Bart Bear's Blog

Just a year ago I was investigating more of Hawaii than I had on previous trips. What a sorry year it has been. One of the interesting buildings is the Ali'iolani Hale which houses the Hawaiian Supreme Court. Most people recognize it as the headquarters of Hawaii Five-O. When I visited there was no sign of the Five-O crew, not surprising as they don't actually have their HQ there. I was hoping that they would be there filming and I could get a job as an extra. Anyhow, the building is a fascinating museum of the legal history of Hawaii with rooms devoted to the Hawaiian royal dynasties and the efforts they made to train a cadre of political and military specialists trained at European universities and academies. The central staircase features in several episodes of my favourite TV show, so I got Mum to photograph me acting like one of the casualties in the episode where the HQ is being attacked. A word of warning to small bears and children - it is quite painful if you slip while climbing on the upstairs railings. I sat in the Supreme Court in the spectator seats, behind the bench where the judges sat and in the dock where prisoners sat during their trial; that's the photo the Oldies like. This is a place visitors to Honolulu should spend time checking out. It is just across the road from the 'Iolani Palace.

Labels: buildings, climbing, Hawaii

Labels: Hawaii

Travelling back from the east coast to Honolulu you have the choice of either driving around the coast or driving back through the Koolau  Range. Ever since first seeing the spectacular scenery and tunnels on "Hawaii Five-O" Mum has wanted to drive through the tunnels . There are 3 highways that link Kaneohe to Honolulu, the H3 (the John Burns Freeway) and routes 61 (the Pali Hwy) and 63 (the Likelike Hwy). The H3 is the most expensive road in cost per mile ever built, about US$80 million per mile. It was built to be a high-speed link between the Navy and Air Force bases at Pearl Harbour and Wickham with the Marine Corps base at Kaneohe Bay. That's Kaneohe Bay in the first picture. The base is on the peninsula that juts out on the left. Also in the bay is Coconut Island, the site where the first episode of "Gilligan's Island" was shot; it is where the SS Minnow was wrecked. The Koolau range runs right down the windward side of Oahu. It is the remains of an ancient volcano and both sides are extremely steep. The only way to get a road through is to tunnel. The H3 is the longest at 1.5 kilometres. On the windward side you approach the tunnels on a 10 km long, high 10 Km viaduct that runs along the Haiku valley, crossing over several Hawaiian sacred sites. Naturally, that led to much angst when the H3 was being built. We travelled all 3 roads and the H3 Tetsuo Harano tunnels are one of our Hawaiian highlights.

Labels: Hawaii

Continuing with our coastal drives around Oahu with Kirk, here are some images of the north coast. The first is the "other side" of Ka'ena Point (see 2 posts back). Once again, the road ends in a rough carpark near a large seabird sanctuary. Second is Dillingham airfield. At the time of the Pearl Harbour attack this was one of the small airstrips where P-40 fighters were deployed away from the major airfields, and was one of the few places where US fighters managed to take off and attack the Japanese raiders. Today it is mostly used for skydiving and glider operations. We always have lunch at Hali'ewa Joe's when we are in Oahu. While the Oldies sample the local fodder, I sit on the lanai rail where I can watch the boats in the marina and kids on their way to the beach. At the north-eastern point of Oahu is Turtle Bay resort, one of the top ones on the island. Rather than having an expensive lunch there, Kirk took us to a pretty beach for a picnic. This had great spots for small bears to rest in the shade and watch birds and dolphins. Of course the north shore is best known for the huge surf that surfers come from all over the world to try. Well, that sort of surf is seasonal and this was not the season. As you can see, in all of our photos from this last holiday the surf was nothing spectacular. I mean, just look at the last image; that is the beach at the fabled Banzai Pipeline where the dangerous waves can be as tall as 6 metres. That day it was flat as a tack and not a surfer in sight.

