End on a high note, New York, New York!

So good they named it twice! Somewhere new for the pair of us. As our last days of our mega adventure approached we decided we would pack them and treat ourselves to the max.   

our flight was an early arrival into Newark airport. We had an early arrival to our hotel and given a complimentary breakfast by a wonderful receptionist at the Hilton. We ate up and decided to head off up the Empire State building to beat the crowds as it was on the next street to our hotel. Up at the top by 8 am, it was freezing but no queue in sight and an amazing view. 

   
    
 
Our hotel called to tell us our room was ready and a free upgrade actually meant we git the opposite view at night from our window…

  
We started exploring New York further and made our way in direction of the Barclay stadium for Erichs Christmas  present. Ice hockey local derby game, New York Rangers v’s New York Islanders. We decided to go for the Islanders to support, mainly because the marketing manager had given me so much help to get the tickets which took a long time.   The seats weren’t bad and the fans soon started piling in and the atmosphere was building, come on Islanders!

   
 Much to our delight the Islanders won and we left with the cheers and chants of the crowd back to the underground and our wonderful room and small nightcap at the bar. The bar keeping unimpressed we were actually cheering for islanders and not Rangers, a city divided!

Next morning we filled up on breakfast and decided to head down to ground zero to see the memorials from the twin tower world trade centre destroyed on 911. There is a very somber but peaceful atmosphere here and I could not help to be moved by the memorial fountains which had been created. What I found more strange was the new  Oculus building next to the memorial which of you look at from a certain angle looks like a plane going into the ground?  

   
 
We left ground zero and headed across the road to a outlet department mall. This time it was Erich that emptied half the shop buying new clothes galore. Bags full we wanted to walk and see some more sights, Brooklin bridge, sample some amazing New York Cheese cake and soak up the atmosphere from the big Apple. Brilliant and the cheesecake was unbelievable!

   
   

  
 That night we had another amazing treat booked. This time on Broadway, Phantom of the opera. One of my favourites and Erichs second only musical!

   
 

A truely beautiful performance, the night was still young so we went for a walk around Times Square and see the many street performers and sites around. 

   
    
 
It was sad, our last night of our mega adventure. All the planning and wondering what would come next and adventures and excitement every day were coming to an end. All the amazing memories and experiences we had were almost set. Little did I know the best was yet to come. 

Our last morning and the reality of how little time we had left was hitting.  It was a very mild day and a little drizzly so we quickly jumped a yellow taxi to take us up to Central Park. We wanted to take a horse and carriage round Central Park. After a little negotiating we had our ride and set off for a beautiful and relax tour of Central Park. 

   
 
We had a wonderful guide who told us all about the celebs, places in the park which were in films, Strawberry fields, carousel and many other facts about the park. It’s a beautiful place amongst all the rush and bustle of the city just to escape for a few hours.  

We enjoyed our tour immensely and Erich decided he would like to spend our last hour with a little stroll in the park. We headed down to a lake and and whilst admiring the view and the bridge got the most wonderful surprise…

Erich asked me to marry him. In shock my first reaction was “your not on one knee”.  Then balancing on one knee careful not to put it direct into the mud, Erich asked me again. Absolutely thrilled to bits I said “YES”!  It was beautiful, a man wearing a cap with C on the front was plying a saxophone in the background. So we stood and hugged and then danced in Central Park, in the drizzly rain both buzzing with excitement and happiness. Why a perfect last hour!

   
 
Despite Tiffanys being across the road, there was no time for ring shopping and we did our last dash through the city back to our hotel. A quick change and then our taxi was here for the airport, this time JFK.  Straight to the business lounge and a celebratory glass or two of champagne. 

The sadness of the end of our wonderful adventure was quashed by the excitement and thoughts of getting married. We had something wonderful to look forward to and having spent 24 hours a day for 2.5 months could not imagine anything more wonderful then spending the rest of our lives together. Also not forgetting that with a wedding comes a honeymoon, another opportunity for another wonderful adventure together!!!

