Hawaii Trip - Diamond Head and Pearl Harbor


The only way to fly to Hawaii from Australia is through Oahu, so when we first decided to go to Kauai we figured we should stop in Oahu for a few days as well.  At the top of the list was seeing Pearl Harbor, and fortunately by chance it had just reopened a couple weeks earlier after being closed for reconstruction for many months.  The Diamond Head hike was also one of those things I figured we should do.

 Well, Diamond Head was horrible.  The parking lot is small so we parked at a nearby park and walked in which was fine.  The point was getting some exercise so that helped us get more in.  But the trail was completely packed with all sorts of oblivious people.  It wasn't a super difficult or long walk, which meant all different sorts of people were out there.  The problem with that it we all had to converge into narrow stair cases in a couple points which meant we spent more time waiting in line on the hike than actually hiking.  And then once we got to the top the lookout was again packed with people who were climbing over the railings that said do not climb over and flying drones over the signs that said no drones here.  The people did not make it a pleasant experience.  The views were nice, but after spending a relaxing few days in Kauai this hike was exactly the opposite of what we were hoping for.
View of Waikiki from Diamond Head
View from Diamond Head of where we stayed - straight up that steep straight hill towards the middle

Pearl Harbor, however, did not disappoint.  If that makes sense.  It was a very somber environment and really made you feel the magnitude of the attack.  Looking around at the lively city and picturing how it must have been then and how surprised everyone was when the planes struck made it feel very powerful.  We took the ferry over to the memorial and were able to have a look around for 15 minutes.  Seeing the ship just under the waterline and the oil that was still seeping up nearly 80 years later was very hard-hitting.  Visiting the memorial made the stop in Oahu worth it on it's own, which turned out to be a very good thing considering how unimpressed we were with the rest of the island!

The ferry out to the memorial
Pearl Harbor Memorial form the ferry
USS Arizona

Oil coming up from the ship


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Baw Baw Blog

Image
A couple weeks ago Phil set out to climb Mt Baw Baw again with a couple like-minded (read: crazy) bike friends.  We drove out with Les and met John and Glenda at the primary school in Drouin to start the ride.   The crazies started on their ride while John and I headed off to explore the area by car. Phil, Glenda, and Les at the start About 10km in to the ride, as they passed the Drouin West primary school, Phil realised that that was the place he meant to start, and now an already painful 80km ride had become 90km. John and I stopped at the Noojee Trestle Bridge and took a leisurely walk across.  Then we headed on to the "town" of Noojee and saw the sights - the water wheel that no one knows the origin of.  Then we enjoyed some lamingtons while we waited for the tiers to catch up.  They arrived and took a few minutes' break, then set out again on their adventure. Noojee Trestle Bridge Noojee Water Wheel John and I then drove to Tooronga Falls an...
Read more

Tanna, Vanuatu Part 2

Image
There was a wonderful snorkelling spot called the Blue Hole a short walk from the resort so we went there a couple times and frolicked with the fishies.  The weather was perfect and the water was warm so it was a very relaxing few days. The Blue Hole Fish in the Blue Hole More fish in the Blue Hole Blue starfish we found in the rocks Pretty sunset at the Blue Hole We also took a small boat up the coast to a place called the Blue Cave.  The boat trip in itself was worth the journey as it took us along unspoiled coastline for some amazing views. The coastline from the boat near the Blue Cave We got to the Blue Cave at low tide which made the opening just big enough to snorkel through.  Inside the cave was huge and the bottom was covered in clean white sand so it made the blue water of the cave spectacular.  A small hole at the top of the cave let a shaft of light through.  It was quite a spectacular place t...
Read more

An Aussie Birthday Party

Image
My parents arrived at the beginning of April and we took the opportunity to have an Aussie Birthday Party for my mom.  We invited her Aussie friends over for dinner and they enjoyed the chance to catch up.  My mom met these friends through a painting convention they teach classes at in Vegas.  Year after year she kept taking their classes and they became great friends.  The convention is now a yearly tradition for them, and they fit in plenty of fun before and after.  They had just been over for a visit in March, so it was nice for them to get together and laugh about their trip without all the distractions.  I made an echidna cake for dessert that went down a hit, even with the very American peanut butter filling.  After the party they spent a few days with Janice and Ted and then had a visit with Karen and family before heading to Kangaroo Island with us.  All in all it was a great way to begin their visit over here.  Gail, my dad, and...
Read more