Sunday, 29th April

Today we flew from Kauai to Ohau – a 20 minute flight with over 2 hours sitting about in the airport. Oh for the days when one could just arrive 30 minutes before flight time. The airport security was very tight, with all jackets, shoes and belts needing to be removed, all liquids into a 1 litre plastic bag (this is a DOMESTIC flight, remember!!!) and then we had to have a full body scan. I’m sure the man operating the machine got a real thrill when we stood with our hands above our heads. At least himself was selected for the full search and frisk behind the screen for this flight.

It didn’t take too long for the luggage to appear (such a great feeling to see both suitcases) and find a shuttle service to Waikiki – there was actually a nice young lady in the luggage collection area looking for business, so we booked our return at the same time. We were at the Ohana East Hotel an hour after we landed and, joy oh joy, our room was ready so we were able to check in straight away. We have a nice light and airy room with a small balcony on the 8th floor. The bathroom doesn’t have a bath, only a shower (which suits us just fine) and is very clean. We also have free wi-fi in our room – even better as it means no trips to the lobby with the computer!

The afternoon was spent mainly doing a recce of the area, and the shops of course. There have been a few changes in the 5 years since we were last here. Food is much cheaper than it was on Kauai – competition makes a big difference, as does the volume of people. Speaking of which, there are lots of Aussie accents to be heard.

I haven’t taken any photos today (Cat is rather put out!) as it hasn’t really been a photo sort of day, so I have included a few from the past couple of days.

More Buses

Saturday, 28th April


Joy oh joy at breakfast this morning – the grape jelly and strawberry jam had been joined by mango jelly. Thought this would be a welcome change – wrong. Mango jelly is very inappropriately named as it only contains about 10% mango – the remainder is CHILLI!!! Not a good way to start the day.

Today we had arranged a tour of the southern part of the island, which included the Waimea Canyon (which we flew through yesterday) and a cruise on the Wailua River to finish the tour.

Our first stop was at a blow hole at Spouting Horn, and with a southerly swell, we were treated to some pretty good blows. Cat was a little upset at a sign in this area – feral chooks are definitely fair game, but not cats! We continued to the old town of Hanapepe, which was the location for the shooting of “The Thorn Birds.” (This whole island is one big film location.) The jury is out as to whether it actually looks like a Queensland town. We passed the statue of Captain Cook at the site of his first landing in the Hawaiian islands before turning inland to the Waimea Canyon. Standing on a viewing platform didn’t quite have the same punch as the helicopter flight through the gorges and up over the ridges. We were able to work out just where we flew (see the picture of the canyon – we flew right up the valley opposite). It was still a pretty spectacular sight.

We had a short stop at the Kauai Coffee Plantation (about the only agricultural crop on the island) for a sample of some of their coffee – decided to stick with Maria’s from NQ Gold. Then it was on to our lunch stop at a golf club restaurant and lunch on the terrace. This was a beautiful spot and would have been quite happy to spend some time sitting in the warm sun and looking out over the golf course. We left Cat playing with some of the local birds – Brazilian cardinal and sparrows – while we ate and then realised he had jumped into a golf cart, ready for a round. At $88 for 18 hours, his mind was quickly changed!

We returned back through Lihue to Wailua and the boat waiting to take us up the river. We had a short stop at a lookout over the river and saw the green field the Harrison Ford can across (“Raiders of the Lost Ark”) after the big boulder chased him. The boat turned out to be actually a barge pushed by a large motor floating behind. We were taken to a landing and walked through the rainforest to a gorgeous grotto where we were treated to another rendition of the “Hawaiian Wedding Song” before returning to the river boat, some predictable hula dancing on the way back to the landing and bus.

It was cloudy most of the day, with a sharp shower during the morning – but definitely NOT cold.

Choppers

Friday, 27th April

A very “bright” and early start to the day – our tour pick-up was scheduled for 7.20 am and this meant being ready for breakfast when the dining room opened at 6.30 am. It was an absolutely glorious morning – clear, sunny and calm – which meant we immediately headed for an outdoor table. More about food later.

Today was the day we did our helicopter ride – WOW plus is the only way to describe it. After arriving at the depot, we all had to be weighed (discreetly of course) and were then allocated seating according to our weights – this was to distribute the weight evenly in the helicopter. Then is was on with our special booties as we were going to land at the Jurassic Park waterfall. Guess who were fortunate enough to get the two front seats next to the pilot??? WOW again. How lucky could we be – perfect weather and perfect seats. Cat was beside himself! The pilot used to fly helicopters during the Vietnam war, consequently a bit of reminiscing occurred.

After take-off, we flew over the township of Lihue before heading inland to cross the first range of mountains. Then it was a wind through the valleys, looking up at the sides of the mountains, until we put down on a small, grass landing pad at the waterfall which featured in the film “Jurassic Park.” Just amazing! After taking off again, we followed the contours of the mountain range until we came to the Waimea Canyon (think Grand Canyon on a bit smaller scale) and again flew alongside the cliffs. Thankfully there was no wind and the pilot just made the flying seem so effortless – he obviously enjoyed his job. Then if was over the Napali coast with its 3000 feet high cliffs. There are no roads to this part of the island, the only way in is boat or walk. The hiking trails were clearly visible – definitely only for the very fit. We did a turn around “Bali Hai” before heading inland again to the highest point on the island and a circuit inside the volcano – fortunately it hasn’t erupted for a very long time.

This was the most amazing and spectacular 90 minutes!

