Pacific Islands (2/10) – Surf & Turf Adventures

Here’s something I learned on this trip… that the State of Hawaii had 42% Asian, 24% white, and under 10% native Pacific Islander.  Of those Asians, Japanese was the largest group.  Many of them came over 100 years ago to work as laborers on the sugarcane plantation, both before and after the annexation of Kingdom of Hawaii.

Driving around in Honolulu felt as much like being in a territory of Japan than it did a state of the U.S.  Election campaign posters had Japanese names on them, tons of signage and menus were bilingual in English and Japanese, public buses were covered in JCB advertisements, and all the largest tour groups were Japanese.  Even more intriguing was what some American-based companies chose as their default language – when we called the front desk from our HGVC room, the agent answered the phone in Japanese; when aboard a Hawaiian Airlines flight, some announcements were in Japanese first and English second.

This joint promotion by two U.S.-based companies was entirely in Japanese.
Even though I was a recipient of the ad (being a passenger on a Hawaiian flight), I felt completely left out not being able to read it.

Another thing I learned on this trip was that Brian was intimately knowledgeable of Oahu.  He had visited this island so frequently since childhood, that he was practically a local.  He knew the roads, the food places, and the best things to see and do.  Even though we had done our research ahead of time as usual, it was no match to just following him around.  We credit him for making our trip more fun-filled and adventurous than it would have been.  The rest of this post lists the main activities that we did in Oahu.

 

KUALOA RANCH ATV

It’s been known that Vic is a huge fan of All-Terrain Vehicles (ATV), so there was no surprise when she asked Hong and I to join her and Brian on an ATV tour.  We drove to Kualoa Ranch, aka Jurassic Valley, where many dinosaur and other movies were filmed.

The scenery at this ranch was breathtaking, and riding on an ATV was quite fun.  The only disappointment was that the paths were too well paved as a major tourist attraction, that there wasn’t enough off-roading action.  Nevertheless, we all ended the 1-hour tour craving for more.

Welcome to Jurassic Park

Brian and I testing out helmets

Getting ready to go!

Vic

Middle of the alley

This giant crater in front of us (if you can see us, that is) was supposedly a Godzilla footprint

You think I look dumb, but everyone who came here took a picture just like this

 

HANAUMA BAY

This crater resulting from a collapsed volcano was easily the most famous snorkeling destination on Oahu.  It was a short drive away from Waikiki, but parking was supposedly a big problem due to its intense popularity.  Our family of 8 committed to checking it out, and managed to arrive here before 7am.  The parking lot was 85% full already.

For someone who loves the ocean and sucks at swimming, like me, a calm, shallow bay full of fish was the perfect place to be.  There was a mandatory video viewing session that educated us on the formation of the bay, conservation efforts, and the rules for protecting the habitat.  After that, we were free to go down the hill and have at it.  A bunch of websites told us about how a tram could take us down to and up from the beach for a small fee, but it turned out quite unnecessary.  Our kids walked the hill by themselves without a complaint.

Hanauma Bay

The bay covered in coral reefs… which supposedly used to be really colorful before tourism ramped up 🙁

Getting excited to snorkel!!

Beach

Fish!!!

All my underwater filming was in video, so there’s no picture of real fish to post here.  But wow, this was easily the best snorkeling experience I’d had.  There was an incredible amount of fish, most of which were full of color, and they weren’t shy around people.  I couldn’t get tired of aimlessly roaming around the reefs and looking for fish after fish.  Definitely would love to come back.

Scenic lookout near Hanauma Bay

 

LANIAKEA BEACH

“Do you want to see turtles?” Brian asked.

Well, some questions were just rhetorical.  Who wouldn’t want to see turtles?  So, as part of our visit to North Shore, we stopped by Laniakea Beach.  During our morning stop, we actually didn’t come across any… but a few hours later we happily sighted turtle landing.

Laniakea Beach

“Look, a turtle track!”

Climbing the rocks in attempt to find turtles

Brian & Vic

In the absence of turtles, Vic and I were fascinated by some dead crab

Yay a turtle!

Turtle landing looked very helpless overall.  Their mobility was so limited that it was almost comical.
Not sure why this one needed to bury its head in a puddle of water

 

WAIMEA BAY

Waimea Bay was another destination on North Shore.  I was very skeptical at first, wondering why we should trek so far for a beach when Oahu was surrounded by beaches.  Turned out that this one was top notch: long stretch of soft sand, warm water, and gentle waves.  We had a ton of fun here.

All the ladies in the family

Waimea Beach

Ava having a blast with Vic

The kids had so much fun that they crashed hard in the car

 

All this fun in Oahu destroyed some shoes!  Sara got a new pair of summer sandals from a Hawaiian Target

 

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Pacific Islands 2018 Index

1. Hawaii Four-O
2. Surf & Turf Adventures
3. Island Eats
4. On To Japan
5. Osaka via Shinkansen
6. Castle Day
7. Deer & Whale Shark
8. Osaka Urban Hangouts
9. Tasty Japan
10. Japan Favorites

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