San Diego delights!

San Diego, finally a place I had been to and Erich had not. Again only a flying visit lined up but a very exciting one. 

It was a later arrival this time, so we quickly left our bags at our hotel and headed out for some dinner. After walking and checking out some of the gas lamp quarter we headed into a Brewery/ sports bar. Buger and beer night for Erich and for me I discovered my new favourite cocktail. So much so I cannot remember what I ate… Check out the cucumber bliss and my favourite flavour is elderflower all included in the St Germain liquer 

  
A great start to our stay in San Diego, we stayed and talked to the bar manager for some time before stumbling back to our hotel to ensure a good nights sleep because tomorrow was an exciting day. 

Tickets booked about 10 months in advance it was a day at San Diego zoo. Having jumped off the bus too early with excitement, we had to be told by the bus driver to get back on. One of my favourite places ever, I was luckyenough to be taken here by my parents as part of my 30th birthday holiday. My favourite animal being the Koala, I had located them on the map and run to the enclosure as soon as the gates opened, only to my dismay to find them not there. A new “outback” was being built for the fuzzy friends and they were in a small temporary enclosure at the other end of the park. 

 NOT THIS TIME!  Outback was fully open.   As soon as the gates opened we were there.  Again to see these beautiful little furry friends was wonderful and we spent some good time there chatting to the keepers and watching the quite livly stars (livly for koalas anyway). 
  
Promising to be back to visit several times during the day we went off to jump the zoo bus and make the tour of the park. 

There was a new baby giraffe, baby panda and a full show on with singing apes and an old momma orang-utan. 

  We walked for miles and was literally being kicked out the door at closing we could have spent days here not just a day and look forward to going back again one day

  

We headed into the gas lamp quarter again in the evening and found a place called “the melting pot”. Famous for its fondue we thought we would give it a try and compare to the Swiss equivalent. As we entered we waited for a table and had another wonderful cocktail whilst checking out the very confusing menu. Several courses, several types of fondue and dishes we had no idea. Having been shown to our table we asked for guidance from our lovely waitress Malory. 

She explained… To start we both pick a type of cheese fondue. This is served in front of you with bread and potatoes. You both then picked a salad of your choice (which was huge by the way). You both then agreed on a “bouillon fondue” which you also pick 3 options each of fish, meal, Vegies or pasta to go in. One of mine was an entire salmon fillet and Erichs a steak! So at near explosion, for desert you both then decide on which chocolate fondue to share which comes with a big plate selection of deserts, fruits, nuts and marshmallows to dip in. It was a taste sensation but on the edge of bursting we were beaten and only managed a fraction

   
 
Our waitress was lovely and we told her of our adventures and travels and she made us a decorated plate to send us with luck on our way. Really a lovely evening but we could not move 

   
    
 
I had found an amazing sounding cocktail bar online, El Dorodos which was en route back to our hotel so we somehow crawled there and checked out the menu.  You would never even notice this place if you didn’t know it was there.  I challenged the waiter to make me something with elderflower and Erich picked something fancy sounding. This bar was probably one of the coolest and unique bars I’ve ever been too and the DJ was mixing David Bowie songs in the background to pay tribute the the legend which had sadly just passed away. We drank a toast to him and enjoy his music genius in the great atmosphere and surroundings 

   
   
 Awesome place and awesome night. 

Our last day in San Diego we wanted to see the gas lamp quarter during the day and head down to the harbour for a walk. 

   
    
 
A little shopping, and a great place to people watch and see the world go by. wd ended by watching a boat regatta and seeing the sun set. 

   
 
We were off to the airport again that evening but had a wonderful relaxed day and were both excited for our next and final destination. New York baby!!!

San Francisco

So another destination Erich had already been to and a new one for me. We made the mistake in that we could not really sleep on the flight and then got to our hotel at 7am. As the hotel was fully booked we had to take a quick nap in the lounge before leaving our bags and heading out for a great breakfast recommended by the hotel receptionist “Mo’s”. Erich had the biggest pile of scrambled eggs and potatoes I’ve ever seen and the constant refills of coffee were welcomed by us both. 

