A day at the beach

Yesterday we decided to spend a day at the beach - we took a picnic, the beach chairs, our books - we were well prepared for a do nothing day. Arrived at 9:00am and the place was almost deserted  - where should we sit - decisions, decisions??? Seriously there were very few people around and it was not really that early - a welcome surprise though - nice and quiet.

The metal detecting guys are usually out in the morning but the smart guys go in the evening just before it gets dark and as folks are leaving for the day. I have not seen one of these guys jumping up and down as if they have found the mother load - perhaps they are all very reserved fellows - or they just don't find anything of value. They certainly do a lot of arm swinging but not much scooping - maybe it is a new excersise fad.

Ah! this is where all the people are - in the park just behind us - old folks aerobics. Too bad we are too young to join - maybe next year.

The slow economy is tough on a lot of folks but it looks like this fellow has found his spot in paradise and is making the most of his situation. Shhh!!! please don't wake him up.

In town later a noisy crowd had gathered to protest that their employer would not allow them to belong to a union. No not the wonderful ABC stores but a hotel further along the block. The press, TV and police were there and although there was a lot of shouting and placard waving, it was a non violent event. There were as many folks watching the protestors as there were protesting and a carnival like atmosphere prevailed.

Makapu'u Beach

We took the short bus ride to Makapu'u (pronounced who who at the end) Beach and the picture above is the view you get as you cross the road from the bus stop - wonderful. It looks so beautiful and "peaceful" - beautiful yes but peaceful no - as you get closer to the beach the noise from the surf becomes more noticeable. It thunders onto the rocky shore and continually sends a light spray into the  air. If you wear glasses, as we do, they become less see through by the minute.

There is life guard station at this beach and they are diligent in posting warning signs to alert wave status, rip currents, under tows, etc. The beach is situated at the head of a small bay and the waves are funnelled towards the beach and increase in intensity as they approach the shore. Most of the folks riding the waves are on smaller boogy boards rather than the longer surf boards - more maneuverable it appears. All of the riders are wearing short fins on their feet to give themselves more purchase on the water and enable them to power through the white water. The lifeguards continually warned beach goers, through loud hailers,  to stay out of the water if they were not wearing fins.

Ed is happy to watch the fearless young guys and has no intention of venturing into the boiling surf - he is a good swimmer but is looking forward to a long and healthy retirement.
No fear - no fins - no way.

The flotsam just above the high water mark tells it's own story - are the fin and boogy board related?
Hope not but we are left to wonder.

A Day at the Canoe Races and Hawaiian Games

Yesterday (Sunday) Christine and Ed strolled over to the beach park at the Hilton Hotel. We arrived around 9:00 am for the opening ceremonies for a day of traditional outrigger canoe races and Hawaiian games. The outrigger canoes were enormous - forty feet long and propelled by six paddlers- the rear most paddler also steered the craft.

There were many heats of four canoes in various classes throughout the day and a very exciting atmosphere prevailed. Above are canoes heading out to the start line 500 meters or so off shore. The craft line up and are given the start flag - then they come barreling into shore at an amazing speed.

There were several traditional Hawaiian games being played - some were very similar to ten pin bowling but the pins had to be avoided and the round rock had to come to rest as close as possible to a wall. The game above is a relay run which comprises of placing coconuts into a hessian sack, running, emptying the sack, repeat and do it quicker than the opposing team. It was all very exciting and good to watch.

The lagoon at the Hilton was used for stand up paddling relay races - it looks easy but apparently it isn't quite as simple as it looks - especially at speed.

 A lot of flowers are now starting to come into bloom - we found this beautiful lilly in one of the hotel ponds.

A very exciting day of watching was rounded out with a leisurely stroll back to our place for dinner.

Visit the Aquarium

Today we decided to go for a leisurely stroll after lunch and visit the aquarium. It is quite small and only takes a couple of hours to visit all of the exhibits but very interesting regardless. Almost as soon as we entered the building there was an anemone tank with dozens of "Nemos" - they are such a cute little fish and popular with almost everyone.

