Hanauma Bay

1 August – Wednesday

This morning we took the bus to Hanauma Bay – the bay is the remains of a volcano that collapsed into the sea. The actual bay is very beautiful, with a coral reef, palm fringed beach and tourists, of course. The bus route took us through some nice housing areas, different to the usual areas that public buses transverse. We also followed the shore line for quite a while as well.

This southern area of the island is very volcanic in nature, with very little vegetation and a volcanic shoreline – quite stunning in its on way and completely different from the lush rain forest on the sharp-ridged mountains of the eastern side. For those of you who remember the television series “Magnum PI,” Rabbit Island (which featured in the series) is in this area. Just after we arrived at Hanauma Bay, an air raid siren sounded for a few minutes – it certainly left the tourists standing and wondering! One of the locals told us the sirens are tested at the beginning of every month and they are sounded in the event of something “major.”

Tonight we finally had my birthday dinner at a lovely restaurant right on the beach, no windows, beachside table, palm trees, glorious sunset (be prepared for sunset photos!) and a beautiful meal. Les has crab stuffed mahi mahi (local fish) and I ordered Hawaiian sea bass coated with macadamia nuts and bananas. Unfortunately, when it can it was absolutely smothered in chopped up capsicum. The nice waiter was very understanding, returned it to the kitchen and the chef cooked me another meal without the capsicum.