Tuesday, 9 September 2014

We had breakfast at the offices of Aloha VIP Tours who seemed to have the largest slice of the tour market and after a presentation of the available tours booked our tours for our remaining time on Oahu.

We then visited the Maui Dive Centre to view some of their beautiful jewellery and souvenirs. We also made a trip to the Duke Street Markets where all the traditional Hawaiian souvenirs were sold. We enjoyed delicious gelato  before returning to the hotel where we had lunch by the pool and then  a swim.

By evening the hotel was alight with flares and the sound of Hawaiian music filled the air..

We walked up the main street of Waikiki where the hustle and bustle of the vibrant nightlife had begun to the Waikiki Beachcomber Hotel  to attend the Magic of Polynesia Show.

The Magic of Polynesia show was a stage production featuring a large cast of Polynesian dancers, spectacular magic illusions and music and was an enjoyable way to spend the evening and provided an introduction to Hawaiian culture.

Monday 8 Sept 2014

We were really looking forward to our trip to Hawaii where we would cruise on the Pride of America, a Norwegian Line ship around the Hawaiian Islands and then cruise back to Sydney on Royal Caribbean Radiance of the Sea crossing the equator by ship and then stopping at the French Polynesian ports of Moorea, Papeete in Tahiti, Bora Bora and finally Wellington in New Zealand.

After leaving on a Hawaiian Airlines flight on Monday 8 September we arrived in Honolulu at 11 am of the same day and were taken to our accommodation at the Outrigger Reef in Waikiki which is right on the beachfront of Waikiki Beach and minutes from the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Centre.

 We spent the afternoon walking around Waikiki visiting the beach, shops, checking out the public transport and all that the hotel had to offer. We had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe and enjoyed the atmosphere, music and food of Hawaii. The streets of Waikiki were alive with many tourists and locals making the most of the pleasant night and the lights around the palm trees looked very tropical as we returned to our hotel.