Oct 13, 2019 - Waikiki

13 October 2019 Our last full day to finish off our Hawaiian adventure. A coffee at the Fair Coffee Lounge, after which we set off for Diamond Head. Decided to go by Uber, picked up by a friendly fellow in his Tesla - probably our first and only ride in such a vehicle. Lots of people already at Diamond Head, $1 entry fee and we had a look around before Ian and Pam decided they would do some of the climb. Anne & Don made themselves comfy under the big shady trees, while the climbers took off. Not sure how far we would go, and found the track...

Oct 12, 2019 - Waikiki

12 October 2019 Our earliest start to the day since leaving Knight Inlet. Our pickup was 6.10am, just a few minutes walk from our accommodation. Had a little wait, as we were the last pickup of the morning. Not a long trip to Pearl Harbour, so we had a while to wait as they don't open until 7am. Plenty of bus tours and private cars already there before us. Plenty of rules for visiting this site, such as no handbags, no camera cases, bring a photo identity (which wasn't really needed), no food. It was amazing how many people had to go back...

Oct 11, 2019 - Waikiki

11 October 2019 The day started with an early morning wake up call. Heard a bit of thunder and then both our phones made different loud sounds at 4.42am. The message - Flash Flood Warning this area til 7.30am. HST. Avoid flooded areas. The thunder rolled around between the high rises for quite some time, some lightning, but we managed to get a few cat naps in before we had to get up. The forecast for the day didn't sound too good with more storms and flash flooding. However, none of that eventuated and the day was fine and cloudy. After the...

Oct 10, 2019 - Waikiki

10 October 2019 Thursday morning pickup to go shopping. Yes, believe it or not, we booked a shopping outlet tour to Waikele. This has been mentioned to us at home and here, so we were on our way at 9am, 10 Aussie shoppers, 1 New Zealand lady and one Californian driver who thought he knew all our "slang", but we might have given him some new ones! Our first impression on arrival at Waikele, we thought we may not be in the right place, but after tentative steps, we soon found some bargains, and all very happy that we made the trip. Picked up...

Oct 9, 2019 - Waikiki

9 October 2019 A quiet morning for us. Met as usual for coffee at 10am in the Fair Coffee Lounge. We then headed out for some supplies, and the men found another cap! Came back to our rooms for lunch and relaxed for a while before heading out at 3.30pm to the pick up point at the Ambassador Hotel just around the corner for our Luau tour. Set off just before 4pm, picked up more passengers at the Trump Tower & we were on our way to the Chief's Laua, about a 45 minute drive from Waikiki. Our guide this time was cousin Beau, a lovely young man...

Oct 8, 2019 - Waikiki

8 October 2019 A rest day today. Sleep in, coffee at the Fairs again at 10am. Time for the beach and a swim at Waikiki. It is a nice walk through the parklands to the beach. Today there were several vans in one area of the park which seemed to be set up for Hawaii 50 filming. There were hair, make up, catering and accommodation vans, and some with maybe the cast names on. Once again, nobody seemed interested in using four Aussies for "crowd" scenes. Continued on to the beach and got a good table and chairs on the beach front. Straight in...

Oct 7, 2019 - Waikiki

7 October 2019 A big day out on the Island. Picked up at 7.45am by Hoku Hawaii Tours to do a circle tour of Oahu. Our driver (cousin Kevin), was a local character, to say the least. He was a wealth of information, and talked for most of the day! That was until we arrived back around 5pm!! Our first stop was at the Green World Coffee Farm, which was very interesting, seeing the coffee beans growing on the trees, and then watching them being cooled down after roasting. We learnt a lot from the man doing the roasting process. Continued on to...

Oct 6, 2019 - Waikiki

6 October 2019 A nice easy day today before we have a day out tomorrow. Had a coffee at the "Fair Coffee Shop" before venturing out later in the morning. Did a timed test run to where we are to be picked up tomorrow for an island tour at 7.35am. Then headed to the Waikiki Beach area to check that out for our day at the beach later in the week. Not too far to walk, and a nice path through a lovely park area that leads straight onto the sand. Very popular area today with tourists and families. Checked out the shopping area, and just happened...

Oct 5, 2019 - Waikiki

5 October 2019 Cruised in to Honolulu on time around 6.45am. A pleasant cruising night-very smooth. The buffet breakfast was packed, but we found a table easily and enjoyed our last meal on board. Did final clean up in cabin, said goodbye to Tommy, and left room by 8.30am. Sat in lounge area until our call for going ashore at 9am. Queues were long, but moved fairly quickly. Our bags were waiting & easy to find. Joined the taxi queue and were on our way without any delays. Our "home" for the next 9 nights was ready when we arrived, so it...

Oct 4, 2019 - Nawiliwili to Honolulu

4 October 2019 Our last full day on board, and we have had a very relaxing day. Woke to some rain, and looked like there had been quite a bit of overnight rain as well. Lots leaving the ship for various tours, but we opted to stay onboard. A very leisurely breakfast, and then we visited the jewellery shop (they had announced some discounts), all very nice, but everything is still in the shop! Started a game of cards near the Pink Bar, but soon found we were being surrounded by the setup for the art auction later in the day. No other tables...

Oct 3, 2019 - Nawiliwili, Kauai Island

3 October 2019 Cruised all night to Kauai and berthed at Nawiliwili early in the morning. Probably the most "rocking" we have had, but it was not rough. Just a gentle sway all night. Caught the free shuttle after breakfast and went into "town" to the Anchor Cove Shopping Centre. We headed down to the beach first, and then to have a look through the Marriott Hotel which is huge and has several guest towers. A beautiful tropical oasis is the centre piece, with fountains and a waterfall and some of the biggest fish we have ever seen. These are...

Oct 2, 2019 - Kona to Nawiliwili, Kauai

2 October 2019 Another very smooth cruise from Hilo to Kona. Had to look outside early in morning to see if we had docked or were still moving. We anchored off Kona and transported to town by a shuttle of four tender boats. All very well organised, with lots of guests heading into the town area or on tours. The tenders carry 97 persons when transporting & 150 persons when used as a lifeboat. Lots of interesting little shops in Kona and we enjoyed poking around the town area, watching local fishermen and having a bit of lunch. Back on...