Aloha Steemers! Here is part two of my Sisters birthday trip to Hawaii....
Oahu!!!... home of the world famous Waikiki Beach, Hawaiian capital of Honolulu, Pearl Harbour, North Shore surf mecca, Diamond Head, tv show Hawaii 5 0 and "hang loose" 🤙 hand signal!
So keeping with the theme of the Maui leg of our trip we balanced out a little adventure with lots of sun, sand and cocktails!
PEARL HARBOUR
This was my second trip to Oahu, so I had already ticked off Pearl Harbour on my first trip but think it is defintely worth a visit, so check out their website for current information on opening times and admission prices
DIAMOND HEAD
Although I also ticked this off on my first trip, I wasn't passing up the oppourtunity to again see the amazing view of Honolulu meeting the Pacific Ocean or the beautiful hike up this 300,000 year old Volcano crater... and my sister hates walking so I just wanted to make her do it cos I'm a mean sister!
After googling/asking hotel staff what is the best way to get there we decide the cheapest is by bus and it just so happens the stop is just outside our hotel. After waiting what seems like forever, and seeing countless buses go by in the opposite direction, we give into one of the many taxi drivers that have tried to poach us... they offered a set price so we figured for the sake of $10/$15 that we should just catch the taxi so we could get our hike done and then we could hit the beach!.. we finally arrive at the Diamond Head National Park/State Monument and walk across the base of the crater to where the hike begins.
Map of the walk
As we are walking up a loud siren starts going off, nobody seems too bothered and we assume that going up the mountain is the right way to be going if it is a real tsunami warning... luckily it was just a false alarm.
We made it!
View from the bunker
Panoramic view
Spend about half an hour up at the summit, taking in the view, then start our descent back to the bottom... as we are going down pass a couple of people that were waiting at the bus stop with us.. they are only making their way up now, more than an hour after we arrived!
Unfortunately taxis are few and far between out here so we have to join the already very long for the bus. We are only waiting for about 20 minutes before it shows up, the bus clearly runs on "Island time" and somehow we got the timing right this time!
SHOPPING
We managed to hit up the largest mall in Hawaii and largest open air mall in the world - Ala Moana and bagged some bargains at the Waikele Premium Outlet mall. Also checked out the local farmers markets near Waikiki beach for local produce and crafts.
COCKTAILS
We had plently of different cocktails while we were here.... some super fancy like this one in a pineapple...
Some just in normal glass...
Some even in plastic cups... but look at that view!...
And when the budget runs low, even from a can from the nearest ABC store! Don't judge haha
HAIR BRAIDING
Nothing says a beach holiday more than braided hair so when we saw them at the local market we just had to get some done! Lucky for us there was plenty of styles and beads to choose from.
Before
After
Braids lasted a few days and was a good way to keep hair looking half decent whilst spending a lot of time in salt water!
FIREWORKS
Every Friday night the Hilton Hawaiian Village puts on a free firework display over Waikiki beach... defintely worth a night walk down to the beach if you are in the area.
Spectacular even before the fireworks!
So there we have it Steemers... sun, surf, sand, shopping, snorkelling, cocktails, chillaxing and a little adventuring make for a good birthday trip!
Here's one last Hawaiian sunset just because :)
Mahalo!