Labels: beach, Hawaii

Here are more images from our day trip along the windward coast. First is a small bay cut into the carpark at the end of the road at Ka'ena point. There was a rare Hawaiian Monk Seal swimming there, but Dad is too slow with the camera to get a picture of it. Below that is a photo of Yokohama Bay, the most northerly beach on this coast. The sand area is small, but in the winter the surf here is large and rough. Not so when we were there. Instead there were tour boats bringing people to swim with the Spinner Dolphins who are there in the warm months. The other photos are near the town of Waianae. The thing that looks like a pyramid is actually a large section of broken volcanic wall near Makaha, check it out on Google Earth (GE). The beach is at Pokai Bay, another seasonal surfing spot. It is also a favourite spot for homeless campers. The last 2 photos are of Ku'iloloa Heiau, at the northern end of Pokai Bay. This is the remains of an ancient temple where students were taught navigation, sailing, fishing and other oceanic skills. All that is left are the broken outer walls and traces of the ceremonial path to it; check it out on GE.

Coming next are photos from our trips along the north coast, which will finish our round-Oahu road trip photos. I just have to kick the Oldies off the computer for a while......

Labels: Hawaii

This COVID-19 isolation thing has been a real drag on several levels. One of them is that the Oldies are becoming more like old bears in hibernation season every day. By the time I get them out of bed and they have caught up with housework, online browsing and craft there never seems to be time left for me to get computer time. However, better late than never, I will post some images of the last major road trip that we did in Hawaii, the leeward (west coast) road. This completed our circumnavigation of Oahu by road. Tourists are told not to travel this coast on their own as it is the low-income area, has lots of homeless camping on the beaches, and a high crime rate. We went with Kirk, who was our guide for most of our long drives. The road is on a fairly narrow flat strip between the beach and villages backing onto the Waianae mountain range. Our first stop was at Barbers Point lighthouse on the southwest point of the island. There has been a lighthouse here since1888, but this tower was built in 1933. Unlike most of the lighthouses we have visited, it has no lantern room, just a rotating beacon on the tower roof. Nearby there is a batch of communication towers. Actually, as you drive along this road you can see lots of satellite tracking and radar domes on the tops of the hills. On the other side of the range are many of the US military bases. The road ends at a parking bay at Ka'ena Point. There is a walking track that takes you around the point to a parking bay on the other side of the point. There is no road joining these two parking bays, so this track is the only bit of the Oahu coast that we haven't seen.

Labels: Hawaii, lighthouse

You can learn a lot about Hawaiian history by spending time tracking down statues. In my post of August 18, 2018, I showed you statues of King Kamehameha 1, King David Kalakaua and Duke Kahanamoku. On our trip last year we found lots more. In the middle of the tourist strip of Waikiki is the International Marketplace. This used to be an area with lots of small stalls mostly selling souvenirs. Now the small stalls have been moved into Dukes Lane and the marketplace is just more "big name" shops. Personally, I think that is a step backwards. The area was once owned by King William Luanalilo who later gave it to Queen Emma, the wife of King Kamehameha IV. In the centre of the old marketplace is a huge banyan tree. In the branches is a small tree house which was the office of the first manager. At the base of the banyan is a statue of Don Ho, one of Hawaii's favourite singers. His statue even seems to sing to small bears. The next courtyard was the garden of Queen Emma. There are statues here of Kamehameha IV and Queen Emma. These two were among the most influential rulers of Hawaii. Among their works were Queen's Hospital, funded by the couple to offer medical services to native Hawaiians, the Anglican cathedral, and St. Andrew's school for Hawaiian girls. Of course there is another musician who loved Hawaii, namely Elvis, who made 3 movies here. His statue is near the convention centre in Honolulu; he doesn't look at small bears who are resting in his hand. I already posted a photo of the Kamehameha I statue in the Capitol district of Honolulu, but here's another. Last in this set, at the entrance of the State Capitol, is the statue of Father Damien, the saint of Molokai. Damien was a Belgian priest who worked among the lepers exiled to Molokai and died of the disease there. There is much to see in the Capitol district; more photos will come when I can stir Dad away from his model ships.... And, of course, after hours of visiting statues what every bear and his Oldies need are some of the splendid cocktails that the bars of Waikiki excel at making.

