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AUSTRALIA - DAY TWO - Getting There: Oahu Island |
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Previous Blogs: Day 1 Portland & Honolulu | Day 2 Oahu | Day 3+4 Melbourne | Day 5 Williamstown | Day 6 Launceston | Day 7 Cradle Mountain | Day 8 Road to Hobart | Day 9 Port Arthur | Day 10 Apollo Beach | Day 11 Port Fairy | Day12+13 Southern Ports | Day 14 Kangaroo Island | Day 15 Kangaroo Island | Day 16 Kangaroo Island | Day 17 Adelaide | Day 18 Adelaide | Day 19 Adelaide Hills | Day 20+21 Uluru | Day 22+23 Alice Springs | Day 24 Darwin | Day 25 Darwin | Day 26+27 Port Douglas | Day 28 Daintree | Day 29+30 Gold Coast | Day 31+32 Brisbane | Day 33 Brisbane | Day 34-36 Hawaii Click photos for a larger image... |
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We decided to escape the madness of Honolulu and head out to quieter parts of the Island of Oahu. For our non-American friends (and our Geographically challenged friends) Hawaii is made up of 8 main islands and Honolulu is the capital city which houses 75% of the entire state's population. Honolulu is not located on Hawaii (the largest island in the group), but on the island of Oahu - one of the smaller islands. It is only 44 miles long and 30 miles wide. Honolulu & Waikiki are not the cleanest cities in the world. It's pretty dirty in places and the roads are not great either. Lots of pot holes and repairs needed. The place definitely needs a facelift. However, once you get off the beaten path - it's your own little world. |
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| We started off by driving to North Shore - the furthest most we could get from Honolulu. The interesting part is that the Island does have Interstate highways, which by definition connect states in the USA together. So if Hawaii is one state unconnected to any other state how come the Interstates? Apparently, this is because it connects to military bases which are Federal, so that sorta kinda counts as an interstate. Interesting. | |
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Sunset Beach, North Shore |
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Note the rainbow on the left above!
North Shore is most famous for surfing. It is home to the monster waves that come in February and March 50 to 100 feet high. North Shore is home to the classic Banzai Pipeline where the movie "Blue Crush" was filmed. North Shore is also home to Waimea Bay, another famous surfing spot and also where "50 First Dates" was filmed. |
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| The North Shore is famous for is extreme sports. We stopped by an airfield where we watched sky divers, gliders, ultra-lites and on the beach opposite, kite surfers and wind surfers. | |
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| Then it was off to Kaena Point the most Western point on the North Shore of Oahu where we had a picnic. | |
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Budget Rent-a-car gave us a multi-free mega-upgrade to a Jeep Wrangler (we booked an economy) which was a fun drive. We did not drop the top for two reasons. Firstly, we had intermittent rain showers throughout the day and Secondly but more importantly - I watched a YouTube video on how to drop the top and it is a mission with multiple zippers and clips that had to be undone. As a guy who has driven convertibles for the last 18 years that drops the top with a touch of the button - it seemed like way too much work! But a great vehicle for the rather bumpy roads in Hawaii! |
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What you have seen so far is what most people expect from Hawaii - beautiful beaches and lush green mountains. However, we want to show you a different side of Hawaii that many people are not aware of. The WEST side of Oahu is very different, as the prevailing winds are out of the East, the West gets very little wind and rain. It is extremely arid. It's also "Not what you expect paradise" once you get away from the ocean. The neighborhoods are quite derelict and despite the no dumping signs every where, there is trash - and when I say trash I mean BIG trash. Whole and abandoned, burnt out hulks of cars and junk - EVERYWHERE! |
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So, an interesting contrast for today's excursions. One final interesting fact about Oahu. The only real police are HPD (Honolulu Police Department). But they police the entire island not just Honolulu. There are no state police. There is only ONE Sherriff's Department in the entire state (I guess effectively making them state police right?) but unlike other sheriffs they don't police the counties. In fact they don't police anything at all. They are just responsible for security at the State Capitol and Airport as well as prisoner transport. Interesting... Oh, and for you Hawaii Five-O fans... the department does not exist and never has. Sorry! |
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For those of you who are well versed in the format of our blogs, you
know what's coming next... We like to finish the blog with something amusing we observed, it is called the: And finally... |
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Where was the CHIA PET invented?
You got it! Hawai'i!!!
Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia!!!! |
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Somewhere in Hawai'i, there is a restaurant that had a urinal so astoundingly beautiful... that someone stole it! |
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Wendy's World For the past several years we have gone to places most may think of as "Off the beaten track". Myanmar, Cambodia, China, Iceland, India, Peru, Vietnam, Laos, etc.... This year's holiday is a little different for us. If I had my way, we would be exploring Papua New Guinea, Borneo or Madagascar. While I may not capture the "faces" like I have in the past, I do promise to capture what I can. I'm working on my mindset and this is a first in my series of .... (to be named) |
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Sucks to be you Geico Gecko! |