We literally rolled out of Mo’s and headed down through china town and out to the main shopping area. A little trip to Macy’s and around before heading back to the hotel to freshen up and a nap. 

Feeling revived we headed out for a night on the town. Coming across our first place “Pinkies cocktail bar”. We both though a nice cocktail would be a good start to the night. We headed in and asked the bar keeper what cocktails they did, the answer being “none”, whilst also not looking too happy he had to break his concentration with the football on the tv. We ordered a couple of drinks and sat to watch a little of the game. No idea after breakfast how we could ever feel hungry again we wondered up the street checking menus only to find an Italian called Mona Lisa where a waited stuck his head out the window and told us to come in. I think we were the only non Italians in the place. Wow the food was delicious, homely massive portions and good wine, we soon felt very comfortable and stuffed yet again. Feeling very full and happy we headed out into the night to continue our adventures. We ended up in a bar/nightclub this time with cocktails and enjoyed the rest of our evening there before heading home for the night. 

   
 
Our night was not what we had hoped for to catch up on some sleep. Some bad neighbours and then some very sad news about my Grandma left us upset and tired.    We had a full on day ahead of us starting with a Segway tour, so looking forward to the distraction we headed out. 

The Segway tour was an advanced tour with very strict requirements, so much we had to tell a little white lie how many times Erich had done a Segway tour. As a natural we had no worries about him and I had already done about 8 tours before. We turned up to be given the overly procortious safety video, tips, tests, sign your life away, American cover your backside for everything talk. With only 3 others on the tour who had all been on a Segway many times we headed out. We had great fun and was a great tour. It also included the world famous “Lombard street” one of the steepest and crookidest streets going. We got extra special tips how to take this on. I headed off in the lead with Erich behind and the Canadian lady behind him. Unfortunately she lost control, headed over the top of her Segway and tried to take Erich with her in the process. Erich almost taken out had to also jump off his Segway and I found myself helping him back on and guiding us back to the bottom safely. Bruise ego but luckily the lady was ok, we all carried on, only for her to hit the curb again later on but with less damage this time. Erich and I were on a roll by the, one legged, slalom Segway riders, and certificates to prove it, awesome! Photo bombed by our Segway guide…

  
We were back at the office and a little gutted it was over. Not wanting the fun to end we headed to pier 45 on fisherman’s wharf to the musee machanique. A place full of old fashioned slot machines, pinball, fortune telling machines, air hockey. Back to the youth and at only 25 cents a play, we were quickly changing some dollars and challenging each other to mini bowls, basket ball, shooting and air hockey which I whipped Erich!  Somehow the photo is deleted from my phone! So much fun, I so wish we could keep some of these games, there not made the same anymore. 

Our energy gone we headed off to a restaurant recommendation of the Segway guide on the next pier. Scoma’s was not the cheapest restaurant but did some fantastic fish dishes. Standing at the door in our hiking gear we didn’t think they would let us in, the waiters in white dinner jackets and black dickie bows, the guests not far from the same. We are so glad they did let us in, with fantastic “lazy mans cioppino ” and wine it was a fantastic meal. 

We stumbled out of the restaurant after nearly 3 hours by which it had gone dark and headed for a tram ride. A small queue and then we got our place. These trams are amazing climbing and dropping the hilly streets of San Fran like a tame Big Dipper ripe. Having spotted a free spot outside at the back next to the driver we stood and could hand out the back of the tram. This was such a treat and my highlight of San Fransisco. 

  
  
Conveniently the tram ride stopped very near Macy’s again and it was sale time. Shopping at its best and we (or I should I say) reserved a number Of items to try the next morning. A slow walk back to the hotel we decided to head for a nightcap on the bar and watch the end of a very exciting football game, Pittsburg v’s Cincinnati. Our neighbour girlfriend at the bar was so excited she was almost crawling over the bar to shout at the tv screen. A great end to the night, but I think we were more excited to know a bed awaited us upstairs. Shattered!