Labels: Hawaii

Here's some more of the photos that Mum got from the rather dirty window of our aircraft on the day we flew to Maui. The top 3 are a series of Honolulu and Waikiki. First shows from the Kewalo Basin Marina to the Ala Wai Boat Harbour. The lagoon in the centre is the Ala Moana beach park. The twin towers just behind the boat harbour are The Prince, our favourite hotel. The next two show from here to the end of Waikiki beach. In my opinion, these beaches are not anywhere as good as Aussie beaches. The bottom three show some of the extinct volcanoes that made the island of Oahu. First shows the region from Diamond Head to Hanauma Bay and Koko Head. Next is the crater of Diamond Head. Final is Hanauma Bay and Koko Head. It is worth spending some time on Google Earth exploring the fantastic landscape of Oahu and the other Hawaiian Islands. Even better is to have Oldies like mine that take you there.

Labels: beach, Hawaii, volcano

We cruised home from Hawaii on our favourite ship "Radiance of the Seas". The ship stopped at Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora, Wellington and Picton. The Oldies worked on the cruise. Dad gave talks on astronomy every day at sea and Mum also answered questions from the passengers and was ready to show them the sky at night, but the sky was cloudy most of the time. Their "boss" was the Cruise Program Administrator, Michael. He is the best one they have ever had and he is now one of my Official Uncles; Hi Unka Michael, I hope you are still having fun. We did a working cruise along this route 7 years ago, but most of the passengers (including Mum) got pretty sick and we missed seeing most of the shore stops. This time we saw everything we could. First picture is me saying "A hui hou" (until we meet again) to Honolulu. The next 2 are the ship at Moorea and Bora Bora. And if you ever wonder how the Pacific Ocean got its name, the last picture tells it all. This is how calm the sea was until we got to higher southern latitudes near New Zealand. The Tasman Sea between NZ and Australia was, as usual, the roughest part of the cruise. I watched for whales and other ships all during our 12 days at sea and didn't see any of either. I did see some absolutely beautiful ships in and near the islands we visited. Images of them and the islands coming soon.

Labels: astronomy, cruising, Hawaii, New Zealand, Tahiti

"La haina" is Hawaiian for "cruel Sun". Lahaina was the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1820 to 1845. The town is much older, being the royal capital of Maui for centuries before being conquered by Kamehameha the Great in 1795. The oldest European buildings date back to the 1820s. A few of the early buildings remain and can be seen along Front Street, along with examples of American Colonial architecture. During the 19th century, whaling fleets used the town as a place to restock provisions and give crews shore leave. The whalers often caused riot and mayhem, fighting with the Hawaiians and missionaries. In 1831 a fort was built to protect the town and to act as a gaol for rioters. The fort was built of coral blocks enclosing about an acre. It had 47 cannons of various sizes. The cannons were never fired in anger, being used only as saluting guns on royal occasions. The fort was demolished in 1854, but a small memorial was built on the site in 1964. I always assume signs only apply to people, not small bears. Small bears will climb anything and Lahaina has a couple of fantastic trees. Largest is a huge Banyan in the town square. It was planted in 1873 and is the largest banyan in the USA. Tourists, locals, musicians and small bears find shade here during the heat of the day. The Oldies found 2 places on Front Street that they really liked. If you like pineapple, the Maui Gold shop sells the sweetest pineapple they ever tasted, you can even get pineapple whip (ice cream); you really have to try this if you visit Lahaina. Then they found a bar/cafe called Kimo's. Mum's name is Kim so of course they had to have lunch here. It was the best lunch place they found in the whole 3 Hawaiian islands we visited. Lunching on a waterfront lanai, sipping cocktails, nibbling on fish and chips (striped marlin, would you believe) and watching the ships, boats and boards in the harbour and the turtles feeding in the sea just below the table is a lunchtime we will never forget. We want to go back......

