Oahu on the horizon

Here's a retrospective look at our Hawaiian holiday in 2005. The moment we walked into our hotel room in Honolulu we knew we were in for an awesome experience. I'd booked us into an ocean-view room at the Sheraton Moana Surfrider Hotel on Waikiki Beach. The hotel upgraded us to an oceanfront room in its heritage wing. Every morning, we were greeted by an "in your face" view of breaking surf and golden sands upon opening the room's plantation shutters. The photo I've posted here really doesn't do it justice.

The Moana Surfrider is an impressive complex.  The original building opened in 1901. It features an ornate white collonade colonial-style facade, plus two accommodation wings that extend towards to beach. Each wing wraps around a central courtyard dominated by a gnarled old banyan tree. Patrons of the courtyard bars and restaurants are seated in wicker chairs and enjoy shaded dining all day long. One of the hotel's wings ends literally on the edge of the sand just metres from the high tide mark.  Our room was in this wing.

We based ourselves on Waikiki Beach for three days and four nights. Our first day was spent soaking up the beachside atmosphere, exploring the local markets, and shopping for trinkets. We then hired a car and set about exploring the island of Oahu. This included a leisurely circuit of the island one day, followed by a day exploring historical Pearl Harbour.

Of course, we're in Hawaii, so we couldn't resist the temptation to hire a convertible. It proved another highlight of our time on Oahu, especially once we left the traffic in Downtown Honolulu behind us and hit the open road. We started our road trip around the island by turning off the cross-island Pali Highway to soak in the view from the Nuʻuanu Pali Lookout.  The lookout offers sweeping views across Honolulu, Diamond Head, and the mountains that dissect the island.

From here it was on to Kailua and Lanikai Beach to admire its quirky conical island. This side of Oahu is the real Hawaii. Small, sleepy villages, dot the coastline, separated by lush green fields and plantations. We made several stops to take in the desolate coastal views, inevitably framed by ubiquitous palm fronds.

We also stopped to take a few iconic photos in front of Kukuihoolua Island at Laie Point. This small rocky outcrop is dominated by a rock arch in the middle island. It took us a while to park the convertible at just the right angle for a perfect image of us framed by the island itself.

Our next stop was the world-renowned Banzai Pipeline surf break at Pupukea. This is undoubtedly the most famous beach in all of Hawaii. The Pipeline is known for huge waves that break in shallow water just above a sharp and cavernous reef, forming large, hollow, thick curls of water that surfers can tube ride whenever conditions are right. We later learned that there are actually three reefs located in progressively deeper water farther out to sea. Each is activated according to the increasing size of approaching ocean swells.

We completed our circuit by driving back across the North Shore along Kamehameha Highway. This route takes you past endless acres of pineapple plantations. You can take tours of these plantations.  However, with their plantation road trains, the entire experience looked rather kitsch, so we gave it a miss. 

It's hard to believe this vacation happened more than 18 years ago. Our international flights were booked using some Air New Zealand frequent flyer points. This resulted in us transiting via Auckland where we stopped for a few days with my family before flying to Hawaii. We landed in Honolulu on the evening of 5 April 2005. Ten action-packed days followed before departing again for Sydney on 15 April. However, despite the passing years, so many of our experiences, including our stunning hotel room in Honolulu, are as vivid as ever.

Follow this link to join us on our day trip to Pearl Harbour, and then read on as we fly south for a close encounter with an active volcano on the Big Island.