After a good nights sleep we were eager to go. Our last day in San Francisco as we only had a flying visit this time. I could not leave without picking up the bargain beautiful leather boots I had reserved the day before and having gotten tourist discount also managed to stumble across a lovey new handbag and leather lap top bag to match. You can imagine Erich face by now. I knew our weight restriction with flying was over and had doubled overnight since our last flight and this gave Erich a small heart attack and night sweats. It’s scary when you walk in Macy’s and the staff shout you good morning by you name rembwringvwho you are!

Calming him down we headed for a last wood oven pizza lunch. The pizza was almost bigger than our table and struggling to eat it all we thought we would do what we saw in Hawaii. When people have too much food they get a doggy bag to take home but on the way give it to a homeless person.  So we thought the same and gave half our our enormous vegi supreme to a polite gentleman round the corner. 

We enjoyed a last leisurely walk back before heading off to the airport again. San Francisco was great but onwards and upwards, San Diego next!!!

Our last days in Hawaii

We had decided to split our Big Island adventure into two halves. After Hilo we were heading over to the Kona side for our last few days. 

Again we had a very fun adventurous drive wth sunning views and beautiful stops along the way including the Akaka falls and sacred Waipio valley

   
 

We had a apartment in Kona which would be our base for the last few days on the island. Upon arrival we were welcomed by local fruits and chocolates left by our hosts and a wonderful apartment. We headed out to test the local beers at Humpys bar and do a little local shopping and exploring.   That evening the sunset was stunning and we sat on the sea wall and enjoyed a beautiful end to the day

  
Next morning we were up and out early to find a highly recommended snorkle point called “two steps” at Honayna Bay in south Kona. This is literally two steps from the lava edge which go direct into the sea. Erich had to head off on his own whilst I watch from the shore this day thanks to an nice insect sting I had received. Still I could see so much from the shore and watching Erichs excitement and feedback on all the different kind of fish and sea creatures was brilliant. 

  
Right next to “Two steps”. Was the Pu’uhonua o Honanua Historic park.   This was once the home of Royal grounds and a sacred area for the Hawaiian people. It’s a beautiful area to walk around and we even more of a thrill to see more sea turtles in the wake and on the little lava rock pools. 

  
A place for peace and reflection I could have spent hours here, Erich too as he wondered off exploring the rock pools and finding more turtles and amazing fish. The turtles had quite an influence and as a result decided to purchase a piece of local artwork from artist Alex Gupton which he would personalise and send to our home in Switzerland. A lovely reminder of our Honu experiences

  
We made it back for a cocktail and see the sun set. Whilst not as spectacular as the previous evening it was still stunning and a little sad to know we only had one more left to see on these beautiful islands

  

For our evening we had booked a table at our local Lava Java with a wonderful table looking out to the sea, romantic candles and a acoustic singer in the background. With our bring your own wine it was a very enjoyable and relaxed evening.  It was going to be very hard to leave this paradise in a few days time. 

The next morning we decided to take a nice scenic hour drive north to a little artsy town called Hawi. A beautiful little place which we could not leave without buying a little something to contribute to our art collection. We then continued a little further on to the Polulu valley. When you see pictures of Hawaii, this is the place. Quite a steep hike down to the valley bottom to the sea and then a real challenge coming back up on the slippy dry dirt track that was very steep and in sweltering heat. Still was amazing. 

   
 
When returning to the car (which I had pretty much abondoned at the side of the road and half in a bush) did we only notice the giant spiders nests of “happy face spiders”. I know why they were so happy, they were huge!!!

  
We quickly headed off to find a local cafe and a well rewarded giant ice cream for Erich and some mango juice for the driver. Again a dash back for set set and a totally touristy evening meal at the Bubba Gump restaurant. Well you have to try it once and we were actually pleasantly surprised, especially the cocktails!!!