The afternoon was fairly quiet – a bit of much needed unwinding time – after a trip to the small shopping mall in Lihue.

Food: prices are about the same as home, but the servings are enormous! We must start remembering to share. Breakfast is plentiful, but Americans only seem to eat grape jelly or strawberry jam on their toast. No marmalade! Scrambled eggs are more like chopped up fried eggs as well and probably at least half a dozen per serve (no shortage of chooks here!). All meals seem to cover with large servings of French fries but we were lucky enough to find a deli today which made sandwiches to order (no chips!). However, the bread slices were about 3.0 cm thick, plus fillings. Must remember …

The weather has been very balmy and a bit humid, but nothing unbearable.

Movies

Thursday, 26th April


Back to last night, we attended a performance of “South Pacific” put on by a local group who perform the musical once a week. It was a very enjoyable presentation, with a few local references thrown in. The Frenchman and Nellie were extremely good – acted and sang very well.

Kauai has a feral chook problem – or wild chickens as the Americans call them! These chooks and roosters are literally everywhere (even in the resort) and have become somewhat of a tourist attraction in their own right.

This morning, after a wonderful sleep last night, it was on the road with a local bus tour company to visit some of the movie locations Kauai is famous for. The most notable would be “South Pacific” and “Jurassic Park,” along with over 500 others films and television shows. Unfortunately, I can’t remember, spell or pronounce many of the places we stopped at, but the first waterfall featured in quite a few, including “Fantasy Island.: A beach we visited (and the bus driver had trouble getting out of!) was the scene for the pilot of “Gilligan’s Island” and it was here that Cat found a driftwood shelter he was convinced Gilligan and Ginger slept in.

Some time was spent at the derelict Coco Palms Resort. This resort accommodated the stars of “South Pacific” and was the location of “Blue Hawaii.” We walked across the bridge that Elvis walked across, saw the dining room where he met his father, the bungalow he used in the film and also the bungalow he actually lived in during the filming. I can positively assure you that Elvis has definitely left the building!!! The coconut grove was also used as a location in “Pirates of the Caribbean.”

We drove past the large grassy plains which became Jurassic Park in the movie, before stopping for lunch at the Tahiti Tua Restaurant in Hanalei. George Clooney was in this restaurant in “The Descendants” but we didn’t get to sit in the main part (with all the atmosphere) but were ushered into a large, featureless room for our cheeseburgers, chicken or pork sandwiches – all served with fries, of course.

Then is was down to the beach of Hanalei for a look at the pier and beach which again featured in “South Pacific,” as well as “The Descendant.” Bali Hai was a mountain in the far distance. There were some pretty spectacular waterfalls on one of the high mountains ringing this beautiful bay – definitely the prettiest beach we saw today.

The island reminds us very much of far north Queensland, with its rainforest, steep mountains, climate and even the architecture.

Wednesday - Again

Wednesday, 25th April – Again

We were lucky enough to board and depart Sydney on time, although the continuing strong westerly winds did make for a few bumps. In fact, the captain seemed to find every corrugation he could between Sydney and Honolulu! The flight went well; we were fed dinner not long after take-off, then ice creams did the rounds, followed by hot chocolate or peppermint tea. It was actually quite a relief when all the refreshments had been given out and we could settle for the night.

Cat slept deeply all night, having to be woken for breakfast – can’t say the same for myself, even with the aid of some chemicals! It just seemed very rough and noisy all night.

We arrived in Honolulu on time, actually we arrived before we departed, and proceeded through immigration and customs without any problems – the officials actually smiled and made conversation. The security bloke at the check-in for Hawaiian Airlines actually joked with us – we taught him some new Australian saying. He had trouble getting his tongue around “avagoodweekend” and “don’t forget the Aerogard” was completely foreign. By the time we boarded the flight to Kauai we were nearly suffering from hypothermia, the air conditioning was so severe. Twenty minutes later and we were on the ground again, rang the resort for the shuttle to collect us for the five minute drive to the Kauai Beach Resort.

We are very happy with the standard of the resort, the accommodation is good, Cat is happy because there is a king size bed (I’m sure he is planning on sleeping in the middle!!!), there is a nice chaise longue to relax on and a small balcony. We have organised our tours, etc for the next three days and were lucky enough to arrive on a Wednesday, which means we get to see the weekly production of “South Pacific.”

Having trouble loading photos - will try again tomorrow.

Lest We Forget

Wednesday, 25th April


The first time we have missed an ANZAC service.

After a family dinner last night and saying goodbye,especially to the smaller members of the family, it was a cool and overcast day as we left Hobart for Sydney. Cat was up bright and early, as we all were, with all bags packed and waiting for Dave and Jack to take us to the airport.

Owing to Melbourne’s typical weather, our flight was delayed as our plane was late leaving Melbourne to get to Hobart, consequently we had to sit around the Qantas lounge for an extra 50 minutes. After taking off, the pilot managed to hit quite a few “pot holes” as we climbed through the clouds, and again as we came into land at Sydney. Unfortunately, only one runway was operating in Sydney due to very strong winds and we had to circle halfway to New Zealand before we could land.
The transfer to the International Terminal wasn’t a problem – not like immigration and customs. The system didn’t like my passport and I was led away (in front of EVERYONE!) to have it scanned at another reader. No problems, the nice man said, just the digital passports don’t always scan on the old readers. We progressed through security without any dramas, passed all the nice smelling perfume concessions and found the Qantas lounge without any hassles. Cat thought he was in seventh heaven, with all the food and drink. He should sleep well on the flight to Honolulu.