Hawaii
August/September 2006

Hawaii is still a beautiful place. Actually it was special and lucky circumstance that I arrived there. The reason wasx my tiredness on the westbound flight to Honolulu. After seven hours stay in LA we entered the plane to Honolulu. We just were in, when they asked us to leave the plane again. A window was broken and afterwards it was taped and they repaired it provisional. Two hours later we entered again and they were still working on the pilot's window. If I would have been awake, I would probably not have entered. Anyway, it was a quite flight and we arrived at Honolulu's airport, but we had a two hours delay... That ment, that the rental car agency had already closed. We went by taxi' and arrived Ewa Beach at 1 o'clock in the morning. The airline paid for all if this.

Ok, I already know Hawaii and nothing was really surprising. The house is located still marvellous at the Pacific beach. The water is only ten metres from terrace away. Karen and Gary wonderful  for us. In the house was everything you'll need was: Towels, showering gel including shampoo, a barbecue-grill and charcoal, digital television, a cool one, surfboards, gulf clubs, etc. The vacation could begin. Indeed Ewa Beach developed the last four years. Meanwhile Foodland opened 24 hours, which was opprtune for us. In additon tghere are quite a few new houses and some new restaurants. That caused new traffic. Between 5 and 7 pm it is simply a disaster to drive from Honolulu to Ewa Beach.

Even if the tourism increased, this island still offers some incredible lovely and lonesome beaches. Obviously the Japanese and other guests don't leave their hotels in Waikiki. The Kailua-area in the east offers still the best beaches with white sand and blue water. The North shore is rarely visited and offers crystal-clear water, where you can spot sea-turtles. Once again in this vacation we hiked the Kaena Point in the north west. Deserted nature and breeding heat. But but also a wonderful experience and with great views of the natural coastline. We enjoyed the sunset at Yokohama Beach. The beach day before, at Yokohama Beach was incredible hot. No clouds, they all disappeared at the moment they came over the mountains.The sun fried us and it felt like 45°C. In addition it was windy, so the sand was blown across the beach. We felt like a shred. In this year we hiked also the Maunawilli trail, up to high country. The waterfalls were disappointing, but the trail through the tropical forest and the ascent in the Ko' olau Mountains was ingenious! Staying with Karen and Gary was wonderful… Naturally I walked the dogs with them on an old Air Force Base in the southwest. They told me something about teh history of this airfield and the nature. We had a good time talking about life and laughed a lot. Gary invited us again to an original Hawaiian dinner with very yummy and tasty things. Unfortunately it was the last night on Oahu and we had to stand up at 3am to get our plane. So we had not much time for every course... In addition Gary had to work on Monday again. The next time, we'll make this dinner on Friday or Saturday. But it didn't matter to the mood, so we talked stupid things and enjoyed the tasty dinner. Also Gary put the Schnaps on the table, I gave them on our tour 2002. It was the Kräuterhexe, a herb liquor It was still there, yes!

The next destinantion was called Big Island - time for the volcanoes. At this time I had a reservation for a hotel in the east, closer to the National Park. But it was the rainy side. However, it was only for for three days and usually at noon, the sun came out. Highlight was the Kilauea. This time we had planned more time for the National Park. Unfortunately the volcano was not so active as 2002. This meant that we saw no lava on our hike over the volcano. And the ways to the lava flood became extremely longer, because you don't come so close to it by car anymore! The steaming and bubbling volcano is nevertheless a genuine show. And the high steam cloud over the coast, where lava flows into the sea is unbelievable. Ingenious also the flight over the volcano with the helicopter. The active part of the Kilauea, the Pu' u O' o could be very good from the sky and then we also see what we had missed before: the lava! Our pilot was an old Air Force pilot, and so Heidrun's stomach didn't appreciated any flight manoeuver he did. But it wsa impressing, even though it was a rainy sky This was also the reason, why we didn't hiked the Waipio Valley. With the many clouds the valley did look so well and we also had no 4WD-Auto. That remains for the next time. Naturally we drove the Saddle Road (actually forbidden for rented cars - none knows why). Great views on the Mauna Kea and the Mauna Loa, everyone is higher than 4.000m. And perhaps next time I will drive up to the observatory on Mauna Kea.

Next stop Maui. The sun and the heat returned. Maui is the Hot Spot of the islands and scarcely 35°C expected us. The hotel on Maui was certainly not as beautiful as the house on Oahu… But I think no hotel can be as this house., with the opportunity to pack the cooler in the morning and head for the beach. Anyway, we had the beach in front of the mainbuilding. And we enjoyed it first. Atypical hawaiian hang- loose day with a visit in the old whaler city Lahaina in the evening. The new day began on the Haleakala in 3.000m height. The sunrise at 6.05 amk was sayful. Unfortunately some clouds pulled through when the sun entered the sky. Ten minutes later we had a clear view again. The fantastic colors before sunrise is breathtaking. Even if weared my skiing-pullover, in order not to make the same mistake as last time, it was unbelievable cold with 6°C! However, in spite of these tempertures we walked in the crater. For two hours we hiked through a moon landscape to a scenic lookout into the crater. Somehow eery. Back down the Haleakala and in the warmth, we drove the „The Road of Hana “. The road led by innumerable curves through the tropical forest. We had sufficiently time to stroll around and enjoy nature. In Hana we visited the well-known „Black Sand Beach “, before we drove back the southern street (another forbidden street for rental cars). A lovely day seemed to be over and we were tired. For Tobi and Heidrun the vacation came to an end on the coming day and we brought them to the airport. After this, Sandra and I visited some beaches and prepared for saying goodbye to Maui and Hawaii. With circling the north-west of Maui (likewise forbidden) as well as a beach break at Ka' anapali coast this part of the vacation ended also for us.

At this time we only visited three islands… But the entire vacation was longer. On the way home, we had a two day stopover in Los Angeles. It is and becomes no more my city. We spent the first night in Hollywood. Luckily we had an upgrade on a suite. This was the starting point for our tour through the Universal Studios. Again they were empty, worth seeing and we had a lot of fun. We didn't had to line for more than 15 minutes. In the evening we profitted by the extreme good sollar-euro exchange rate by visiting an outlet store.. On the last day we had a full program: Downtown, Hollywood and Beverly Hills. In the evening we drove to Santa Monica strolling the pier and the promenade at 3rd Street. A good vacation came to an end and on the departing day we thought, breakfast at Venice Beach would be nice. Then we started for going back to Germany…

A few things remained for the next vacation on Hawaii. So I must come again!

Another picture for the Schwichtenberg's album: Gary Schwichtenberg, Jörg und Karen Luke Thanks for everyting!
Oahu - Hale Kai Ewa	Oahu - View from Diamond Head over Waikiki	Oahu - Eastcoast
Oahu - USS Arizona Memorial	Oahu - Byodo In-Temple	Oahu - Hanauma Bay
Oahu - Kukalinoko Birthstones	Oahu - Kailua Beach	Big Island - Sulfur steams at the Kilauea
Big Island - Lava fllows into the ocean	Big Island - Pu'u O'o Crater	Big Island - Sunset
Maui - Pu'uhonua o Honaunau	Maui - Sunrise at Haleakala	Maui - Silversword at the Haleakala
Maui - Road to Hana	Los Angeles  - Walk of Fame	Los Angeles - Universal Studios

Back