pics.

Walked back to the apartment. Reb went to catch up with an old school friend who just happened to be in Hawaii also.

Pizza and lots of wine for dinner. Tried to watch TV but very unsuccessful!

Sunday - I love going to mass in another country. It gives me some time to reflect how fortunate I am, doing what I’m doing, with the people I’m doing it with. Incredibly fortunate and blessed.

We attended mass at Sts Peter & Paul church Waikiki. It was lovely and they made visitors very welcome, even giving us a small gift of a shell necklace.

Then we walked to Ala Moana for a spot of shopping and then lunch in the food court.

Beach and swim in the evening then we went to Maruhame Udon. We saw it on our second night with a very long line of people. Then an Uber driver confirmed it was very good. So we got in line, which moved quickly. Menu below. Very good and basic and quick.

On the way home we found Nordstrom Rack - their outlet store. Amazing. Rebecca bought some amazing shoes - 2 pair for USD29.

Home for a few roadies.

Last day - up early for a walk to the the bottom of Diamond Head. Is a good walk from our hotel 10k return. A few distractions on the way. Rebecca finally did her surfing lesson. Carmel got a good deal with a instructor - much cheaper than the advertised price. So off Rebecca went for a hours lesson. Gina and I continued on our walk and just got back in time to see Reb paddling in.

Back to the apartment for brunch and then out for the afternoon to the shops - more shoes and a dress for Reb, some dresses for me.

We went to the Tiki bar for happy hour and had a couple of drinks before watching our final sunset.

I always find the nice stores at the end of a holiday. Which we did on the way home.

Burgers and pizza for dinner from the Harbor Pub and we finished some wines and gin.

A lovely final day.

HNL AKL

Uber at 0700 to catch our 0920 flight home.

A good day flight. Polished off the Guilded Age mini series. Excellent. Set in New York late 1800s.

A few wines and meals, then landed at 1705.