Claire's Adventures: "Aloha" - Surfers Crossing

Crossing near Sunset Beach

Hawaii. The perfect place to finish an around the world trip. Also conveniently located as the natural last stop on my itinerary therefore it made perfect sense to stopover rather than doing the long flight from Canada direct. We got into Honolulu at about 11pm on the 4th of July, pity we seem to have missed most of the festivities though.

Another thing I loved about Hawaii was all of the beautiful flowers

From the moment the airport bus guy threw our bags onto the bus, we could tell that Hawaii was going to be a bit more laid back than most of the places we'd been. You could see families on their relaxing holiday wandering around Waikiki with matching Hawaiian shirts for father and son, wondering whether they would ever wear them again when they got home... Everything just seemed to happen on "Hawaii time", a far cry from the hustle and bustle of cities like New York, London, Istanbul or Moscow. But perhaps that was just what I needed.

Left: Here I am on Sunset Beach, Right: Surfboards on Waikiki Beach

We had a great couple of days in Hawaii... I was at the stage of the trip where I was happy just to relax, do a bit of sightseeing but nothing too adventurous. Hawaii is a fantastic place for that kind of holiday... Some nice hot weather before hitting the cold winter in Australia, a chance to relax on the beach (after to getting to a place with the best beaches since leaving Australia) with a good book, and having a nice swim, enjoying the sunset and the first time I've been on an island out in the middle of the Pacific.

Left: Sunset Beach, Right: Waikiki Beach

As is often the case with me, someone who doesn't relax well, we did do a little adventuring. One day we caught the bus all the way around the island of Oahu, stopping off for a break at Sunset Beach on the northern side of the island (I will say the hamburger and chips we got there felt more like a takeaway on the beach in Australia than any of the places in Honolulu or Waikiki) . Another day we took a trip to the beautiful Hanauma Bay near Honolulu - a protected bay famous for its snorkelling. I hired a snorkel and had a go myself, and got to see some beautiful coloured fish. That afternoon, we also visited Diamond Head, a volcanic crater overlooking Waikiki. I did the climb to the top, which included climbing stairs through claustrophobic tunnels, and the view at the top rewarded me with views all over the area. It was fantastic.

Inside the crater on Diamond Head (Left) and the view from the top over Waikiki