Scattered Clouds, 31°C Honolulu, HI 96818, USA #Pearl Harbour We had booked a whole day tour of Pearl Harbour and USS Missouri today. It was a fascinating experience. Whole I knew a little bit about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour in WWII, I had no idea how large the attack was and how much it impacted the US. It was amazing planning by the … Continue reading Pearl Harbour

Overcast Clouds, 28°C 49-560 Kamehameha Hwy, Kaneohe, HI 96744, USA #Shopping and Swimming Ben had been obsessed about visiting the outlet mall for months. We had a few day today so Bron and Ben took the shuttle to the Waikele Outlet centre for the day. I took the others to a park near the hotel which was near the army museum. The kids got to … Continue reading Shopping and Swimming

Few Clouds, 27°C 91-120 Olai St, Kapolei, HI 96707, USA #A Luau-vely Evening We are back in Honolulu and docked first thing in the morning. Our transfer to the hotel want without its issues but was nothing major. More importantly our hotel check-in was a breeze with the rooms ready and waiting for us. We are on almost the to floor with the spacious rooms … Continue reading A Luau-vely Evening

Overcast Clouds, 28°C 200 Beach Walk, Honolulu, HI 96815, USA #Last Day Today is our last full day on the cruise and second day in Nawiliwili. We didn’t have anything specific booked so decided to take the shuttle into a beach nearby. The water looked absolutely pristine and bluer than I have ever seen it. The waves, however, were quite brutal. The beach got pretty … Continue reading Last Day

#The Magnificient Landscape of Nawiliwili We docked in Nawiliwili today which is on the island of Kauai and is the left most major island in Hawaii. We had organised a private tour to take us around the island. Unfortunately there have been some pretty bad storms over the past few days and the northern West of the island could not be accessed. Instead we went … Continue reading The Magnificient Landscape of Nawiliwili

#A Cruisy Day It was a bit of a bummer of a morning today. Bron, Ben, Matthew and Emily were booked to go on a submarine to see the coral and marine in Kona bay. As Thomas was too young for the submarine I had booked for the two of us to go on a Glass Bottomed Boat instead. Kona pier isn’t big enough for … Continue reading A Cruisy Day

#Force of Nature One of the sights I have been most looking forward to this trip has been to see the active volcano. Unfortunately when we were in the Big Island all roads leading to the volcano we closed so we didn’t get closed. Then all the volcano tours we had booked on the cruise got cancelled as well. Fortunately or ship sailed along the … Continue reading Force of Nature

#Daay 2 in Maui Today was our second day in Maui and we didn’t have any specific activities planned. For breakfast we decided to try the big buffet, which turned out to be a bad idea. It was just a bit too overwhelming and claustrophobic with a table or size. The noise and the food didn’t help. I think we will go back to the … Continue reading Day 2 in Maui

#Joining the Cruise We had another slow start today and had breakfast at the hotel. It really is a hotel better suited for grown ups and the kids were very disappointed that there wasn’t any big buffet. We all ordered off the menu and sat by the pool which was relaxing till Thomas decided that he had had enough and wanted to run around. We … Continue reading Joining the Cruise

#Back to Honolulu After having spent a week in the Big Island we returned to Honolulu today to join the cruise tomorrow. Since we had done most of the packing the night before it was a bit of a relaxed start for us. We checked out around 11 and then drove down to the airport for our flight at 2. Kona airport is entirely in … Continue reading Back to Honolulu

#Road to Hana We docked in Kailua on the island of Maui this morning and are going to be spending 2 days here. We had organised a private tour of the island heading out to a coastal city of Hana. Our tour guide, Georgia, is a local who had lived in Maui her whole life and this was evident in the amount of information and … Continue reading Road to Hana

Broken Clouds, 27°C 69-425 Waikoloa Beach Dr, Waikoloa Village, HI 96738, USA #A Lazy Day Given we had a couple of pretty long days, we decided to stay in the resort and just take it easy today. After a leisurely breakfast we went down to the pool and spent the morning splashing around. Thomas took a while to get used to it but then really … Continue reading A Lazy Day

Overcast Clouds, 29°C 1871 Trail, Captain Cook, HI 96704, USA #A Big Long Day Bron and Ben were keen to do kayaking and we booked in for a tour first thing in the morning. After a rushed departure at 6.30 in the morning we arrived at the location in time for them to head off. They kayaked to the Captain Cook Memorial and back again … Continue reading A Big Long Day

Few Clouds, 27°C 69-1047 Naupaka Kai Pl, Waikoloa Village, HI 96738, USA #Luau Feast We booked in for a traditional Luau dinner at the resort which also promised a Legend of Hawaii show. The centrepiece of the Luau is meant to be a whole pig that is cooked in a pit and then carved and shared. In true Americal fashion it was merely a huge … Continue reading Luau Feast

Scattered Clouds, 29°C 81-6569 Mamalahoa Hwy, Kealakekua, HI 96750, USA #Driving Day Since we had the car for the whole week I had planned a day of driving down the West coast to see some of the sights. We had a sleep in (even Matthew) and headed down for breakfast, and we weren’t done till 10.30. Our first stop was a place called “End of … Continue reading Driving Day

Few Clouds, 27°C 69-425 Waikoloa Beach Dr, Waikoloa Village, HI 96738, USA #Dolphin-ately worth it The Hilton Waikola Resort that we are staying at has dolphins in its Lagoon and they provide opportunities for the guests to swim with the dolphins. They also provide a program where kids can become a dolphin trainer for the day. I had signed up Ben and Matthew to do … Continue reading Dolphin-ately worth it

Overcast Clouds, 13°C International Terminal 1, Centre Rd, Mascot NSW 2020, Australia #The Nightmare Continues We finally arrived in Honolulu a day late, tired and ready to hit the beach. We just had one more flight to catch, which was an American domestic flight. Domestic air travel in Australia has really spoilt us and the experience in America is just so woeful. Immigration and customs … Continue reading The nightmare continues…