   
   
Our last morning we had to go shopping, facing only colder weather countries ahead of us and no warm clothes, where better to go shopping than Hawaii. Stood in the department store trying on layers and fillers whist over 35 degrees outside we got some strange looks and stares as well as the shop assistant checking we “were OK”. After explaining we had New York ahead of us she quickly understand and was only too glad we were clearing out all their winter gear which was lucky for us all in the sale. Shopping complete and suitcases full we said goodbye to our beautiful temporary home and headed to Kona airport with very heavy hearts. Still we could get a nice meal and some drinks in the first class lounge at the airport to take our minds of things…

… Or could we. Let me set the scene. Kona airport has no roof, well majority. There is one secirity scanner just outside and one conveyorbelt to take the bags. The seats are purely benches, one small newspaper shop and one gift shop. One tiny bar which serves food with a warning on the door not enough seats. So no business class lounge. Still we got a couple of beers and I bought a pack of cards to while away the time. An hour later the bar maid barred us from playing cards (having watched us for half an hour) stating its like gambling. So the wait got longer and we went to pick a spot on a bench to continue the hand. The smallest airport I’ve ever seen!!!

So Hawaii was amazing, I really cannot use words to give it justice. We both absolutely loved it and said we will be back one day. Really we were spoilt, but our adventures did not stop there… Next stop America mainland. San Francisco here we come!!!

Big Island adventure

 We decided we were going to split our time on Big island and stay on both the East and the West costs. The first half we would fly into Hilo and stay there as our base to explore and not far from The Volcano national park. Hilo is the USA’s wettest city, and despite the forecast the sun was blazing every day!

We set off on our adventure for a full day in the national park. We could have spent a lot longer there it is fascinating. We had a number of recommendations from our host where we were staying and had a chat with one of the Rangers. Having mapped out our walks and picked up a packed lunch we were off. Only a short way in driving to our first hike destination did we start to feel like we had landed on another planet. I cannot describe this place that would ever do it justice, it’s truly amazing. An island sculpted by fire ice and water… Breathtaking!

The Kilauea iki trail across a hardened lava lake was our first encounter. You can still hear the volcano rumblings as you hike through the forest and then down into a crater lava lake. Whilst the lava twinkles in the sun with the olivine crystals, stream jets hiss and bubble reminding you that the volcano is far from dormant. 

    
 
As we continued round the park we saw some petroglyphs which are carving in the lava. Some of which were used by the Hawaiian people to offer the umbilical chords from the babies. 

The lava is vast and covers for miles further then you can see across the entire island. There are various types and in some parts huge cross sections cut out to allow the road to go through. You can see where the lava has pushed to the oceans as well as stunning black beaches. Some of the park was closed due to the high sulphur levels current being produced by the volcano. 

  

Later we headed to the Jagger museum and to admire the volcano which is smoking and bubbling away with the glow of lava. The last major activity was in June 2015 when part of the crater wall collapsed triggering a small eruption. We hung around for night fall to see the lava glowing and were not disappointed.   What an absolute fantastic day!

   
 Next day we decided to explore some of the areas around the Hilo region. To begin with we headed out for the famous Rainbow falls. There were no rainbows whilst we were there, just a few idiots who were not respecting nature and tempting fate by climbing on the edge of the falls

   
As you followed the path round the back of the falls you came across one humungus banyan tree which was beautiful. You could actually go inside is giant matted trunk like a magical maze. Fascinating and the weird way my photo came out below sort of sums up the feeling there…

 

After the falls we headed to Richardson state park. A less well known area frequented mostly by locals. Here we started our search of Honu (turtles) and enjoy all the small beaches, rock pools etc. 

   
    

    
 
From the shore we saw so many green sea turtles. The relaxing stroll and climbing over the lava rock pools was great then the sudden excitement when we would spot another turtle or group of turtles. Whilst we dare not to change snorkling in the water here as it was pretty rough, on the other hand we did not need to as could see so much through the crystal clear water and the rock pools. 

