Okay, just to prove that we’ve not just been drinking cocktails!!!
We got up at silly o’clock and did the Diamond Head Crater hike (early, so it was still cool – sort of!). Quite a workout on the legs as lots of stairs but not far distance wise. You enter the crater via a road tunnel and then hike up the inner wall to the summit where there is an old Fire Control Station that was built between 1908 and 1910. Thankfully, there are now handrails the trail originally didn’t!!! There’s also a tunnel you need to get through – not too bad as it is lit and it was worth going for the view (and to say we’ve hiked a volcano!!!!).
The crater was used by the military in the 1900’s for training and to defend Oahu during WW2. The crater is just over 1/2 mile wide and thought to have formed from a single eruption. Le’ahi tends to be called Diamond Head now after traders in the 1700’s mistook calcite crystals there for diamonds.
Oh, and in case you’re thinking of doing this, your time slot has to be reserved in advance along with car parking, although we just got the number 23 bus.
So, I guess if you’re coming all the way to Oahu, Hawaii, one of the key sites to visit is Pearl Harbour. This is the site of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour on 7th December 1941, which led to America entering WW2. There are some interesting exhibitions about the attack, before and after accounts, an informative film and of course the poignant trip across to the USS Arizona memorial which still lies beneath the water with 1,178 souls still aboard.
Andy also went off to visit the USS Missouri (site of the final Japanese surrender signing on 02 September 1945, thus bringing an end to WW2) and also the aviation museum on the same site. You can visit the memorial for free but must book your trip to the memorial in advance on line (or take pot luck when you arrive – there is a standby section and your chances depend on time of day). The other exhibits, such as the aviation museum, USS Missouri, and the USS Bluefin (submarine), have an additional cost.
You can take an organised tour there or just jump on a bus (number 20) like we did!
We took a round island tour to see some of the other Oahu sites, including the Dole pineapple plantation (gorgeous pineapple icecream or Dole whip as it is known here),
the beautiful North shore with its lovely sandy beaches (but be careful snorkeling and surfing here – the sea is not as friendly as it looks) and yummy fresh shrimp dishes, Highway 3 – apparently the most expensive road in America, which cuts through some stunning scenary, Jurassic valley as it is known due to some filming here (!), and also the Byodo-In Temple – a replica of one near Uji, Kyoto and which stands within the Valley of the Temples Memorial Park which is a huge multi denomination cemetary.
We also got to see more green sea turtles swimming near the shore.
It was a good snapshot of the rest of the island if you don’t want to drive but it’s not cheap (although we did get a fair amount of discount for sitting thro a timeshare presentation – well it was the middle of the day in an air conditioned room so nothing was lost there!!!! And no, we don’t own a timeshare now🤣🤣).
And just for you Hawaii Five-O fans, we had to go and find the King Kamehameha statue seen in the series. In actual fact it stands outside of the Capitol of the Kingdom of Hawai’i and home to the Hawai’i State Supreme Court – you can go on a tour but sadly not when we visited – court was is session.
Instead, we crossed over the road and went on an interesting tour of the Iolani Palace. It was built in 1882 and is the only royal residence in the United States. It was the home of Hawai’i’s last reigning monarchs before they were overthrown in 1893.
So our Hawaiian trip comes to a close – it’s been interesting seeing how different the 3 islands we visited are; Big Island is very brutal with its huge lava fields, Kaua’i is stunning beautiful and green and Oahu is a real mixture of scenary, history, music, surfing and commercialism. If you are water babies, love surfing and snorkelling, then these islands are for you – even if you’re not, then there is still lots to see and do. The food has been great, lots of fresh fish (Poke bowls are delicious) and fruit, we’ve had yukele lessons, learned a little Hawaiian – goodness, it’s a hard language and only has 13 letters in their alphabet, and enjoyed some stunning scenary. However, it is VERY expensive, especially on Oahu. Would we come again? Probably not, but it is worth visiting once in your life, at least if you can.
