Aloha!

At 8:45pm on Friday 30 March we took off from Sydney Kingsford Smith airport and after a 10 hour fight landed at 9:45am on Friday 30 March in Honolulu! Odd!

We headed straight for the beach; the sun was out, the sky was blue and the beach was quiet.

Bliss!

We didn't really move much for the rest of the day, just watched the world whiz by (although some of the people we watched were a little odd!) 

The next day we woke up early and headed to Diamond Head, an extinct volcano formed about 150,000 years ago.  

A little hill

By 8:30am we had paid our $1 entry fee and were climbing! 

Nice n easy

The climb was fairly easy (compared to our NZ hikes!) but the views from the top were amazing!

East from halfway up

Northwards from the summit

Waikiki

A bit windy! 

Diamond Head Lighthouse

Diamond Head got its name after sailors discovered what they believed were diamonds in the rocks on the volcano's slopes in the 1820s. Although the sailor's diamonds turned out to be clear calcite crystals, the name Diamond Head has been associated with the crater ever since.

After all that exercise we headed straight back to the beach and didn't move!  

We couldn't come all the way to Hawaii without playing in the waves!

Looks simple! 

 Kai Sallas is a world champion surfer. David Shaw is not. Kai led the way.

It all starts with choosing a wave and then paddling like mad!

Paddle!

 Once you catch the wave, slide the knees forward...

Smile Kai!

...swivel the feet and stand...

Easy!

 ...and then fall off!

No balance!

 But if at first you don't succeed...

Getting better!

..and then it is just plain easy! 

Cheese!

Sweet as

After a beak for lunch (and for DS to get his breath back!), we both grabbed some body boards and hit the sea!

Hang Loose!

Nice body 

 As soon as we hit the sea, the waves gave up and it became as flat as a pancake!

Where are the bloody waves?

The next day they returned!

A bit big for us!

No way were we going into those!