   
We continued on to coconut island and to wander around the  Liliʻuokalani Park and Gardens. 
The set our spirits on going to the botanic gardens where we enjoyed a stroll and taking in all the beautiful sights and smells. The gardens went all the way down to the sea where you could see the legendary twin rocks. 

   
That evening we are at a newly opened restaurant in town. It became the most over priced and dull dining experiences say so don’t ask about cafe Pesto, $40 for a mediocre risotto. We had to put things right and headed to open mike night in the Hilo tavern pub. Every kind of act you could imagine and the “dark and stormy” cocktails left a fuzzy end to the night.  One of the stars , made us chuckle!!! 

    

What an end to 2015, Mahalo… Aloha 2016!

New Year’s Eve we decided for a chilled day and went for a beach walk and chill by the beaches in Kaanapali. It’s a beautiful area but also very touristy and a lot of high class hotels on the beach front. 

We came to the Whalers village and did a little shopping before deciding that we would head back to our hotel as had a special event booked for New Year’s Eve. 

The old Lahaina Luau also came highly recommended and we had booked far in advance which meant we had fantastic table reservations. Having arrived too early we headed next door to a little bar for happy hour $3 dollar Mai tai and $1.75 Buds. Unbelievable!  So already in a good mood we arrived at the Luau to receive our beautiful Leis and introduced to our server for the night. 

  
We played some traditional Hawaiian games which was similar to bowling, and I managed to win yet again!  Next was the digging up of the pig from the Kalua, an oven pit in the ground where it had lay for about 30 hours cooking. Not good to have front row view bring a vegetarian!

   
 
   
 
Dinner and the show was fantastic. A history of Hawaii, dances and the people. It was beautiful and with the warm haze of never ending Mai Tai’s and other cocktails it was even more mesmerising. 

   
 

We decided to walk, or sway our way back to our apartment and watch the firework and celebrate from our Lanai. We managed to get back before midnight even despite the large number of galleries which were open late tempting us with beautiful art pieces and plying us with local pineapple wine. A very happy new year!!!

Welcome to 2016!  With slightly fuzzy and sleepy heads we decided on an easy day. First we took a little stroll into the town for a little shopping before relaxing at our apartment, reading and soaking up our beautiful view

   
 
We both absolutely loved Maui and hope to return one day. Our last morning we let our Lei go into the sea with prayers and thoughts for our family and friends. Tale will have it that if the Lei comes back to shore, you will return one day. I really hope we do…

  

More Maui

You may have heard of the “road to Hana”.  Wiki says “Although Hāna is only about 52 miles (84 km) from Kahului, it takes about 2.5 hours to drive when no stops are made as the highway is very winding and narrow and passes over 59 bridges, 46 of which are only one lane wide.There are approximately 620 curves along Route 360 from just east of Kahului to Hāna, virtually all of it through lush, tropical rainforest. Many of the concrete and steel bridges date back to 1910”

  
What wiki does not tell you is how AWESOME this is to drive, and you need to keep your wits about you and your passengers need strong stomachs. Erich even bought a “survivors shirt” in Hana!  Also note I am still the driver despite the change of sides! We knew it would be a long day and wanted to do some walks past Hana on the Pipiwai trail in the Halekala national park. We were up at 5 and the sun had just risen as we hit the Hana road. Only seeing a couple of locals on the drive was amazing and more to be said for the way back. 

   
Black sand on the beaches from the volcano

 We were at our trails by 9 am but sadly due to a lot of rainfall the pools and waterfalls we wanted to swim in were not possible as so dangerous, at risk of flash flood and also brown from a the sudden water. Still we set off on an extremely sloppy muddy path to go through the bamboo forest and see the Waimoku falls

   
Entrance to bamboo forest

  
   
It was beautiful and a truly unique walk or mud slide and we returned covered in mud, hot and devoured by mosquitoes.  The seven efficient pools above that you normally could swim in looked like the chocolate river from Charlie and the Chocolate factory. Still it was all well worth it!

