Rosy Lady

Last day

Our time in Hawaii flew by.  Thank you for allowing me to relive some of our memories and share it with you.  On our last day in Hawaii, we decided to rest at the hotel.  I got a henna tattoo on my hand and Hubby got one on his arm but, we did not actually take any photos although they showed on some of our photos that we took in San Francisco (to follow in another post).  

I will leave you with a few of the scenes that we've captured on our last day..

Next stop San Francisco.

xx        

 

Sunrise on Haleakala

We were picked up from our hotel at 3 a.m. to go and observe the sunrise on Haleakala which means House of the sun.  Haleakala is a dormant volcano on Maui.  It is huge: 6.99 miles (11.25 km) across, 2.0 mi (3.2 km) wide, and some 2,600 ft (790 m) deep.

We did the tour with Polynesian Adventure Tours.  We found a great spot and then observed in awe as the beauty of nature unfolded.

 

It was freezing cold, but so amazing to look down on the clouds as the sun slowly raised his sleepy head.

Slowly the clouds moved away to reveal the rim of the crater. 

The silversword plant only grows on top of Haleakala.  It has been an endangered specie since 1922.

 

We even spotted a rainbow on our way back down.

We also had an unexpected stop where I had the opportunity to admire various protea varieties.

      

I loved the vibrant colours of the bougainvillea.

     

 

xx

Road to Hana

We had an early morning start for our escourted excursion to drive the road to Hana.  We went with Polynesian Adventure Tours.

We had a quick breakfast stop overlooking the ocean before we started our road trip.  The rain started to come down with force and determination and I have to admit that I started to wonder if this was such a great idea.  The road to Hana is known as a spectacular drive but, also a dangerous drive with lots of twists and turns, narrow roads, waterfalls, bridges and cliff edges.

 

As it turned out, our drive was very experienced and careful while the rain made for the most beautiful waterfalls and rainbows.  Yes we got soaking wet, but throughout our holiday Hawaii has given us the perfect weather for each occasion.  It was so beautiful and I felt so blessed to be there.

The rain water formed various little waterfalls as the water poured down the mountain.

A black sand beach.

We had an unexpected stop that was a lovely little bonus.

      

The rain stopped to catch it's breath while I was given a moment to indulge in the beauty of this island.

We passed the property of various celebrities including Oprah Winfrey.     

We had one last stop on this tour at a winery and a ranch store.  I spotted these flowers and thought they were plastic until I touched them.  They are real!

        

We got back just in time for another glorious sunset.

xx    

Snorkeling with the Pacific Whale Foundation

We did a full day snorkeling excursion with the Pacific Whale Foundation.  

It started out to be a lovely day, but it quickly turned a little windy.

Hubby enjoyed the snorkeling:

I did get into the water, but not for long.  It was too cold and windy!

    

So I became the onboard photographer instead.  I know, I know.  Total wimp.

   

Having a whale of a time

Our first day in Maui was an early start as we booked to go on an early whale watching tour with the Pacific Whale Foundation.  They are a non-profit organization and all money spent with them goes to whale conservation, education and research.  

I was giddy with excitement as our vessel/boat moved across the ocean.  It was cold and windy, but our eyes were fixed on the waves as we looked for the misty spray from a whale.

 

I told you it was windy!  I was constantly battling to keep my hair out of my face.

 

The whales did not disappoint us.  There were playful baby whales.

We also saw mama whales and the males who tried to impress the ladies.

The most amazing thing happened when an adult humpback whale suddenly breached right in front of our boat and then another one right next to her.  Unfortunately our camera was set to zoom and we only managed to capture one of them.

I will never forget that moment.   

Well, that set the mood and so we spent the rest of the morning at the aquarium.

I fell in love with this little guy:

A baby sea turtle!

When we got back to the shops at Wailea near our hotel, I could not resist having my first piece of key lime pie.

I also found the perfect memento to always remind me of Hawaii.

A Plumeria rose gold necklace from Hawaiian jewelers Na Hoku.  

xx  

Next stop Maui

We did not rent a car as a lot of our excursions were escorted.  The holiday got off to a great start when our airport transfer man stopped at a stall near the beach where a lady sells pickled mangoes.  Of course we had to try some and then buy some more as a snack in our room.

  

We stayed at the Fairmont Kea Lani, which is a beautiful hotel.  We were greeted with a lei before we were showed to our suite.  That's right, the whole hotel has suites.  Of course the camera came out (I apologize now, this is probably going to be a really boring post).

 

Although we only had a partial sea view from our balcony, it was definitely not a bad view to wake up to.