The pictures are not the best - a point and shoot, extra thick glass and glare are difficult to work with.

This picture does not quite do justice to the giant grouper - it was enormous - maybe 3 feet long and weighing what I am not sure. Get a hook  into this guys mouth and no doubt he would win the battle.  It sure had a big mouth and looked as if it could eat everything else in the tank if given the chance.

This tank was an aqua culture effort to propagate giant clams for reintroduction. The giant clam is quite slow growing and is being harvested almost to extinction. It was amazing to see the variety of colours of the clams - blue, green and mixtures of both. Ed had the impression from nature films that these clams were a basic white only.  Never too old to learn.
There were many tanks with jelly's, nautilus, moray eels, sea horses - so funny looking, and many other strange and beautifully coloured sea life. The highlight of the visit was feeding time for the Hawaiian Monk Seals - they have two males - these guys are very smart and a pleasure to watch.

We have only ever seen these little guys in pet stores, in cages - here they are as common as sparrows - nice looking little birds and great to see them flying free.

On our way back for dinner we had a great laugh at these guys. The trick is to stay upright while in the bubble, roll yourself into the other folks and try to push them around. These guys were all excited while they waited to get in the bubble and had no clue how hard it was going to be - stay  upright and go forward - think of hamster wheel - not a chance. After only a few minutes of running like hell and going nowhere these guys were knackered and could only flop in the bottom of the bubble.
We howled - so funny.

North Shore

Today we took the public bus to the North Shore - Sunset Beach, in the area referred to as Banzai Pipeline - the surf is up and we decided we would like to see the big waves. We were not disappointed - the waves were enormous - about 15 feet at the face. Warning flags were posted and all were advised to stay out of the water - rip currents and undertows were waiting to grab anyone who ventured into the water.

The lifeguard hut was manned but only nutters would be tempted into that water. Yes there were plenty of nutters (dare devils) around today - the water was full of them. Seriously, these guys were extreme athletes - excellent swimmers and very good surfers. We did see one young fellow struggle ashore with only half of his board and because the board was useless he had great difficulty making it through the undertow back to shore. The power of water should never be underestimated.

Ed likes to swim but not in this stuff and was quite happy to sit on the beach for a couple of hours and watch the show. Christine had him to turn around for a few minutes to get his picture taken.

The bus route is called the Circle Island and does exactly that. We got on the bus at 9:00 am and each paid our $2.50 fare - 90 minutes to the North Shore - after a picnic, and hanging out for a couple of hours, we jumped on the bus again to continue our journey around the island, for another two hours. If you are not in a hurry, and we are not, it is the best $5.00 that you can spend. The scenery outside of the bus is first rate and the entertainment inside is equally as good - we always see strange folks while travelling.

Diamond Head

In an earlier post Ed said he would take a picture from the top of Diamond head. This view is from the inside of the extinct volcano crater; the small white building is at the highest point and is the the ocean over look point. It's a fairly tough and hot walk but the view from the top is well worth the effort. The building at the top is what remains of a look-out and defense battery from the Second World War.

Ta Dah!!! the view from the top. The homes along this part of the sea shore have wonderfull views from their back yard and the reef prevents ocean craft from getting too close. Very nice if you can get it.

We pass this place on a regular basis. Ed is keen to give the food a try but Christine is not on board with that idea - she can not get past the name of the place and is convinced the food can not be good.

We would like you to meet Ed's new friend Ming. This guy sits all day in the same place, in a small shopping plaza, close to where we are staying - never appears to move - happy soul.

 9:00am and the surfs up - I guess this guy is hoping for big rollers.

I think he might be a little disappointed but who knows, he may be quite happy to wait for the perfect wave. Good waves were few and far between on this particular day but I am sure all out there are not wishing they were at work.

We continue to enjoy the sunshine and lazy warm days. Amazing - two weeks have passed already - it has gone so quickly but we have a little while longer to enjoy ourselves and are so not in a hurry to get back to work.
Take care all and stay warm - see you soon.