On the way back we stopped at some of the beaches including Black sands beach, Koki beach and also watch some surfers on Ho’okipa beach.

  
  
The drive back took hours and traffic was heavy but we were appeased by spotting whales along the way and rewarded by a most beautiful sun set again taken from the car window…even traffic jams are beautiful in Maui!

  
Next morning was another early start to do some more exploring on the Halekala national park but this time on the volcano crater rim. Another fantastic drive to the park entrance then another 45 minutes on a twisty windy road to the top!  You get out your car like you’ve landed on another planet…

   
    
You can see some other Hawaiian or “Sandwich” islands around. This one in the distance is Big Island which is our next destination and also has a lot of volcanic activity. 

 Not well equipped to do any major hikes and also knowing we had to be back pretty early for Bettys beach cafe!  

Bettys on a Wednesday was lobster night!!! Careful to make sure we made it back for happy hour we got a prime seat on the terrace which meant we could also watch the Hawaiian luau next door. We shared a starter and prepared ourselves for our yummy lobsters…

   
   
They didn’t last long and so decided on a desert treat. We thought it was strange that after we ordered one desert the waitress said thanks and went to walk away. So my desert was pretty big and I did not even manage half. Erichs was an enormous mud pie and he pretty much polished if all off washed down with a couple more cocktails. I don’t know who was more surprised me or the waitress!

  
 
I don’t know if he’s looking at the plate or his tummy!!!

  

Marvellous Maui

Maui, the place is one giant picture postcard full of beauty and adventure. This place came highly recommended by so many different people and different reasons. It’s fair to say it’s our favourite so far. 

  
This place was our ultimate treat week and booked ourselves a luxury apartment direct on the beach in Lahaina. This was our view which welcomed us, with a most stunning sunset to boot.  All you hear in you room is the lapping of the waves…absolute bliss.

The next morning was an early start as we’re heading out on a snorkling tour on a catamaran. The destination had to be changed as there had been some rain overnight which meant that the wart had been cloudy. This was ok and we headed off to a place called “baby beach”.   

The snorkling was amazing, crystal clean and only a few meter deep but full of fish of every colour and shape you could imagine. The trumpet fish were particularity strange to see as well as some of the huge sea urchins. Erich and I were both diving down to get a closer look. I was so fascinated with the fish I did not notice that a beautiful green turtle (known as Honu to the Hawaiians) swam right in front of me. As I looked it it took me be complete surprise and startled me. I shot to the surface to find Erich and trying to shout “turtle” still with snorkle in mouth. I was the only one to see one apart from the captain on the boat who also saw my encounter. Absolutely made my day. The catamaran cruise continued and we found another great snorkling spot with a reef again full of all varieties of fish. It was a wonderful first day and the first taste of the Maui Mai Tai’s server by the crew on a return to harbour.   

Upon the catamaran we had got a flimsy of some humpback whale spouts. Whale season had started on the 15the December and we were both keen to see more. We booked a trip for the. Ext morning on the whale response boat with only 4 other people. 

Setting of early and very excited I was soon jumping up and shouting “there she blows”, the call we were given if we spotted a whale. We sped off to try and get closer but also respecting the distance which have to be kept from these amazing creatures.  We were spoilt from the start with tail slapping, and swimming alongside the boat before the big tail came out indicating the whale had done a deep dive. Next minute I the distance I saw a whale doing a full breach out the water. We set off again the the direction I was pointing and again we rewarded with more whales. I seemed to have a lot of look with the spotting and picked up on the Wales well. We even saw spinner dolphins too 

   
 My better picture and videos are not on my phone but just a glimpse of some of what we saw. The great finale was we saw a female being chased by two males who both wanted to mate. We went all side the in our boat whilst the chase continued with twists in the water, tail slaps, the head coming right out the water and lots more. An amazing amazing day we will never forget!

Waikiki and the worlds longest queue!

