Hawaii: Days Forty Three to Forty Six - Oahu

After our thirty minute flight back to Oahu we had checked into our hotel and headed down towards the beach. We had to wait awhile but soon we were at a table right on the beach by the shore. We watched the sunset after dinner then went back to the hotel to settle in.

With two days left in our trip we went to Diamond Head. A large volcanic cone that formed in Oahu somewhere around 400,000 years ago.

We hiked up the side of the mountain and reached a lookout point at the top of the crater. You could see all the way down and in the centre where we started it was surrounded by mountains.

The crater or volcanic cone was much larger than I thought it was and when you are in the centre you can't even tell that it is a crater. We kept going just a minute more to a nice view of the city right on the turquoise water.

We hiked back down the crowded path and had famous Hawaiian shaved ice to cool down after the hike. We had seen a lot of stores and carts selling it in Maui so we decided to try it before we left. It was pretty much a snow cone with Hawaiian flavours but it still tasted great. While we ate our shaved ice we saw some mongoose darting all over the place.

They were invasive species that were intentionally brought to Hawaii to kill the rats and pest that fed on the sugarcane crops but soon became a pest themselves by killing a majority of Hawaii's native wildlife. It was still cool to see them though. We left Diamond Head and went back to the hotel for the rest of the day.

In the morning we were picked up in a van and were taken to our snorkelling trip outside the city. Unlike the other trips this one was more about the marine mammals as in spinner dolphins and a chance to see humpback whales and manta rays. Once we were out on the boat we saw a bunch of spinner dolphins right off the shore. We even saw them jump out of the water and spin int the air just like their name implies. After they came close to the boat and the captain decided they were comfortable we jumped in to swim with them. They are wild dolphins so we waited for them to get closer because dolphins are known to be quite playful. Soon the whole pod swam right by us and after a while they looped around again to get a closer look. It was really cool.

After a bit the pod left and we headed out to more open ocean to try and see a humpback. Only a few minutes later a guide spotted a spray of mist from a humpback coming up for air. We boated closer to it and cut the engines so that we wouldn't scare it away. After ten minutes it finally came up for air and it was huge and at the same time another one right behind it.

 It was really cool to see and I got a really cool picture with the first ones tail and the other ones back making it look like one whale.

When they both went back underwater we waited another 10 minutes and saw one of their tails as it was about to hit the water and dove back down.

After that we had to go to the last stop of the tour where we snorkelled the reef in search of a manta ray they had seen there frequently over the last week. We didn't see the manta ray but we saw a few sea turtles and some tropical fish. It was a great way to end the trip.

Our last day in Hawaii we walked down to the beach and had lunch, watched some people trying to surf and checked out some of the shops along a boardwalk. We had to stay at the hotel later because our flight was delayed until midnight so it was a long wait but finally we were on our way home and excited for Christmas in a few days.

Total planes: 1 small and 1 very large

Total vans: 3

Total boats: 1

Total miles walked: 9.8 miles over 3 days

Hawaii: Days Thirty to Forty Two - Maui

We flew 9 hours from Sydney to Honolulu and took a taxi to our hotel. The next morning we woke up late after our long flight and time change the day before. We had a lot of time to kill before our thirty minute flight to Maui so we relaxed at the hotel. We had some nachos for lunch and set up camp on the beach. 

After a few hours we took a taxi back to the airport and flew for all of thirty minutes to Maui. Once we landed we got a taxi to our AirBnB for the next twelve days. We brought in our backpacks and settled in to the new house. 

The next day we walked a few blocks down to check out the beach. The water was really calm so we weren't going to be able to go surfing there but it was a really nice beach and we even saw some sea turtles swimming in the shallow turquoise water. We spent most of that day and the next relaxing at the beach and the house catching up from our trip and jet lag. 

One morning later we loaded our gear into our rental van and headed to a nice beach for snorkelling. We jumped into the water into a colourful reef with a multitude of fish darting about. This snorkelling spot was our best chance to see a black tip reef shark but we snorkelled for an hour and didn't spot any. We got back in the van and headed to another beach, this one famous for its sea turtles. We snorkelled for a bit before our first sighting. It was the largest sea turtle we had seen yet by far and it was very old.

We watched him come up for air and it looked so cool seeing his beak stick up out of the water for air. Their shell and beak look a lot different underwater. We let him be and swam down the rocky coast where there was a small reef. Soon we saw another smaller sea turtle swim right past us. We kept going down the coast when Kaden spotted a tiny juvenile sea turtle hiding under a rock overhang. We left the little guy alone and Sage and Mom went back to the beach because Sage needed a break from swimming (she was snorkelling on her own without a lifejacket to help so she had done really well). The rest of us continued and found the sea turtle that swam past us earlier. We watched him eat from the reef and swim up for air a few times before heading back to the beach. We had a nice picnic by the waves and there were a bunch of chickens that tried to steal our food. They were wild ones because there was no nearby house that could have owned them. We finished our picnic before getting back in the van and heading back to the house for the rest of the day. 

