The trip around the island was pretty good, but unfortunately not everything that it was cracked up to be. The weather had taken a turn for the worse and I was very happy that I had thought to bring a jumper! We visited many different, beautiful beaches - Hanauma Bay, Secret Beach, Sunset Beach, Turtle Beach (a misnomer for today unfortunately), and a few more.
At each stop, we got to get off the bus, brave the winds, and go take some pictures - which I definitely did. One of the only two times we were able to swim in the water, it was too cold to go in and the swell was incredibly big! The waves were strong just standing on the edge. As I don't have too much to comment on about these beaches (they're pretty much all the same), here's some pics of them!
Hanauma Bay
Chinaman's Hat
Secret Beach
My favourite of the beaches was Sunset Beach. Walking down to the water, the sand suddenly dropped off steeply towards the shore break. When you walked down to the edge of the water, the big waves were as tall as me! It was pretty freaky, but when they broke on the shore, they came right back down to my feet. I would have loved to attempt to swim in there, but I think the waves would have beaten me pretty bad.
After Sunset Beach, everyone was very eager for lunch! One more quick stop at Chinaman's Hat - a rock formation that looked like a Vietnamese hat - for a few quick pics and finally, we were on our way to our lunch spot. This spot was quite dingey. They were situated on a lake with picnic tables and chairs, but there was a looming feeling in the air that a maniac hick might come out of his trailer and kill us all. The food was lovely though! I had garlic prawns (a huge hit in Oahu!) that I had to peel myself - not usually a big issue, but they were cooked and covered in garlic butter. Regardless, it was scrumptious! For dessert, we had a snow cone the size of our heads!
I had managed to make "friends" with a 13 year old Aussie girl on the same tour. She was nice enough, but if I ever hear about One Direction again and how wonderful they are and where Harry Styles owns houses, I will scream!
After lunch we went down to Turtle Beach. This is where we were going to be snorkelling with turtles. Unfortunately though, the turtles weren't too keen on snorkelling with us. I ended up having a great time, because I generally love swimming and snorkels make me feel like a mermaid! The water was fairly murky and the currents were really strong! I'm lucky to be a strong swimmer, otherwise I'd probably still be out there! I still had a blast though and the hour went by way too quickly.
Next stop on the tour was Dole Plantation, where Oahu grows all of their pineapples! If I haven't said it yet, the pineapples here are fantastic! Definitely my favourite snack on the island! The plantation was really cool, but we only had 20 minutes to explore - which was mainly located to the vast, pineapple themed gift shop. Other than the pineapples, they are also famous for one of the biggest mazes (presumably in the world). I missed out on this, as the average completion time is about 2 hours! I also missed out on the pineapple ice-cream because the line was too long! The ones that lined up as soon as we got in were lucky to grab some, and just loved to go on about how great it was!
Pineapple Fields
Next stop, back to the hostel. I had had a fun day in the end, but it was not all that it was cracked up to be (especially for the price too). But I was so happy to be able to see more of the island and the stunning beaches.
For dinner, I decided to walk down the length of Kalakaua Ave, the main strip along Waikiki Beach. It just so happened that this day was the day of the Honolulu Festival! The whole road was blocked off to cars and people packed the sidewalks to watch the parade! Oahu has an extremely high percentage of Japanese residents, so the parade was very Japanese inspired. There were lanterns and dragons, and many Japanese people hula dancing down the street. I feel sorry for the poor ladies wearing wooden heels, as it took the performers 4 hours to walk the length of the parade! And I thought I was exhausted!
I stopped at a very popular restaurant about 2kms down the road called The Cheesecake Factory. Surprisingly, not just for cheesecake. I managed to wrangle a spot at the bar and had the Americana cheeseburger - oh boy, Americans know how to make a cheeseburger!
When I got back to the hostel, I was beat. The snorkelling and the burger had taken it out of me and I was ready to relax. There were new girls in the dorm this night - Molly and Shanae from the Sunshine Coast, and Lily and Amber from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Thankfully, they were on the same page as me, and we stayed in and hung out talking for a while before passing out.
Perfect timing on the street parade babe! Pity about the turtles.
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