Labels: buildings, Hawaii, trees

Mid-way through our stay on Oahu, we flew across to Maui for a couple of days. Flying out of Honolulu to other islands you sometimes get great views of the Oahu coast. Mum took lots of photos on the way and despite the dirty windows of the aircraft she got some good ones. Here's one of Diamond Head and suburbs between it and the Koolau range. If you click on the image to get a larger zoom, you may see the lighthouse (on the coast, mid-image) and two of the old gun sites (higher up to the right). Maui is actually 2 shield volcanoes (classed as dormant) joined by a low plain. In the second photo you can see Haleakala shield volcano, a wide rounded mountain rising 10,020ft. There were 2 locations the Oldies wanted to see, Lahaina the old capital of Hawaii, and Haleakala Observatory. Being astronomers, their first target was the observatory. You can just see the white domes of the observatory on the closest volcano, above the cloud. The observatory is 10,000ft above sea level and is the forth-highest observatory in the world. The drive to the summit of Haleakala (House of the Sun) is steep in places and has great views over the island. We were above the cloud while we were there so the view below the summit was not visible, but on a clear day there are spectacular views of the crater and cinder cones of the volcano. The domes in the images house telescopes of the University of Hawaii, the USAF Space Surveillance Complex, and overseas observatories. The largest dome will house the 4m Daniel K Inouye solar telescope, due to be completed next year. Daniel Inouye was a Hawaiian war hero; the Honolulu international airport is named after him. The lower slopes of the volcanoes have some spectacular scenery, lava slopes and canyons. We stayed at the Four Seasons Resort, a great spot to relax on the lanai, sipping cocktails and watching spectacular sunsets.

Labels: astronomy, Hawaii, lighthouse, telescopes

Unka Scott lives on Leilani Estate, the place where the lava flows from last year's volcanic activity erupted. Fortunately his property was safe, but most of the lower part of the estate was covered in lava and many homes were lost. Because he is a resident, he was able to take us into the restricted area and show us the results close up. Over lunch he showed us images that he took during the eruptions, then took us into the estate. Many roads ended in a wall of lava, around 20m high in one case. Walking on these lava flows is forbidden.The surface is cool now but in places it is very thin and hot lava is just below. By the way, can anybody suggest why that chicken is crossing the road? The largest vent is Fissure 8 (lower left above) and the cinder cone it built is over 60m high. Where the roads have been cut through the lava flows you can see many colours due to various minerals in the lava. Just a year after the eruptions the lava is being "invaded" by vegetation, mostly ferns and small shrubs. Scott has purchased an acre of one of the lava flows from Fissure 8 and intends to record the way it recovers. I could walk on this and investigate the lava more closely. Some of the broken-off lumps had shiny areas from the hot minerals and others were full of holes from gas bubbles. Mum was surprised by how light the lumps of lava are. Our day with Scott is one I will always remember.

Labels: Hawaii, volcano

Highlight of our October time in Hawaii was our day on the Big Island seeing the changes caused by the volcanic activity of last year. Our guide for the day was my honourary uncle Scott. The changes to Halema'uma'u, the active crater of Kilauea volcano, are spectacular. The first photo is from our first visit in 2013. The crater was, relatively speaking, fairly shallow and flat with a small active vent. This year things are different. Firstly, the spot where the 2013 photo was taken is now inside the crater. The visitors centre and parking area that was there have been badly damaged and some has dropped into the crater. All tracks that let you near the crater walls have warnings that you had better take notice of. For example, the track we followed had steam blowing across it from cracks in the ground near the track The access road we used in 2013 is now cracked across in several places and is impassable. The crater itself is around 3 times the size and nearly 600 metres deep. The best place to see the crater now is from Volcano House where these photos were taken from. In the right-hand photo of the middle row, you can see the ochre colour of sulphur , and in the image below it there is a bit of the road we drove in 2013, now on a ledge that has slipped down the crater wall. The big photo shows how the crater walls are still cracking and slipping, the rock-falls inside the crater, and the ponds that are forming at the crater bottom. Things have quietened down now, but could start up again any time, the volcano is still classed as active. If you want a guide to the best the Big Island has to offer, contact Scott at Apau Hawaii Tours; you can't do better.

