Todd and I managed to get away to one of our dream destinations - Hawaii. There was a lot of trepidation and much planning, but we got away and had a fantastic holiday together.
I would highly recommend this place as an all in one holiday, including beach, sightseeing and shopping!
Here is a snapshot of the holiday:
 |
| Felt the warmth when we stepped off the plane! Love that feeling! |
 |
| The trees and buildings wrapped in lights were a lovely welcome to Hawaii |
 |
| The view from our balcony, where much Malibu was sipped (with coke and also in the form of premixed Pina Coladas)! |
 |
| All the surfboards lined up on Waikiki |
 |
The Volcanic Lava Nachos at Jimmy Buffett's restaurant at our accomodation, the Waikiki Beachcomber , were mammoth (and delicious)! |
 |
| View of Diamond Head crater from Waikiki Beach |
 |
| The famous Pink Palace (first hotel built in Waikiki built originally for Princess Kaiulani ) |
 |
| Where we swam and watched the fabulous sun set over Waikiki beach. |
 |
| ABC stores - a store on just about every corner (a great source of macadamia choc covered nuts, premixed pina coladas and magic kiss lipsticks! We were told ABC stood for All Blocks Covered! |
 |
| Our hotel overlooked The International Marketplace, similar to the markets in Hong Kong, but trimmed prettily with greenery, a waterfall and exotic fish. |
 |
| The Pink Trolley Bus took us past many fabulous statues overlooking the beach, depicting warriors and princesses of Hawaii. |
 |
| Many locals pay homage to these statues by placing beautiful flower leis on them. I loved seeing those beautiful sunsets. |
 |
| Ohh laa laa! |
 |
| Todd outside The Big Kahuna (where he cured his shopping addiction for sunglasses). |
 |
| We took a tour of the island of Honolulu - people actually pay to use this private beach at Hanuama Bay - the scene of one Elvis movies, Blue Hawaii. |
 |
| Patience paid off as I managed to capture one of the renowned blow holes in action. |
 |
| The windiest point , overlooking the North Shore of Oahu, where the pearl harbor bombers flew over. |
 |
| The world cup surfing event was just getting started when we visited. |
 |
| Surfers warming up for the big event |
 |
| A sombre day to visit Pearl Harbour - a week before the 70th anniversary of that dark, sad day. |
 |
| We took a poignant boat trip out to the U.S.S Arizona memorial |
 |
| Says it all really... |
 |
| The Dole Plantation where we were surprised to view the exorbitant prices of pineapples in Hawaii! Must be because they export most of it. Kinda like how much our lamb costs us New Zealanders in a country full of millions of sheep! |
 |
| We timed the holiday perfectly, which included Thanksgiving day with a high school band competition held over this weekend and an early Xmas parade combined in one. |
 |
| One of the few left Pearl Harbor survivors, honoured in the parade. |
 |
| Our favourite shopping store in Hawaii, the Ross store- worth the trip for even just the shopping! We went with 13kg baggage and came back with 46kg combined! |
 |
| Lots of these stretch limos everywhere, along with girls carrying surf boards, a true Hawaiian girl with hair touching the ground, Burger King with surfboards for door handles and.... |
 |
| the token homeless preacher outside the seven eleven! |
No comments:
Post a Comment