Once morning came around again we grabbed the surfboard and bodyboards from the backyard of our AirBnb. We drove down the coast and ended up a a little beach. Since we had only taken one surf class in Costa Rica we were still beginners so we picked a beach with small waves. We grabbed the board and headed out into the shallow waters. It was quite rocky but we had gotten some water shoes the other day so we wouldn't cut our feet. We took turns with the surfboard because there was only one but after a few tries each we all caught a wave and rode it in towards shore. After an hour and a half of fun I smashed my knee off of a rock when I was walking over to get the surfboard from Kaden. I headed into the beach as my knee was bleeding quite a bit.  Kaden and Zaddek took a few more turns and Sage even rode a few waves sitting down. We spent most of the day on the beach and in the water until we were all water logged and tired then headed back to the AirBnb. On the way back Mom spotted a humpback whale coming up for air. We stopped the van and pulled over but it had gone back under water and swam away.

Dad and I visited the Kealia Pond Wildlife Refuge another morning. The ponds were man made for Hawaii aquatic bird life including American coots, Tricolored Heron, Night Herons and the endangered Hawaiian Stilt bird. 

 American Coot

 Night Heron

After we left the refuge we spent the rest of the day celebrating Christmas which was only two weeks away. Sage and Zaddek put together a ginger bread house and Sage had us all decorate Christmas cookies. 

We spent most of the next day at the house before heading to a traditional Hawaiian Luau. Once we got there we all got Leis made from real flowers and Sage really liked hers. We walked around the grounds where the Luau was being held before the food was served and saw the pit for the pig roast.

When the Luau started we went to our table and waited for our turn to the buffet. The food was really good and soon the hula show started. We watched the show and Sage really liked all the dancing and flower dresses. After the show we headed back to the house for the night.

Another day we loaded the surfboard and boogie boards into the van again and headed to the other side of the island only 20 minutes away. We drove down that side and stopped to watch surfers at a famous surfing site known as Jaws. There was a truck selling delicious banana bread so we had a picnic and watched. Then we went further along the famous drive "the road to Hana" and stopped to get out for a hike on a waterfall trail but it was closed off due to the rains the night before so we drove a little further and turned back. When we found a beach with smaller waves we all got out to try. Turns out they were bigger than we thought and we got tossed around a lot so after banging around we packed it up and headed home.

On our last day in Maui we visited a monument to the last stand of the native tribes in the middle of a huge valley between two mountains. We climbed up in the valley through the lush green landscape and read about the fight.

Once we left the monument we headed into town got some lunch and went Christmas shopping. The next morning we packed up and left our AirBnB and took the thirty minute flight back to Big Island.

Total planes: 2

Total vans: 1 beat up awesome surfer's one

Total miles walked: lots

Total miles swam: even more

Total wipeouts: too many

Australia: Day Twenty Seven, Twenty Eight and Twenty Nine - Sydney

We left our hotel and flew a few hours to Sydney. Once we landed there was a time change so it was later in the afternoon. We took a taxi to our hotel and dropped off our bags in our room. We walked down to the Harbour and there was a huge boat that looked like a knocked over skyscraper. It was a cruise ship. Once we passed by it we saw the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Bridge.

We looked for dinner by the water but had to go further into "The Rocks" to find any food Sage and Zaddek would eat. We ended up at a really busy outdoor Italian Restaurant. We got a table and had pasta and pizza for dinner. While we were eating we heard some fireworks going off behind us in the harbour. We weren't close enough to go see it before it ended so we missed an opportunity for some cool photos of the fireworks over the Sydney Opera House. We finished our dinner and headed back to our hotel passing by Christmas lights in the city.

The next morning we headed back down to the harbour and found an awesome restaurant for a crepe brunch. Then we caught a bus for Bondi Beach. At the change rooms we put on our suits and headed down to the crowded beach. There were a ton of people on the shore but not as many in the water because it was really cold so we had lots of room to body surf in the huge waves. After a couple of hours we had to go back because Mom, Dad and Sage were cold in the water but getting sunburnt on the beach. We took the bus back to the harbour and walked to our hotel to rest in the air conditioning while Mom and Dad went for Thai to bring back to us. 

On our last day in Australia we put our bags in storage at the hotel and walked to the harbour one last time. We loved the crepes so much the day before we decided to go back again. (We did the same thing with crepes in Athens, Greece.)

From there we walked over to a local outdoor market to look for Christmas presents. Unfortunately we didn't find anything. After that we headed up to the bridge. From there we had a great view of the harbour.

 We doubled back across the bridge and walked around the harbour to the Sydney Opera House.

The design was really cool but we couldn't go inside so we sat down and took a break after a long day of walking.

After an afternoon around the Opera House we had a few hours to kill before our flight to Hawaii and it was very hot so we went to a movie. We let Sage pick what movie we would watch because she didn't really enjoy much of the historical monuments we usually visit. After the Grinch we picked up our backpacks and went to the airport for our flight. We waited in a big line for baggage drop off just for them to tell us our flight was cancelled and that we were on the next flight in the morning. They gave everyone on the flight a free hotel room and free food for the night but by the time we took a shuttle to the hotel and got dinner we ate at 9 at night. We went straight to sleep after that for our early flight the next morning.

Total buses: 2

Total shuttles: 1

Total taxis: 1

Total miles walked: 2, 5 and 6.5 miles