Labels: Hawaii, volcano

One of my readers pointed out that one thing I haven't mentioned about Hawaii is the food. Well, the main thing to remember about American food is that it can be quite strange, the menu has courses labelled differently to most English-speaking countries, and the serves are usually very large. There are restaurants and cafes serving most types of cuisine, although we didn't notice any Thai (Canberra is overloaded with them). You can spend large sums for fancy meals or moderate sums for good "pub" meals in most hotels. Here are 3 of our favourite Waikiki eateries. The Honolulu Cookie Company makes some really tasty treats. These are almost essential to have along on day trips and the long flight home. The Cheesecake Factory does much more than cheesecakes, although it has the largest range of them this small bear has ever seen. I need another trip to get further through the list. There are huge crowds here every night for dinner, so book in advance or be prepared to wait ages in a long queue. We go there for lunch, our favourites are the egg rolls which are nothing like an Aussie would expect from the name. Their cocktail in a pineapple is a must. The Oldies absolute favourite is the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. Those of us who love the movie will feel right at home here. Mum makes short work of the shrimp (prawns to Aussies) and Dad loves the Dixie Ribs. Drinks? Go for the MaiTai or the Long Island Iced Tea. The outside wall has a quote from the movie that I think sums up the way that my Oldies behave when I let them out. If you get up to the North Shore, the recommendation is Haleiwa Joe's, and there are several versions of Kamekona's Shrimp Truck scattered around the beaches. You certainly won't starve in Oahu, just look at those telling images of the Oldies.

Labels: Hawaii

Hi there, I'm back after a few weeks of looking after sick Oldies, so here's more of my Hawaii trip. Most people think of surfing when they think of Hawaii and the waves along the tourist beaches of Waikiki are easy on beginners. Every alley leading to the public beaches have lots of surfboards of all types for hire and most hotels have instructors to teach you how to catch that wave. Of course you do not have to have a board to catch waves, even Dad is a good body-surfer (or "cork topper"). And if you don't want to battle with the waves you can just sit on the sand and enjoy the antics of those who try. Of course there is lots of shopping you can do. The closest big mall to the tourist area is the Ala Moana Centre. The name means "Path to the Sea". It is the 7th largest shopping mall in the US and has over 300 shops on 2 floors, so you can easily spend a day and hundreds of dollars there. There is always something happening on the main streets, so you can just wander along and watch the show. We were there at the same time as the Pan-Pacific festival and the street outside the Moana Surfrider hotel had almost non-stop performances going on. The bottom pictures are of the Royal Hawaiian Band, which was founded by King Kamehameha III in 1836, and a spectacular Japanese drum group. We saw and heard choirs, bands of all types from classical to country and Hawaiian, and several flash dance groups there. It is hard to be bored in Hawaii.

Labels: Hawaii

Here's more images from our trip along the windward (east) coast of Oahu. The beaches along this coast are on narrow strips of land hemmed in by the steep mountain ranges to the west. The first image is of Kaupo beach near Waimanalo. If you look closely you can just see Makapuu lighthouse in the distance. The two islands are about 1 Km offshore. The larger one is Manana Island, also called Rabbit island. The island is on old volcanic cone with 2 craters. Evidently some people see it as the shape of a rabbit's head; I don't. Rabbits were here in plague numbers in the 20th century. The owner of Waimanalo plantation introduced them in the 1880s as a captive food source but they almost destroyed the ecosystem and were eradicated in the 1990s. The island is an important seabird breeding ground. The smaller island is Kaohikaipu, also an important bird colony. Near the northern end of the windward coast is Laie Point, where the lower 2 photos were taken. You can get to some spectacular rock formations and cliffs on this part of the coast if you are a fit hiker, but even my Oldies found some pretty stuff. A fit youngster could spend weeks exploring this coast. The surf is usually calm and the beaches protected by reefs, but around the corner onto the north coast things change - that's where the legendary surf rolls in.