 

And, we saw some spectacular sunsets from here.

xx 

 

Last day on the Big Island

By this time we have been going non-stop and the tiredness really started to set in so, we decided to spend our last day on the Big Island by relaxing at the hotel in the morning and then browsing some local shops in the afternoon.

We had the most amazing dinner at Sansei a very popular seafood restaurant.  They are on some of the other islands as well and I cannot recommend them high enough (this is coming from someone who is fussy when it comes to fish and seafood).

       

We had the chef's selection which, had plenty of tasters of various dishes that I wouldn't normally have tried and I would therefore have missed out big time.  Everything was tasty and cooked to perfection.

We finished the day with a walk on the beach.  The sand was soft like flour under our toes and the ocean was warm as it pushed out over our feet and the path back to the hotel was pitch black which meant we had to feel-feel our way back in the dark but, what an amazing time we were having.  Not once did we worry about anything.  Hubby never complained about any pain (except a bit of sunburn).  It really started to feel like a new chapter in our lives after the two years of cancer worries.  We experienced so much, we laughed so much, we ate so much and we loved it all so very much.  Next stop:  Maui.

xx  
 

Volcano National Park

We went to the Big Island of Hawaii hoping to see a live volcano but, unbeknown to us, the active volcano stopped the lava flow for four months which during the period that we went.  So, we saw lots of steam, smoke and hardened lava instead, which was still interesting.

So this is the closest we got to the live volcano.  I had a strange sulphur taste in my mouth the whole day that we were in the park, which has to do with the volcanic fumes produced by the volcano.

 

We also saw several steam vents in the park.

The Big Island of Hawaii is still a growing island because of all the volcanic activity.  There was plenty of evidence of the islands' volcanic activities over the years:

Just imagine this as a volcanic lake.  Pretty awesome right?

     

We also got the opportunity to walk through a lava tube (underground tunnel formed by lava).

A very interesting day which ended with another great sunset.

xx       
 

Aloha Oahu and Hello Big Island

Our time in Oahu seemed to fly by and I felt a little teary eyed the morning we were due to go to the Big Island of Hawaii.  

I did not want to throw away the lei that we got the day before at the PCC and the Hubby had a great idea.  

 

The Hawaiian people have been telling us all week who they all live off the land (aina -island) and give back to the land.  We have noticed some statues around Honolulu covered in lei's and decided to go and place our lei's on the statue of Duke Kahanamoku  on Waikiki beach as our way of giving back to the island. 

The Duke Kahanamoku statue was created by sculptor Jan-Michelle Sawyer and in 1990 on the 100th anniversary of the Duke's birth. The statue honors Duke Kahanamoku as the father of modern surfing. 

This was our way of saying Aloha and goodbye to Oahu.

After the lush green of Oahu, the Big Island felt very different.  We stayed on the Kona side of the island.  When we landed and as we drove to our hotel, everything just looked black and burned to me with all the black volcanic rock everywhere.

   

It was a strange experience to drive on the 'wrong' side of the road (In the UK and South Africa we drive on the left).  I was so glad when Hubby agreed to do all the driving as the car's steering wheel was also on the 'wrong' side and it was an automatic (I'm used to a manual car).  He did a very good job.

But, as we approached our hotel, it got greener:

I bet these bougainvilleas at our hotel are beautiful when they are in full bloom:

     
 We had a lovely ocean view room from where we could hear the ocean.  I slept quite well here with sea breeze and the sound of the ocean.

It was wonderful to observe the colours of the sky change at sunset.

       

xx

Polynesian Cultural Centre

We spent our last day on Oahu at the Polynesian Cultural Centre which is located on the north of the island.  It was about an hours' drive from Honolulu and took us past film locations of '50 First Dates', 'Karate Kid 2' and 'Jurassic Park', which was quite exciting.  

(Taken from the bus). 

The north of the island is so beautiful, I would love to go back and explore more.

 

I was not sure about this excursion but it ended up being a highlight of our stay in Oahu.  I loved the opportunity to learn more about the different Polynesian cultures in a very fun and creative way.  There was a lot of laughing, singing, dancing and I loved all the colours and patterns of their costumes and in the decor/architecture.  I will share some of my photos with you:

We had some excellent Hawaiian food for lunch and dinner while being entertained by dancers and musicians.

     

 

 

 

We participated in several traditional events and Hubby even got a 'fake' tattoo at the Maori village:

In the evening, we saw their spectacular show Ha - Breath of Life!

If you ever get the chance to go, I highly recommend it!

xx