We arrived late on the 23rd December in Waikiki. This was a little confusing since we had left Auckland on the 24th December mid day. Still we dropped out things and we straight out to the cocktail bar next door to toast our hello to Hawaii. A couple of Mai Thais and mango mojitos and we were in for a good nights sleep. 

Xmas eve and we decided to check out local transport and squeeze into the bus to Hanauma bay to do some snorkling. We watched the short compulsory safety video before picking a spot to leave our stuff and head out in the surf to the reef. It was stunning and the variety of fish was unbelievable and only a couple of meters from the shore too. Yes this spot is very popular with lots of people, but all the same it was great

   
   
We headed back for a lazy afternoon in Waikiki knowing we had great dinner reservations for Xmas eve. Uncle Bo’s Pupu bar. We had it booked for months and were dribbling every time we read the menus online. It did not disappoint but was difficult to eat up as the portions were enourmous, but fresh, original fish recipe ideas that were amazing. It was a great treat and were both glad we had walked the few km to the restaurant do we could walk the good off a little on the way back. However that generated a thirst, so decided to visit Lulu’s which was recommended to us by one of our Swiss friends. WOW the cocktails, how me managed to leave not crawling on all fours was quite astounding! Hilarious that the below picture somehow uploaded upside down. It seems very appropriate so will leave it like that!

  
 
It’s Chtistmas!!!  So we both had the bright idea that we wanted to do a hike on Christmas Day and decided to go to Diamond head. We wanted to walk from our hotel to the start of the trail rather than drive which was a good few km to begin with. When we got to the park gates we started to cringe as we joined one giant queue. The walk up diamond head is mean to take 45-60 mins. It’s a single track where one person going up can go next to someone coming down (in most places). It includes a couple of tunnels and view points over the volcano crater at the top. Note the 45-60 mins is if you are not crawling in just one long queue let alone going nowhere in a tiny km long tunnel baking hot suffering from claustrophobia!  Not enjoyable at all and after 2 hours nearly lost the plot. We were quite glad to leave which was a shame as it was so beautiful 

   

  

 

So down at Waikiki it was time to do a little shopping, little happy hour cocktails and then another great dinner booked at Tiki’s with live music. Even managed to get Erich to dance and a fantastic evening. A complete contrast to other Christmases and a busy but beautiful place all the same.  

 So wanted a go in one of these…

   
      

 As the sun set we said our goodbyes to Waikiki knowing the next day we would fly to Maui. Our chill our treat week. Yey!

  

Auckland spin

It was hard to absorb we were in our last few days in New Zealand. We dropped off the hire car and headed to our final destination of Auckland. It was strange to be in a city again after being surrounded by so much natural beauty but still the sun was shining and could console Erich with a trip to the harbour and Anericas cup village to look at the boats

   
 
We were staying at the Skycity hotel, the big tower in the pic above, and had reservations for that night in the orbit 360 degrees rotating restaurant. We headed up early for a cocktail and to take in the view before sun set. Can you spot Father Christmas in the pic below

   
As the sun went down we were slowly spinning enoying the most delicious meal and looking at the view of the city and all the buildings. By the time we got to desert the lights were on twinkling away with the added bonus of Christmas lights too. Beautiful!

   
 
A quick trip to the casino after, our little flutter was not so lucky but had a thoroughly enjoyable evening all the same. 

Next morning time to walk the city and clocked up 12km before dinner. From park to park, sculptures and sights it was like we were slowly saying goodbye to New Zealand.  

   
A moment of reflection, and a quick nap on a cricket pitch refreshed up ready for the Victoria Park Christmas market at night. A Christmas market without being wrapped up in layers and cuddling your mulled wine for heat doesn’t seam right somehow. 

A tasty Italian and early night as in the morning we are up early to say goodbye to  New Zealand,  thank you we loved you are hope to come back one day. HAWAII BABY, here we come. Champagne breakfast ( and shower in Erichs case as the champagne went pop over him) in the business lounge in the airport then off. I wonder if we see Father Christmas in the sky!