Into Hawaii

Wednesday 24th August 2016 – Our first stop today was Waiotapu bridge hot pool – after a chilly night we were really looking forward to some heat. It was glorious – a small waterfall of warm water cascades into a pool just metres from the river so you can take a cold dip whenever you fancy. We sat under the waterfall and let the balmy water flow over us. A local chap who joined us later told us putting your head in the water was inadvisable as you can get meningitis-like symptoms from the bacteria in the water. A little concerned we got out, making sure to dry our heads thoroughly and made our way wrinkle-toed back to the car. A few kilometres on we arrived at Kerosene Creek – another hot pool, this time in a lovely forest setting. Unfortunately the car park you have to walk from has a bad reputation for car break-ins so we took turns to guard the car while the other went to take a look at the pool. After lunch and a long drive we reached the resort of Tauranga on the east coast. That evening we looked at accommodation in Hawaii and realised it was no budget travel destination!

Thursday 25th August 2016 – As a kindness to other passengers on our flight that evening we showered and donned our cleanest clothes. Now we needed to get the camper van back to the depot. Even though we left fairly early, by the time we had made the drive, washed the car, had something to eat and packed our bags (not easy in our small van) it was already mid-afternoon. We delivered the gleaming vehicle with less than an hour to spare, proud to have returned it unscathed. In no time at all we were at the airport and on our flight to Hawaii.

Friday 26th August 2016 – Brilliantly the whole of season 6 of Game of Thrones was available on the in flight entertainment and we bobbed from side to side in our seats like excited schoolchildren as the music played at the start of each episode. We managed five episodes and then grabbed a couple of hours kip. We landed at Honolulu paddling an imaginary outrigger to the tune of Hawaii Five 0. A bus took us from the airport to Waikiki Beach where we checked into the cheapest hostel we could find, crumpled onto the bed and slept for a few hours. That evening we took a sunset walk along the beach and watched a hula show, still not quite believing we were in Hawaii.

Saturday 27th August 2016 – After breakfast we went for a sunbathe on Waikiki Beach. There lithe, tanned bodies were soaking up the sun or frolicking in the Pacific waters. The beach itself was a little bit of a disappointment? The sand wasn’t as white as we had imagined and there was hardly any surf; the huge waves the island is famed for tend to appear in the winter months when Antarctic storms push huge swells into the Pacific. We realised that eating out in Hawaii would be a shortcut to penury so we walked to a nearby supermarket for provisions. In the afternoon we had a walk around the marina, trying to decide which of the multi-million dollar yachts we would most like to own. Alysa decided she would prefer the bright yellow buggy with eyelashes on its headlights parked nearby. We stopped at a bar for a cheeky mid afternoon drink and when I returned from the bathroom Alysa was being chatted up by some chisel-jawed personal trainer called Brad. We made our way back to the hostel, Alysa looking rather more pleased with herself than I’d like! Over dinner at the hostel that evening we learned that two hurricanes were heading for the islands, the first expected to arrive about 12 hours before we were due to fly out. We would be tracking its progress with interest.