Hawaii - O'AHU

We arrived in Honolulu on the 23rd - found an awesome little backpackers (Polynesian Hostel) just a block away from Waikiki Beach. As you would expect, Waikiki is pretty developed and kitchy - v. similar to Surfer's Paradise - still, it's a groovy little place to check out - if only for a day or two.

The hostel put on a "cocktail party" the first night we were there - for just $6 we could drink unlimited Mai Tai's - dangerous to say the least but we didn't go too crazy (I'm not that kind of girl...) & we knew we had a big day ahead of us so we didn't have a late one - needless to say, it made for some nice "mingling" & was a nice way to spend our first evening in the state of Hawaii.

We hired a car the following morning (yesterday) and drove around the island of O'ahu - saw beautiful stretches of coast line (incl. famous surfing spots Waimea Bay, Banzai Pipeline etc.) - being the hard core surfers that we are, Row & I kept to some of the smaller beaches for a few dips as we didn't want to show off in front of the locals and start a kafuffel.

We did the usual "drive-around-things" like stopping at the side of the road to buy fresh tropical fruit, stopped in at a Macadamia Nut Plantation along our way (a local had told us they give loads of samples - hooray for free samples!), stopped to take pics of bits & pieces (including the daggy "pretend I am as tall as an island" thing... & "pretend Rowan is a pharaoh and is looking out onto his land" thing...) & found a cool little cafe for lunch.

Personally, I think the best thing about taking the coastal road along the island is that to the other side lies dense rainforest - with gigantic steep cliffs spurting outwards and upwards - think Jurassic Park country and that's exactly what it is like - we even went past the area they filmed the movie!

Anyway - we had just two nights in Waikiki before boarding a plane for the island of Maui this morning which is where we are now!