Hawaii 2013

Our December 2013 visit to Oahu, Maui, Hawaii and Kawai'i. After the first two nights at Waikiki Beach, our transportation, hotel and main meals were courtesy of Norwegian Cruise Line aboard the Pride of America.

Oahu, the Gathering Place

We spend two nights at Waikiki Beach before getting a taxi to the cruise ship port for the main part of our vacation. Our hotel room had a nice view of the ocean, and we had a good time exploring the area. On Saturday morning, we went to the port to board the Pride of America, home for the next week.

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Maui-The Road to Hana

We spent our first day on Maui exploring the Road to Hana with a driver and four Australians who had also signed up for this excursion. Our driver knew lots of photo spots and a couple of scenic detours, and served us a nice picnic lunch at Hana Beach State Park.

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Maui-Lahaina Submarine

The highlight of our second day on Maui was a submarine tour of the waters off of Lahaina. We were bussed to the Lahaina pier, where we boarded a boat that took us out to the submarine, then we transfered to the sub, which immediately went to the bottom and navigated around an interesting area for an hour or so. Afterward, we explored the town and had lunch in a local cafe.

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Hawai'i-Volcanos National Park

On our first day on the big island, we visited the Mount Kilauea caldera and other parts of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, including a lava tube and relatively recent lava flow area. On the way back to the ship, we stopped at an orchid farm.

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Hawai'i-Pu'uhonua o Honaunau

From Kona, we visited the painted church, Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historic Park, and a Kona coffee place that had a small lava tube.

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Hawai'i-dolphins and whales

After our visit to the Pu'uhonua o Honaunau refuge, we went back to the harbor and boarded an excursion boat, the Body Glove, for a tour of the coastal area near Kona. We started in the same bay we just visited on land and were lucky to see a large group of spinner dolphins, and then out in the open sea, at least two humpback whales.

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Kaua'i Wailua River, Lu'au Kalamaku

For our first day on Kaua'i, with took a cruise on the Wailua River to Wailua River State Park. This was a low key ride on a river barge with live music and hula, stopping for a nature walk through the rain forest to the fern grotto, where ferns group upside down from and overhanging cliff. In the evening, we went to a big luau in the form of dinner theater.

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Kaua'i Waimea Canyon

The last day of our trip. On this day, we explored Waimea Canyon. Well, it is pretty much untracked wilderness, so we explored it via helicopter. We were picked up by a minibus at the port by none other than the guy who played the Papa at the luau the night before.

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