Diamond Head

Diamond Head Crater is one of the best-known landmarks in Hawaii and serves as the famous backdrop to Waikiki. We caught the bus to the bottom of the crater and walked through a tunnel to enter the crater. Inside we were surrounded by Acacia trees and a dry African landscape!

The US Army constructed a series of tunnels inside the crater, and topped the rim with cannon emplacements, bunkers and observation posts as part of the Pacific defense network. The crater was also used by the Hawaiians to guide ships by lighting fires on top. Now, the crater is a silent sentinel, not a single shot having been fired from it, and a new, modern lighthouse provides a beacon for those at sea.

We made our way up the many steps and through the winding tunnels to the temple at the top of the crater. The views from the top were as breathtaking as the guidebooks promised!

Ha-mahna-mahna!

We rented two little mopeds for the day and scooted east along the coast to Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve, "a wide, curved bay of sapphire and turquoise waters protected by a rugged volcanic ring". We rented snorkeling gear and swam through the shallow reefs just off the shore. The coral was a bit meagre, but we saw lots of brightly-colored fish which weren't bothered by us at all.

After some good snorkeling and sun, we scooted back along the coast, and then north up to Manoa Falls. We squelched our way along a very muddy trail beside the Waihi Stream through a rain forest to the idyllic little waterfall at the end.

Renting the scooters was a great way to see the island. We'll definitely be trying that again on our travels!

Pearl Harbor

In between all our beach trips and cocktails, we found time to visit Pearl Harbor. This is still an active naval base, but it is now dominated by the memorials of the fateful events on December 7, 1941.

The visitors' center offers several tours, including trips onto the USS Bowfin Submarine and the Battleship Missouri. We settled for the boat out to the USS Arizona Memorial, a floating shrine over the battleship that now entombs the 1177 servicemen who perished during the attack. It was quite a sombre experience to see the skeleton of the sunken ship just below the surface of the water.

Mai Tai Musings

We just enjoyed a week of tropical paradise on the Hawaiian Island, Oahu. We spent a good part of each day chilling on Waikiki Beach, along with the surfers, beach bums and occasional sea turtle.

On most evenings we found a spot to sip cocktails and watch the sun set through the palms. We frequented the famous Duke's Bar on the beachfront, and we listened to some great Hawaiian music as we drank our way through their imaginatively-named cocktails.

One evening we joined the crew of the Mai Tai Catamaran for a sunset cruise along the coast. The drinks were free and plenty, and we sailed with the dolphins and danced to some great tunes as the sun went down.