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Austin's Hawaii Trip Report, March 2005
On Thursday, March 17, 2005, I left on a Hawaii trip with my family for a two-week vacation. We spent the whole vacation on the island of Oahu.
The first week we stayed at the Ohana Islander Waikiki in Honolulu. The second week we rented a car and drove up to the North Shore, where we stayed at a condo in front of the Turtle Bay Resort.
Here are some facts about the Hawaiian Islands and the Island of Oahu where we stayed:
Hawaii Facts:
- The Hawaii State includes over 130 Islands
- Six Main Islands: The Big Island (named Hawaii), Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Oahu, and Kauai
- State Population: over 1.2 Million
- Capital: Honolulu (Oahu)
- Largest Island: The Big Island (approximately twice the size of the other Hawaiian islands combined)
Oahu Facts:
- Nickname: The Gathering Place
- Population: 75% of the State's population (approximately 900,000)
- Third largest of the Hawaiian Islands by area
- Largest city: Honolulu (approximately 400,000)
- Best known tourist destination: Waikiki (southeastern quarter of Honolulu)
Trip Highlights:
When we were on our vacation, we did many things. Here are the highlights of my Hawaii trip:
Honolulu Zoo
At the Honolulu Zoo, we saw lots of neat animals, birds and reptiles. Here is me sitting with a turtle.
Dinner Cruise
On the first night of our Hawaii trip (Friday), we went on a . I had three types of pasta and chicken. It was good! After dinner, we saw a show which had drummers and dancers.
Atlantis Submarine Tour
Saturday afternoon we went on a . We saw turtles, and all shapes, sizes and colours of fish including a shark.
In the picture to the left, we are boarding the submarine. The sub went as deep as 110 feet.
In the picture to the right, if you look closely, you can see a turtle and lots of fish swimming by a plane wreck. The plane was thrown into the ocean by a hurricane in 1992.
The picture was taken through the porthole (window) of the submarine.
The submarine tour was one of the better activities of my Hawaii trip.
Waikiki Aquarium
The next adventure of our Hawaii trip was the Waikiki Aquarium. Sunday morning at 8:45 am, we walked to the Aquarium from our hotel. It was about a fifteen minute walk.
We saw lots of colourful fish and coral reefs in the aquariums. The shark below is called a Blacktip Reef Shark. It is often found in shallow waters in Hawaii. The Blacktip Reef Shark is usually less than six feet long and is generally considered harmless.
Pearl Harbor Tour
Monday morning (March 21) we got up much too early if you ask me (5:00 am) to get ready for the 7:00 am pickup from our hotel for the . It was really hot that day (about 80 degrees fahrenheit).
When we got there we had to wait in a very long lineup to get our passes (approximately 45 minutes) and then we had another hour and half wait for the introductury movie about the day Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese.
After the movie, we got on a boat that took us over to the USS Arizona Memorial. At the Memorial, we got to see the USS Arizona after it sunk and the list of people who died in action or are presumed dead in the sinking of the battleship.
After the Arizona tour, we took the boat back to shore. Then the bus driver took us to a trolley where we crossed the bridge to the USS Missouri. The bus driver, also our tour guide, gave us a tour of the USS Missouri, nicknamed the "Mighty Mo".
Whale Watch Cruise
On Tuesday, we took a cab to Pier 8 at the Honolulu Harbor for a two-hour whale watching tour. The Starlet, see left, was our boat.
Since my sister wanted to do some shopping on our Hawaii trip, we first went to the Aloha Tower Marketplace, which was nearby. We stopped at the Chocolate Factory where I bought a Mint Oreo Bar.
It took 75 minutes before we saw our first humpback whale. Two-thirds of the humpback whales make a Hawaii trip each winter to breed. During the winter months, between late November and April, 4000 to 6000 whales come to Hawaii from Alaska.
Wild Dolphin Cruise
Wednesday morning at 9:45 am we walked across the road to the hotel where they were picking us up for the The bus ride took about 45 minutes to get to the west side of the island where the boat (see picture on left) would take us out to see the dolphins.
It took about fifteen minutes to find a large school of dolphins. These dolphins followed us for a good 45 minutes. Afterwards, we had lunch on the boat before heading back to shore.
Helicopter Tour
This was FUN!! If you ever take a Hawaii trip, you must go on a helicopter ride.
Since my mother chickened out, my sister and I picked a number between 1 and 10 to see who would take her place. Luckily I won! Although I did offer the ride to my sister because I went diving in the tank, she said that I won fair and square.
The helicopter pilot (Richard Potts - he was a good guy) flew us from the North Shore almost all the way to Honolulu. We saw Sacred Falls, several beaches, the weather station, and even the condos where we stayed. We stayed in the Turtle Bay condos just in front of the Turtle Bay Resort which you can see in the picture to the right.
Sea Life Park
If I had to rate all the cool things that I did on our Hawaii trip, I would have to rate number 1. There were just so many neat things to do here. Including the sea turtles, monk seals (see picture on left), sea lions, and birds.
At Dolphin Cove, we sat in an outside stadium and watched dolphins fly through the air. This was so cool!! There were pirates (that we booed), a pirate ship, and an island that the pirates were trying to invade. The dolphin even had to save a pirate that was swimming towards the island. It was so much fun!
Although the sea turtles, sea lions and seals were fun, the best thing that I did at Sea Life Park was . They gave me a camera for taking pictures of the fish, and lettuce for feeding the fish. This was the highlight of my Hawaii trip.
Hanauma Bay
On the last day of our Hawaii trip, we went to
We almost didn't go but I'm glad that we did. We got there late (around 10 am) and the lineup was huge. My step-dad drove around the parking lot three times trying to decide if it was worth it. Finally he said that he didn't drive an hour and a half to just go home.
After waiting about 30 minutes in the line (the line actually went quite fast) we had to wait another 30 mintues for an introductory film on Hanauma Bay. The film basically talked about safety and the protection of the coral reefs.
My step-dad and I went snorkeling and it was a blast. We saw all kinds of colourful fish and vegetation growing on the coral reefs. Next to the diving in the tank at Seal Life Park, I'd have to say that this was my second best adventure.
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