Thursday 10 March 2011

We made it!

So, after an intense two days of flying, we're finally in Hawaii!

We left on Monday the 7th March and took a plane to Minneapolis which took about 9 hours. That wasn't the longest part.... we then had a 4 hour wait at Minneapolis airport before getting on another plane to LA. That was really cool though because as we came into LA, it was about 11pm so you could see all the street lights and it looked pretty magical! After that though, we had an 8 hour stop over in LAX so we found some comfy seats (in McDonalds actually) and tried to sleep! Airports really aren't the best plane to sleep. They never rest! Anway, at about 6am we worked our way to our gate for the final leg to Hawaii. That was amazing! Flying across the Pacific Ocean was strange because you couldn't sea land anywhere and you knew that the only piece of land you will see again would be Hawaii itself. As you flew into Honolulu, you could see other islands emerging from the heavy cloud like big, black sea monsters. It was pretty spectacular!

The past two days we have been chilling on the beach, having a little swim and just exploring our new home. Waikiki itself is quite touristy with lots of Japanese tourists snapping away at street entertainers and traditional hulu dancers. It's a fun place to be though and on our first night, we had dinner at a revolving reasturant! Yesterday, we walked all the way up to Diamond Head Crater, me in my flip flops, which took us about 35/40 minutes through beaches and up country roads. But it started to rain and my feet got sore so we took the bus back! We still need to go to the top of Diamond Head as it's a dorment volcano and it will cross off one of the things on my 'Gap Year to-do list'! That evening, we bought some snorkles and had a look at the fish at Waikiki Beach. Oh my, we saw some amazing fish! I saw a flat fish which looked like a rock, lots of blue and yellow skinny fish and I think I saw a sea horse but I'm not sure if it was just sea weed!But apparently there isn't much to see at Waikiki Beach, so I'm excited to explore Hanuma Bay which is where giant turtles, dolphins, whales and seals swim! Everyone we've met so far has been really helpful and friendly. So much so, that we met two guys, Ernesto and Fred, on Waikiki Beach last night and today, they took us hiking! Ernesto is originally from LA and is Mexican so he had a lot of interesting things to say about that. But he was more interested in us and the differences between American and English cultures. He was fascinated by the idea of a cup of tea and was desperate to try some apple cider!! Fred is a born and bred Hawaiian from Big Island who is so chilled, he doesn't speak much! But Ernesto talked enough to fill any silences! He is insane at surfboarding and taught me and George how to boogie board a bit! Him and Ernesto took us hiking today in the middle of the island down to a waterfall. It was quite a hard trek as we had to walk down steep slopes, but the big tree roots were good to use as steps.

It took us about half an hour to climb further down the forest, getting more muddy (it rained on and off all day) and more sweaty with every step. When we finally reached the waterfall, it was amazing! Here is a photo:
We immediately stripped down to our swimming costumes and the guys dived into the pool while I tried to syke myself up for doing the same! I've never jumped into open water before and not being able to see into it was quite daunting. But Fred swam into the pool first to check its depth and gave it the all clear. I managed to jump in and it felt amazing! The water was so cold but I was so hot that it was perfect!


Then, we had to walk back UP the steep slopes to the car! That was really hard! I learnt a lot about how unfit I am from that trip! But it was still fun. We then drove North to Waimea Bay where the big surf competitions happen in November and December. It's a really iconic beach in the surfing community and we were excited to go. We were not disapointed! The beach was soft, golden sand and the sea was such a light blue. It was beautiful! The sun was shining and we were in heaven! The waves were huuuuuuge too. We weren't allowed to swim in the sea unless we knew the beach and the sea really well (which of course, Fred did). So we stayed on the sand and George climbed the rocks and did some flips and I took photos and videos of the waves and Fred surfing and George flipping. It was great! We're exhusted now but don't sleep well in our 8 person dorm as it gets very noisey and people aren't very respectful of your personal space. We only have twoo nights left so we're going to see how it goes tonight and then think about our situation.

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1 comment:

  1. Great blog kiddo, keep it up. Hope the accomodation situation improves. Don't get caught out by the bad weather warnings! Love you and take care xx

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