Steffi & Gerry: Trip around the World
Travel Blog of our Honeymoon around the World
Second island hopping: from Kauai to The Island of Hawaii (better known as Big Island) via Honolulu, Oahu.
Unfortunately, a flight from (finally) sunny weather into the rain. It wasn’t that bad, we quickly visited the Rainbow Falls which are close to Hilo, but at our time of visit in the late afternoon no rainbow could be seen at the falls.
It wasn’t the best start into the day. Even mediocre cafés in Waikiki are very busy in the morning, and checking other cafés for shorter queues didn’t make it better.
Also, we recommend to inform yourself well about the buses in Oahu, or even better, ask the locals. There are around 20 bus stops containing “Diamond Head”, but just one is the correct for doing the famous hike. Being lost, we did our very first Uber drive and didn’t regret it.
Diamond Head is a volcanic tuff cone (dormant), a national natural monument and a very touristy place. Doing a relatively easy hike (for Swiss standards) from the inside of the crater up to the cone rewards you with great views over Honolulu.
Time to use the cabrio and to explore the island Oahu.
There is more on Oahu than Honolulu. At least nature-wise. The Halona blowhole spits water like a geyser, but it’s sea water pushed through the hole by strong waves.
From there we did the circle around the Ko’alau range along the coast. Unfortunately, the weather got worse and we couldn’t spot any turtles, neither at Turtle Bay nor at Laniakea Beach. Before returning to Waikiki we drove up and into the Punchbowl Crater which contains the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific – and also offers a nice vista over the city.
The car rental company had a surprise for us. The “similar” in “Category C: ICAR: Toyota Corolla or similar” turned out to be a sportive Chevrolet Camaro (cabriolet). What a difference after four weeks in a clumsy campervan!
We didn’t use it much that day, though, but searched our hotel in Waikiki and explored this part of Honolulu. Not surprisingly, we soon landed on the famous Waikiki Beach.
But we had to agree to our guide claiming it to be a quite overrated place. Indeed: the beach is mostly man-made, partially with imported sand. The towels are close to each other. And actually, most of the guys are here just for selfies and not for relaxing. But maybe we’re just a bit spoiled from Fiji (29°C water temperature, natural corals…). And having a cold drink at the bar is much better than complaining. 🙂
