Hawaii Trip - Driving Around Oahu

We took a drive around Oahu one day to explore the coastline and get out of the chaos of the city.  The East coast was much more pleasant - less people and lots of beautiful scenery.  The area past Makaou'u point was our first stop as the rocks were beaconing us to go climb around on them.






Next we stopped at the Byodo-In Temple.  This temple was in the back of the Valley of the Temples Memorial Park, so we had to pass through all of these different cultural cemeteries to get there.  The temple was gorgeous and well worth the stop.  It was built as a smaller replica of one in Japan with the perfect mountain backdrop behind it.  The grounds were beautiful and we enjoyed seeing the Australian black swans that were brought to the temple as a gift. 






Farther along the East Coast we stopped for lunch and to check out the view of the Chinaman's Hat.

The North side was a bit busier again, but we decided to stop near Shark's Bay to have a splash in the water.  Phil did a bit of snorkelling and I did some rock hopping and shade lounging to avoid getting fried.  It was a pretty spot, but quite crowded by our spoiled Aussie beach standards :)



We headed back to Waikiki for dinner, excited to have happy hour drinks inside the local grocery store.  If you ever get the chance to shop at Foodland, go!  It has an amazing selection of sushi, poke, pie, steaks, salad, soups, breads, and a bar where you can get snacks, drinks, and even burgers.  We need a grocery store like this in Australia!




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