Hawaii - Part 8 - Kauai

Thursday, 21 September 2017

Today we had a rental car reserved to see the sights of Kauai.

Domestic chickens have taken over the island of Kauai. In 1992, Hurricane Iniki devastated Kauai and scattered domestic  chickens all over the island. They have since become ubiquitous. These were photographed in a parking lot in the Waimea Canyon.

Waimea Canyon is sometimes called the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific” - with good reason. It is almost 4,000 feet deep, but is far newer than the Grand Canyon in Arizona.

Another view of Waimea Canyon.

The canyon ends at the Pacific Ocean on the north shore of Kauai -- the Na Pali coast.

We returned to Nawiliwili Harbor, and wished we had time to hike out to the lighthouse and beach on this side of the island.

We accomplished our goal of seeing our 50th state, but a family emergency cut short our cruise by two nights, and our Hawaiian trip by ten days. Who knew you could fly direct from Lihue (population 6455 according to Wikipedia) on Kauai to the mainland and be in Atlanta in less than 12 hours? Even with same-day tickets, it cost less to fly to Atlanta than to fly from Atlanta to Roanoke. Makes no sense to me!

We’ll be returning to Hawaii next year to finish our travels in the 50th state!

Hawaii - Part 7 - The Big Island

Wednesday, 20 September 2017

Kailua-Kona does not have a harbor suitable for large cruise ships, so we anchored offshore.

We took tenders to shore. The difference between a tender and a lifeboat is that when the vessels are used as tenders, the capacity is about 85, but as lifeboats, they will cram in 150 passengers.

Before our afternoon snorkeling excursion, we had time to walk the length (not very far!) of town. I thought this tree was magnificent.

Our excursion left a nearby harbor on a catamaran, and a large pod of dolphins were playing in the wake of the many boats going in and out of the harbor.

I had bought an inexpensive ($40) underwater digital camera at Walmart before we left. It took quite acceptable photos.

Another underwater view of the reef.

One more reef photo.

Looking back at the island. Fellow snorkelers are in the foreground and the big ship (not our excursion catamaran) is in the background at the right.

After snorkeling, we sailed back to the harbor under wind power. Nice and quiet!

Hawaii - Part 6 - The Big Island

Tuesday, 19 September 2017

Today we’re docked in Hilo and chose a volcano biking tour as our excursion. It was a leisurely 8 mile ride with several stops to see the sights of the volcano, Kilauea in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Lots of fun!

We started by riding a good bit of Crater Rim Drive. About half of the road is closed to all traffic because the eruption makes it too dangerous.

The Kilauea crater is set in a larger caldera. (The road really should be named the Caldera Rim Drive.)

The caldera floor has many small cracks where vegetation is taking hold.

This is a small crater, Kilauea Iki, which was a lava lake in 1959, with a small cinder cone, Pu’u Pua’i. The main Kilauea crater smokes in the background.

The entrance to the Thurston Lava Tube.

The lava tube is essentially a long linear cave.

The solidified lava is both somewhat porous and fissured, so roots from trees above can penetrate the roof of the lava tube.

At the end of our ride.

All the bikes are loaded back on the trailer. We’re here with our guides, Damian (left) and Nate (right).

After leaving port, the ship cruised around the southern shore of Hawai’i, and we got a chance to view molten lava entering the ocean.

Getting the right exposure to photograph lava flows is challenging enough from land. From a gently rocking ship it’s even more of a challenge.

A final attempt to capture an image of the lava flows.

Hawaii - Part 5 - Maui

Monday, 18 September 2017

Today we had a sunrise excursion to the Haleakala Crater. This involved getting up at 2:15 AM (!) to take a 2:45 bus up to the summit. When we arrived at the crater about 4:30 AM, the sky was clear and the Milky Way and stars were spectacular. The clouds/fog arrived about 5 AM. The wind was fierce and it was COLD! (We had brought fleece-lined parkas for this trip; we were not overdressed.) The mist covered everyone and everything with water -- dripping off jackets, hats, eyeglasses, and cameras. It also kept us from ever seeing the crater. You take your chances with Mother Nature!

As the fog was building and the sun getting closer to rising, Venus, the Moon, and Mars were prominent in the eastern sky. Mercury was there, too, but obscured in the clouds.