Labels: beach, Hawaii

The hotel we stayed in during our Hawaii trip was the Prince Waikiki, and it is truly the best hotel we have ever stayed in. Not the fanciest, just the absolute best. Not right on the beachfront, but with absolutely splendid views. What it does have is the staff and atmosphere with what the locals refer to as the Aloha Spirit. This small bear loves the place and wants to get back there as soon as he can. The view from every room toward the sea (makai) looks over the marina. This marina will be familiar to "Five-O" fans and the strange lights and the boats and helicopter we saw moving in curious ways there one night may be part of the next series, I hope. Besides the views out of the window (see earlier posts), I love the view towards the mountains (mauka) from the glass elevators.  The path in the last image takes you along to the spot where Kamekona's shrimp truck parks in the TV series, and guess what?, there is a shrimp truck there serving all sorts of prawns (that's what we call shrimp in Aus). If you want a great hotel at the quiet end of Waikiki, the Prince is the place to stay; tell them Bart sent you.

Labels: Hawaii

The streets of Honolulu's Kakaako district are home to some of the most spectacular street art you will find anywhere. Every year, in February, artists from all around the world are invited to do giant murals on the walls of the industrial area. That means that these examples of this year's efforts will be painted over next year. The best way to see the murals is to hire a car with a driver who knows their way around the streets and lanes; our Uber driver, Patrick, spent a couple of hours taking us around. Mum took loads of pictures  and these are some of the best. I like the van up the tree; some of the drivers you see around the north shore look like they may end up that way. The way the artist used the air-con to make the pink-haired lady's sunglasses is pretty clever. Anyone who has been to Hawaii (or watches five-o) knows the Hawaiians actually like Spam (can't stand it myself) so I forgive the guy who changed the Dr Suess mural. The last two are my favourites, particularly the Goth space monster. If the old buildings haven't been knocked down and the sites used for yet more high rise apartments, I will definitely check out the streets of Kakaako on my next visit to the islands.

Labels: Hawaii

This small bear loves beaches, even though Mum won't let me get wet! Here's a few of the ones close to Honolulu. The first one is about 10 minutes walk from Prince Waikiki, where we stayed. It is part of the Ala Moana Beach Park. The beach is protected from big waves by breakwaters, so it is a nice calm area for kids and scaredy-cats to swim at. The second one is just north of Hanauma Bay (see 5 posts back). The beach is inside a reef, so the waves are pretty small. It is a nice sandy beach, so its name is actually Sandy Beach (I thought only Australians used names like that). The bottom two are of islands a bit further north along the Kamehameha Highway that runs up the east side of Oahu. The closest one is Mokoli'i. Because of its shape it is also called Chinese Hat. Left of Mokoli'i is the crater on Kaneohe Head. Far left in the distance are the Mokumanu Islands. The sandy part of the beach here at Kualoa Regional Park is quite narrow and waves come right up to the grass most of the time so the best place I could find to watch the fish was on this stump of a dead coconut tree. Fortunately, I didn't fall into the water before Mum saw where I was.

Labels: beach, Hawaii

It seems that the Oldies are always thirsty when they are holidaying in a warm climate. Hawaii was no exception. They visited just about every bar along the beach at Waikiki. Here are photos of 4 of them. The top two are of our favourite relaxing place, House Without a Key at Halekulane. This has a low wall between it and the sea but has good views along the beach if you walk up to the wall. Given the variety of great cocktails, I didn't do much walking. The small photo on the second row is from the Mai Tai Bar at the Royal Hawaiian. You can see the whole sweep of Waikiki beach from here, and the people-watching is entertaining to say the least. The other middle one is the Beach Bar at Moana Surfrider. The bar is shaded by a large banyan tree. The hotel architecture is magnificent and I will post photos of it soon. The panorama is the outside area of the Barefoot Bar at Dukes. This has great views, the cocktails are fine, the food is tasty and there is often live music. The only drawback is that the inside bar area is so crowded and noisy that the music was completely drowned out while we were there unless you sit close to the stage in the hot Sun. For a de-stressing afternoon the beach bars of Waikiki are the best; and there are some others left for me (sorry, the Oldies) to sample when I can talk the Oldies into another trip.

Labels: beach, Hawaii