After a lazy start, today we did a driving tour of the upper east coast and north shore of the island. For a short while we drove the freeway of Highway 1 but that soon disappeared into a more sedate single lane road. But that’s not to say the traffic disappeared. Being Saturday, there were not only the tourists but also the locals out to enjoy the sunshine and coastal beaches. And in some places very long lines of traffic and full parking areas at popular stops.
First stop though was the Dole Pineapple Plantation. We have been amazed by the quality of the pineapples in Hawaii – so sweet and almost the texture of the flesh of mangoes, with no stringy fibers – just delicious ! The place was a bit theme-parky and when a couple of busloads arrived on top of the ones already there you could hardly move !
We moved on and took in some of the most famous beaches in the world when it comes to surfing. First stop was the Banzai Pipeline where the Billabong Pipe Masters starts on Monday. We stopped in to watch some of the practice going on. Not far down the road, at Sunset Beach, we had the Vans World Cup which had just finished. A bit further on we stopped at Waimea Beach – more your “average joe” surfing but a lovely beach all the same !
At bit further on, at Kahuku, we came across the famous “Shrimp Trucks” where the locals have set up mobile kitchens from where they sell the shrimp caught in ponds almost behind the trucks themselves.
We stopped at one called Giovannis, which is supposed to be one of the most popular, it was certainly doing a roaring trade. The smells were just to die for so we tucked into a “Shrimp Scampi” – deliciously cooked shrimp swimming in garlic sauce which we kept tasting all afternoon !
Giovanni’s Shrimp truck
Further on we passed a little town called Laie. It has a huge Mormon temple – very grand. This little town is almost all mormon in their faith and the whole town closes on Sundays. The town also had a great lookout with view along the coast.
Chinaman’s Hat
Next stop was Kualoa Regional Park. Just off the shore is a little island formed from a volcanic cone – its called Chinaman’s Hat for obvious reasons.
Looking back the other way there are spectacular views of Kualoa Range which has been the backdrop of various movies (Jurassic Park) and TV series (LOST).
Byodo Buddhist temple
Continuing on we came to Kaneohe where we found a stunning Buddhist temple which is a replica of a 900 year old temple in Japan. The temple is actually in an area called the Valley of the Temples which contains shrines for various religions and an enormous cemetery which surrounds the whole area.
A very windy Pali Lookout
The last stop on the way back was at a scenic lookout with extensive views back down the coast. It certainly lived up to its reputation of being extremely windy !
On the way back we couldn’t resist another visit to Walmart. We had both decided that we were sick of the effect of the poor voltage on our shaver and hair straightener (I’ll leave you to work out whose is whose !). We figured that we still have a few US trips up our sleeve so we splashed out on versions with US plugs ! Boy what a difference ! US$40 well spent I say !
Waikiki Beach & Diamond Head
Colourful parrots on the beach
Back at the hotel we were just in time to head downstairs to watch the sun setting. Just behind our hotel is a small breakwater which gives a good view back along the beach and toward Diamond Head as well as a perfect spot to watch the setting sun across the ocean. It was a popular spot as the crowds swelled as the sun got lower.
After exhausting our camera batteries we had a couple of drinks in the pool bar. A small band set up nearby and played a mixture of Hawaiian and Christmas songs, while the typical American bar scene of patrons on stools at the bar watching the numerous football games playing on the overhead TV’s. The band was very good, as were the patrons who got up and did an impromptu hula dance, and it was very relaxing just sitting watching the world go by. Dinner was easy – leftovers from PF Changs ! Tomorrow we are doing another drive of the lower east shore so hopefully it will be as good. The guides Adrienne has on her Ipad are just fantastic – if you are ever in Hawaii I would strongly recommend them – Gypsy Guide from the App store.
More tomorrow.