Several hundred tourists awaited the sunrise in the blustery wind and fog.

The clouds/fog parted briefly and we could see the observatories on the top of Haleakala.

We got back to the ship about 9:30 AM, and rather than spend another day on the ship, we decided to go ashore and see if we could get a rental car. We were successful, so we spent the afternoon driving around the northwestern end of Maui. (We wish we had known yesterday that it would have been fairly easy to rent a car less than half-a-mile from the ship.)

Our first stop was the Iao Valley State Park (visible from our ship) and a view of the “Needle” (pinnacle at left).

Another view in Iao Valley State Park.

We then went up to the northwest shore of Maui.

Honokohau Bay

We turned around at the Nakalele Blowhole -- the road was blocked by construction a few miles farther and not open to through traffic. We liked these signs along the path. Left: you can now "walk at our own risk” since the “y” has worn away. Right: Who knew this was not a water park?

The Nakalele Blowhole in action.

On the way back we got a glimpse of the Molokini Crater, where we were supposed to have snorkeled yesterday.

Google Maps provides a nice aerial view of the crater. Note the several small boats in the crater that are taking snorkelers and divers out to the crater.

Hawaii - Part 4 - Maui

Sunday, 17 September 2017

We were all set for a snorkel session in the Molokini Crater off the west side of Maui -- we were even on the tour bus -- when the excursion leaders announced that our boat had transmission problems and the excursion was canceled. A huge disappointment. Even more so because the most desirable alternatives had already departed. So we spent a day on the ship. Bummer.

Sunrise.

We saw rainbows daily.

As usual, the summit of Haleakala is hidden by clouds.

We had a view straight up the Iao Valley.

Hawaii - Part 3 - Oahu

Saturday, 16 September 2017

Yesterday’s sightseeing was somewhat disappointing -- very urban and worn. Today’s was much more of what we expected Hawaii to be.

Diamond Head as seen from Waikiki Beach.

Halona Blowhole Lookout: The southern shore of Oahu has impressive headlands and breaking waves.

The Halona Blowhole

Have I mentioned that the wind is always blowing in Hawai’i?

After the blowhole, we hiked the Makapu’u Point trail to the southeasternmost point on Oahu. This is the lighthouse on the point.

The view north (east shore of Oahu) from Makapu’u Point Lookout.

Mid-afternoon we headed over to our ship, Norwegian Cruise Lines’ Pride of America. By our standards the ship is HUGE -- over 2000 passengers and a crew of nearly 1000. This is the view towards the stern from the top deck while we were still in port in Honolulu.

Diamond Head is on the left as we left Oahu for Maui.

The ex-urbs of Honolulu look like lava flows down the mountain.

Hawaii - Part 2 - Oahu

Friday, 15 September 2017

We rented a car and are staying two nights on Waikiki Beach. Before boarding our cruise ship on tomorrow afternoon, we’ll be spending some time visiting Oahu.

Sunrise from overlook along the road up to Tantalus Lookout (which is closed at sunrise).

Immediately after viewing the sunrise, we drove over to the Pearl Harbor Historic Sites. We got there about 6:45 AM, by the time the park opened at 7 AM, the line was about 2 blocks long. We got tickets for the 7:45 tour of the USS Arizona Memorial. Tickets for the entire day are usually gone by 8 AM. Shown above are the USS Missouri Memorial (ship) and the USS Arizona Memorial (white structure), which is directly over the remains of the Arizona. 

The back wall of the chapel in the memorial lists the names of all who perished on the Arizona on 7 December 1941.

A view through the top of the memorial.

Oil is still leaking from the USS Arizona below the memorial.

Our next stop was a hike along the dirt road (closed to most traffic) out to the northwest point of Oahu -- Ka’ena Point. The first 2.5 miles are open to ATVs and the dunes are heavily damaged by the use.

Ka'ena Point. Almost 50 acres at the point are fenced off to keep predators and vehicles off the dunes for the protection of sea birds. The contrast with the part that is open to ATVs is astounding.

Looking down the western side of Oahu from Ka’ena Point.

We drove the north and east coasts of Oahu -- very developed. Mostly we saw lots of homes, hotels, and golf courses. Our last stop was the Tantalus Lookout. Above is Diamond Head as seen from the lookout.