Hawaiian Tour 2011

This year, 2011, we celebrated our 40th anniversary by traveling to Hawaii. We decided on a land tour rather than a cruise in order to see as much as possible without having to deal with all the day to day stuff (getting from island to island, dragging luggage around, renting cars, etc., etc.). We visited 4 islands, had excellent meals and met many fine folks from all over (including numerous states, Australia, Canada and the UK).

We arrived in Honolulu after about 10+ total hours in the air. When our luggage was among the first to arrive on the baggage carousel, having made a successful transfer in Phoenix, we took that as a good omen for the next 10 days. And it proved to be so. Our tour director, Mike, greeted us at the hotel, handed us our room keys and told us about dinner. The remainder of the trip went just as smoothly. Read on for a short summary of each island we visited.

Oahu

Being right across the street from Waikiki Beach, our room had a good view. We walked the beach, did some shopping (mostly window) and took a number of pictures both evenings. Monday we toured to Pearl Harbor, visited the Arizona Memorial and then went on to Punchbowl Crater and the National Cemetery of the Pacific. It was a sobering reminder of the futility of war. The city tour showed us the highlights, but – no stops – so we did not have the opportunity to tour the Iolani Palace, home of the last Queen. Honolulu is very multi-cultural and not unlike any other major city. However, it did not seem to have the dense number of tall office buildings as we have on the east coast.

Hawaii – The Big Island

Following a breakfast buffet, we (49 of us) boarded the bus for the airport and about a 45 minute flight to the Big Island, home of the active volcano, Kilauea. On arrival, we boarded a bus for what proved to be a very long day. We had landed in Hilo (on the east) and had to get to Kailua (on the west). On the way we visited Hawaii Volcanoes N.P., the Jagger Museum, stopped for lunch, walked through a lava tube and visited a Kona Coffee Plantation before finally arriving at our resort. Everything was very interesting and we wished we could have stayed longer at a few places. In spite of the opportunities to get out of the bus and walk around a bit, everyone had a bad case of fanny fatigue by the end of the day’s ride.

The next morning we were picked-up at 5:20 AM for our helicopter tour of the island. Mike handed us a “picnic” breakfast which was very good even though no coffee! We “lifted off” about 9 AM and for the next couple of hours saw some of the most amazing sights, including an Army training ground, the crater we had stopped to view the previous day, lava just beginning to flow out of another crater (pahoehoe lava), and the many trails of old lava flows (a’a lava.) From there we flew to the east coast and up and around the north side of the island and back to the start. Here everything was wonderfully green, with beautiful, unspoiled canyons and some steep cliffs. It was somewhat hard to believe that it is old lava underneath the lush greenery. It appears to be mainly inhabited along the coast. The entire ride was awesome and stunningly beautiful. On our return, we caught up on sleep and spent the remainder of the day at the pool and walked down into the town.

Maui

Another day, another short flight and we were in Maui and on to another bus. We passed some very pretty views of the Pacific, drove through a tunnel and made a stop at a tiny organic farm producing sprouts. It may have appeared small but they produced huge crops and supplied several restaurants and stores in the area. Very impressive! This was followed by a very tasty lunch, including fresh sprouts, at Io’s Restaurant. We had a few minutes to walk around and then back on the bus for the remainder of the ride to our resort. Another complimentary anniversary bottle of champagne greeted us here. No early morning tours here. We relaxed on the beach, shopped in the Whaler’s Village where we found a small shop with Hawaiian, handmade crafts. The next day we went to Lahaina, followed the historical walking tour of the town and left as a mini-Marathon was about to begin. One evening we attended a luau – good show, good food and a very enjoyable evening. Some folks concluded their tour here, but about 38 folks continued on to Kauai’i.

Kaua’i

After the short flight from Maui, we boarded a bus and very soon stopped at a lovely inlet, The Old Harbor. It was very scenic and beautiful. Our driver pointed out that the mountain range in the distance looked like King Kong (after falling off the Empire State Building!) From there we headed to Fern Grotto where we had lunch and a river cruise up to the site While there we had our first view of an endangered, native bird called the Nene, that is very similar to the Canada Goose. The foliage along the river was as lush as at the lava tube with many different (and to us) unusual plants and flowers. During the cruise we learned that this area was the site of several movies, including Indiana Jones and Donovan’s Reef and were entertained with local songs and stories. Back on the bus, we stopped for a view of Wailua Falls and looked out over the Wailua River valley. The following day we were off to the Waimea Canyon, called ”the Grand Canyon of the Pacific” by Mark Twain. Having been to the Grand Canyon, we thought it was beautiful, but not quite as grand. For the remainder of our time in Kaua’i, we walked the beach, swam in the pool, relaxed and wound down in preparation for our return home. On Tuesday, there was a reception by the pool followed by the group Farewell Dinner. All in all, a terrific vacation – new acquaintances, many wonderful sights and experiences, with pictures and memories to last for a very long time.

The Tour

We chose the Trafalgar Hawaiian Discovery Tour. This was our first time on a Trafalgar tour. It was a great experience and we would recommend it to anyone looking for an overview of the Islands. No small part of the quality of the tour is the tour director who accompanied us. He had handouts at each hotel listing activities and times as well as the hospitality desk with its daily updates. Kudos to Michael Murakami who managed and directed a wonderful experience.

Epilogue

Our flight home was uneventful and we and our luggage arrived in Boston together. (Lost luggage always being a possibility when you have to change planes mid trip.) It took several days to fully readjust to East Coast time, but we are now back on our Fall schedule of activities.

Some interesting facts about our trip:

• We traveled approx. 10,325 air miles getting to and from Hawaii;
• We flew approx. 530 miles between islands;
• And no idea how many miles we logged on the tour busses;
• We managed to pack everything we purchased in Hawaii into the bags we brought;
• Bill took about 1200 photos and Rose took about 650 photos, including many that are “OK”, some “duds”, some pretty decent ones and a few that were “really good”

Enjoy,