United States 2007

HAW-07 - Hawaii (part of USA) and KARIBATI Date of travel: Apr 14 - Apr 25, 2007 ITINERARY: On Apr 14, 2007 my sister, her husband and I drive an AVIS car from Vista to San Diego airport. From there we fly 5 hrs. and 20 min. on a Hawaiian Airlines plane to Honolulu on Oahu Island in the American state of Hawaii. The plane lands at 1PM of local time. A taxi takes us to our ship “Norwegian Wind” (55k tons). While I take care of shore excursion, Mirka and Karel explore the ship. Soon the ship leaves Honolulu. Next morning our ship docks in Hilo on the Big Island. It is far the biggest island of the Hawaiian Islands. Our today trip is “Volcanoes National Park Odyssey.” During the trip there is a stop at Macadamia Nut Company. Then the bus takes us to Kilauea Volcano. Later, we circumnavigate the crater, do some walking on lava from 1982 eruption and in 500 years old lava tube. The last stop is at a shopping center v Hilo. After 3PM we are back on our ship. In the evening we see a good magician show. On Apr 16 we reach another Hawaiian Island. It is Maui and our ship anchors off the coast of Lahaina. We use tenders to get to shore. We are taking a trip to Haleakala Volcano. It takes more than 2 hours to get to the place we can see the crater of the still active Haleakala Volcano. We are some 3,000 m above the sea level. Before noon our bus goes downhill. We see number of cyclists following the same downhill run. Then we return to Lahaina and in a tender back to our ship. Mirka and Karel go to Lahaina later in the afternoon. In the evening I browse Lahaina with Mirka. The following day we are still off the coast of Lahaina and we have a walking tour of the place. By a tender to shore. The first stop at Houola Stone, where Hawaiian women had children. Close by there are foundations of a house built by American ship captains for the king Kamehameha the Great. This is followed by a museum, an old prison, Buddhist Temple, and a cemetery with royal tombs. At night our ship sails to the island of Kauai. It docks in the harbor of Nawiliwili in the morning. We have a bus tour of the island. We see a “Spouting Horn” shooting water through a lava tube on the shore. Driving west we see coffee fields grown for harvesting by machines. Other fields are covered by sugar cane. Then we go uphill and stop at the Waimea Canyon Lookout. During the drive there is a smaller island Niihau visible south of Kauai, where only pure blood Hawaiians live. Last stop is at large Mariko store in the town Hanapepe. We leave our bus in the town Lihue some 20-min. walk from our ship. Next 2 days we are on the ocean going south. There are some lectures to attend and shows in the evenings. On Apr 21 in midafternoon our ship anchors off the coast of Fanning Island which is part of island country KIRIBATI a new country for me. A tender takes us to the island. The Fanning Island is only few feet above the waves. A group of local people welcomes us on the shore. There is a line to get a stamp to our passports and another one to buy postcards and stamps. Then I walk around, do some photos on the shore, and buy few souvenirs. At the coming darkness we are back on our ship. The following two days “Norwegian Wind” is on the Pacific Ocean returning to the Hawaiian Islands. We watch flying fish of various sizes flying above the waves and take part in interesting lectures. The second day a large wave hit the ship as high as the 10th deck. I and my sister were at a lecture, but her husband was outside on deck 7 and took the whole brand of it. Then he tries to dry his camera. On Apr 24 in the morning our ship anchors at Kona Coast at the Big Island of the Hawaiian Islands. A tender gets us to the shore. We take a bus tour of thewestern part of the island. The first stop is to taste Kona coffee. Next stop is at “Refuge,” where in the past local people could hide after they broke a taboo. Lastly, we see a “Painted Church” from 1903. While Mirka and Karel take a walk of the town, I return to the ship. On Apr 25 “Norwegian Wind” docks in Honolulu harbor on the Oahu Island. We leave our ship in the morning and take a taxi to the Royal Iolani Palace, then through the Chinatown to “Pearl Harbor.” Here we take pictures and video. We see Arizona Memorial and a battle ship Missouri. There is a submarine there. After that we continue to the airport. In the afternoon we take a Hawaiian Airline plane and after 5 hours it lands in San Diego in the evening. Rented car from Hertz takes us to Vista where at midnight. Travel office: I arranged the trip for all 3 of us directly with the “Norwegian Wind.” Who took part: My sister, her husband and I.