Aloha from Waikiki

Far from what we were expecting. The excitement of arriving at a new destination was cut short upon entering our room at Seaside Hawaiian Hostel and seeing a bed sheet draping from, where we can only assume, a curtain used to hang. I think we were expecting the seaside element to be a little more literal and were surprised to find the nearest beach a 15 minute walk from our accommodation.

After spending less than five hours asleep amongst the alley ways and seedy back alley pubs, which we can hear loud and clear when we have our air conditioning [slatted windows] on, it seemed like a perfectly good day to do something we had never done before.

We arrived at the airfield around 9am and after seeing one plane load of victims head off and then straight down it was our turn. Our tandem masters were cool, Antoinette’s told her she had nothing to be afraid of because ‘I like living and you’re attached to me, so you will be jut fine.’ After strapping James into his harness the first words from his tandem master was ‘just hold on to these and we’ll do a couple of flips when we jump out of the plane.’ The calmness and control in the instructors voice did little to settle the bats viciously fluttering in both of our stomachs for a quick escape before jumping out of what, looked to be, a perfectly good plane.

After the jump we both quickly forgot what it was like, due to the fact we were still delirious from a poor nights sleep and in denial about the general crapness of our accommodation, and we really want to do it again.

The rest of the day was filled with shopping for less than essential items and after finding what we needed we headed to the all American eating experience at Dukes Canoe Club. The food was ok, but we both really crave something light and healthy without it being smothered in seven kinds of barbeque sauce and we have both agreed to stop drinking 12 o’clocktails to save cash and our livers.

Wednesday would have made James’ father jealous, as our destination was Pearl Harbor. This historic WWII location was where America was thrust into WWII after Japan surprised Uncle Sam with his pants around his ankles.

Being somewhere like Pearl Harbor is a completely emotional and sobering experience, the silence and thoughtfulness of people as they walk is really something else and being able to see and stand over the USS Arizona, a tomb for over 900 American Sailors is a pretty humbling experience. The creepiest phenomenon of the whole thing is the ‘black tears of the Arizona,’ little drops of oil still leaking from the massacred hunks of metal and rising to the surface since it was sunk over 60 years ago.

Heading to a beach afterwards was a refreshing experience and after being so cold for the last two weeks it was nice not wearing layers and layers of clothing just to keep warm. The quality of our accommodation can be summed up by saying we both found it easier to pass out on a crowded beach than back at our hostel, and given the fact there were screaming children and old ladies resembling leather couches to taint our dreams, that is really saying something.

The Hawaiian way of life is very casual and relaxed, which is perfect if you’re not in a hurry, and we have quickly become slaves to the tropical heat and lifestyle.

On Wednesday night we caught up with Courtney and his girlfriend Ally [we hope we spelt that right], one of Antoinette’s friends from Perth, and it was really refreshing to catch up with someone who knows we’re not on a honeymoon, that we are from Australia, Perth is more than just a cattle station and what AFL means.

The Waikiki district is cool enough to warrant staying a week, but after just three nights, we are both glad to be heading somewhere with fully functioning curtains and somewhere a little less touristy and we are heading for The Big Island and will be renting a jeep to get around for a couple of nights.

We haven’t really planned anything for The Big Island, but will be heading to Volcanoes National Park, coffee farms, Hilo [The Big Islands capital] and some A-frame cabins right on Hapuna beach in the island’s north western corner over the next five days or so.

Aloha from Honolulu,

Antoinette and James.

P.S. Head HERE for some photos from Roofus [our little camera].