Honolulu - Hawaii.

Hello Again from Aurora!

On Saturday 19 March 2011 Aurora was berthed alongside the Aloha Tower in Honolulu. This is always a great port of call as there is so much to see and do. Once we were alongside Prakash and I escorted the Officials up to Vanderbilt's and Carmens and we got the face to face United States Immigration Inspection underway. There are always a lot of formalities to complete when entering an American Port for the first point of entry.

Safety Officer Andrew and Security Officer Eric see that all is well from the Bridge!

We also had US Coastguard Officers on board inspecting our ship and at 1000 hours we did a full crew General Emergency Stations Drill and we passed with flying colours! United States Port Health Inspectors did not show up so we can expect to see them in San Francisco.

Many of you will recognise the Cruise Ship Terminal with all the murals from the 1930s.......

Once all the morning business was over Amanda and I popped ashore in the afternoon for a walk, shopping at the mall and then over to Drakes at Waikiki Beach for a bite of Dinner! All the things you can do in a day!

As our fuel barge needed more time we knew that Aurora would be sailing at 8.00pm and not 6.00pm so this just added to the call. The weather was perfect with a little breeze and not too hot.

In the past I have been to visit Pearl Harbour and explore the exhibits at the World War II Pacific National Monument Centre - this is very moving - remembering the Pearl Harbour attack of 1941. There are so many things you can do, like taking a helicopter flight, a Coastal Explorer excursion like Graham did, visit the Atlantis Submarine etc. For me it was a great opportunity to just stretch the legs and flex the credit card!! If not why not!

Here is Grahams Report on the day..................

Mark Twain declared Hawaii to be 'the loveliest fleet of islands that lies anchored in any ocean', and not even many years of mass tourism have proved him wrong. These islands are some of the most beautiful and isolated in the world - 2,500 miles to the nearest land mass, which is North America of course.

We were berthed alongside at the terminal building adjacent to the Aloha Tower Marketplace with its shops and restaurants inside it. This area is always popular for our passengers.

It was once Honolulu’s tallest building but it’s now dwarfed by gleaming skyscrapers that have now become commonplace here. I decided to accompany the Hawaiian Coastal Explorer tour that allowed us to get up close with nature and is the only tour that us to take the passengers down into the famous Diamond Head volcanic crater.

Diamond Head Crater is on the South-east Coast of O'ahu at the end of the Waikiki area overlooking the Pacific Ocean and has been extinct for 150,000 years.  The current name came was given to the crater by British sailors in the 1800s when they first saw the crater at a distance, the calcite crystals in the lava rock appeared to glimmer in the sunlight and the sailors mistakenly thought there must be diamonds in the soil.
The tour actually allows us you to drive down into the crater itself which is now a nature reserve and is enjoyed by locals and visitors alike for extended hikes. To enable us to do this we needed to drive through the tunnel that was blasted through during WWII to enable the US troops stationed there easy access.

The coastline around this eastern point of the island is spectacular and has lots of great photo opportunities, in particular the stop we made at the Hanauma Bay area. Our elevated view was to say the least beautiful and some said spectacular.

The water was perfectly clear and one could clearly see the coral beds just under the water's surface.

One aspect of the coast here that some will recall was the bay where the Hollywood film makers shot scenes from ‘From Here to Eternity’.

We moved on to see the power of the ocean at the famous Halona Point Blow Hole. The rage of the sea was evident as it crashed over the rocks but we did not see the water bursting from the volcanic tube as we had hoped.

To the left of our view was yet another beautiful beach area, this time it was called Sandy Bay, quite innocuous really, but that was just what it was, a truly sandy beach.

Further around the coast we stopped to see the bay at Makadu’u. Here we hoped to see some turtles in the sea, but unfortunately we were disappointed. However, we could still enjoy views of the beach area that was all but deserted apart from the passengers I was with. They enjoyed walking the soft white sand and paddling in the warm azure sea. Many remarked how much they were enjoying seeing so much of this small section of the eastern coastline, an area they had not seen or even knew existed before. I guess they thought that Hawaii was all about Waikiki.  Next we headed for a very different area to see some of the special endemic plants and trees of the island. This is a facet that the government here are trying to strengthen as so much of the vegetation was brought into the island by settlers over the hundreds of years of development. The guide enthusiastically showed us just a few of these before moving onto to see the remains of an Hawaiian war temple.

Finally we motored on to see the extensive views from the windswept Pali lookout. It always blows fiercely here and we had to brace ourselves carefully against the protective rails to take our photographs. This is definitely not the place to go having just paid for a new hairstyle. All the times that I have been here I have never known it an any different, always windy and always shrouded a little in mist. So before we realised we were back in downtown Honolulu and once again enjoying the comforts of our home on the sea, Aurora. Happy memories once again of Hawaii, I am sure its friendly shores will beckon us back again very soon.

Many thanks for your report Graham.........


Off to the Mall now!

What a great place to wander around and sell everything from Macy's to Mont Blanc!

We enjoyed a cup of tea and a fresh strawberry Swiss roll to keep our energy levels up.

 In the bag!

Amanda in retail therapy................

Some amazing interiors in the shops.......................

Time for dinner on the beach!

A great setting with a live band playing - what more could you ask for?

Great service............

Do we have to leave?!

People were dancing to the live music...........

Life's a beach.....................am I really here - you know one of those moments............

Lots of Hotels along Waikiki Beach - I could holiday here................!

Impressive entrance to the Hotels......................................

Trolley Trams......................

More shopping behind Waikiki Beach.......

A cooling off dip..................

A sun downer - and a dip -  as the day dictates............................

Birthday greetings and congratulations to Michael Maddox on your 21st Birthday on 23 March with love & Best wishes from Nan and Grandad on board Aurora approaching San Francisco.

Mel and Rita Armstrong send best wishes to Son Wayne, Daughter-in-law Sally and Grandson Matthew - thinking of you all!

Passengers and Ship's Company all enjoyed their day in Honolulu - wish we were staying for longer was the mantra of the day! Perhaps I will come back here one day for a holiday..........that's a lovely thought! It was a very busy resort - no sign of a slow down here. Once back on board it was an update with the team and all was well. Soon it was time to go to the Bridge to sign off for departure - next port of call San Francisco.

After leaving the Bridge I went to meet some friends at the Pennant on Deck 12 aft and we gazed over the rail as Aurora left harbour - and what a sail out with the lights of Honolulu twinkling in the background and a full moon to light up the sky for us. A perfect ending to a perfect day.

Bye for now,

James.

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.