Month: September 2019

Na Pali Land & Air

On my full day on the north coast the plan was to go hiking to get some Na Pali Coast views. I had been thinking to do the day hike to HanakapiAi Falls. It is considered a tough hike though and the late morning had flash flood warnings- the whole hike being in a narrow valley with stream would mean quite a bit of danger- so I decided against that and instead just did the moderate hike to HanakapiAi Beach.

My original intention before leaving Europe was to do the Kalalau Trail- 11 miles of track that had been closed for the last year until June 2019 due to the severe wash outs that occurred in the same storm that washed many roads out. However, all the camping spots had been booked out for months and there was no way I could make it as a return track in one day!

I had heard that you need to book parking in advance –so the day before I looked online. There was no parking until 1 week from now. So not very useful in terms of having a hire car and getting around at my own pace. The next option is a 15 USD return shuttle. There was 1 space at 08h30, getting us there at 09h30. Already late for hiking- especially with rain coming in, but hey. When we actually arrived the parking was only about 40% full and remained like that most of the day.

The hike was fairly consistently uphill and had some good look outs down the Na Pali Coast- however due to the rain clouds coming in, it was largely covered again 🙂 . The return trip was slippery due to the drizzle that had started- but no massive rainfall actually appeared. It took me about 1.5 hours each way.

Due to the fact that 90% of the island is inaccessible by road I decided that it would be fun and appropriate to take a helicopter trip around the island the day I flew out back to Honolulu. The weather forecast looked bleak the night before with 90% chance of whole day of rain. Waking up to sunshine and nearly no clouds I got excited!! Two hours before the scheduled departure time it looked very bleak again with large grey storm clouds rolling over the mountains!!

Luckily the storm did not eventuate and the trip went ahead.

We were 6 passengers and pilot. I had paid a little extra to get a front seat- for better and more guaranteed views. We were in a Whisper Star model helicopter. The journey lasted just under 60 minutes. We did get some rain-nothing too heavy though and some glare from the windows that’s evident in the photos.

The experience was great and we got great views of many delightful waterfalls in unreachable areas. I got to see the Na Pali coast from the air this time- the waters I had cruised, the Kalalau Trail from the air and the beach I had hiked to the day before as well as Ke’e Beach where I snorkelled. It’s really stunning scenery, and we had some areas pointed out where different parts of Jurassic Park had been filmed.

Hawaii North America USA

Northern Kauai

Post author By Jo
Post date 29 September 2019

After my restless night in my car in Kokee State Park and the sunrise from the lookout I headed on a road trip to the other side of the island. It should be noted that this island is really rather small and this doesn’t take long :). It is about 40km by 53km and is geologically the oldest of the island chain (first to be created over the hot spot).

First stop was Kilauea Lighthouse lookout- with the lighthouse in the background and lots of red footed boobys flying around and stretching their red feet in for landing.

Hereafter I headed out to Anini Beach- where there was supposed to be great snorkelling. I did spot two interesting creatures: a young eel (maybe moray?) and trumpet fish, but again, the visibility was not great and the variety of species was pretty poor. I also saw the national fish with the awesome local name of humuhumunukunukuapua’a fish!!! Now that;s a mouthful1! It can be translated as the pasted together fish as it looks like different fish buts pasted together 🙂

The Hanalei Valley lookout boasts great views of taro root plantations (used to be sugar cane in the past but this became prohibitive due to shipping & labour costs). I continued down the road to Hanalei settlement through a very traffic congested section due to road closure for maintenance after huge storm damage from a storm of a year ago which did massive damage all along this coast. The town is very tourist- centric, as are most here, and boasts a large protected bay. It was very muddy- far into the bay and thus didn’t have the picturesque turquoise waters. I did have a pizza and iced coffee before heading to my accommodation in the golf course community of Princeville- and yes- it is as fancy pants as it sounds.

A bit off timing wise, on my return to Lihue, I stopped at Opaekaa Falls and Kapa’a town for coffee. The town has an older, historic center that reminds one of old western movies.

Hawaii North America USA

Na Pali Coast Cruise

So as I was travelling through the Waimea Canyon I was deciding what to do the next day- go on a hike or take a boat “cruise” along the dramatic Na Pali (Translation: Many mountains) Coastline. Having an included snorkelling trip convinced me to the cruise. I figured that I could do a shorter hike that afternoon or early the next morning.

On a side note I only travelled to Kauai with hand luggage and realised late that my sunblock couldn’t travel with me as it was too large. This meant that I had to bum sunblock off random strangers. Some of these strangers happened to be a large Polish family from Canada that were also doing the cruise, but on a smaller, private boat. So it was a good conversation starter and chatted about my travels.

Anyway, I digressed. Our 32 seater got underway somewhat late due to late guests. It was luckily only about half full, which was a nicer experience. There was another single lady who was travelling alone and we started chatting and didn’t quiet stop. Our guide- Adam noted this and asked if we wanted to sit on the bow of the boat. I asked him if he wanted to kill us, but apparently not 🙂 . So we slid on over and had THE BEST view! It was pretty soon off the bat that we saw our first large pod of spinner dolphins. They were great and started becoming more playful –especially the youngsters. The best bit was that they were swimming around the bow- and thus right under our feet!! What an unforgettable experience!! Short video below. As we turned the corner, heading further north and east we saw stunning Jurassic landscapes- eroded lava flows that are covered in vegetation. More worryingly, there were also heavy clouds in the distance that looked laden with rain!!! We cruised part waterfalls and spotted many boobys…yes they have brown boobys and red footed boobys here!! YAY! There are also two species of tropic birds with their streamer like tails.

We got to the spot that we were supposed to snorkel but the captain broke our hearts when he stated that the water just was not clear enough to snorkel 🙁 my little heart broke. However, life carried on. We pushed on further, where my friend was stating that she hadn’t seen sea turtles yet- and BAM! – just there in the water were two of them! Ask and ye shall find.

We saw loads more dolphins and headed further up the coast and it started to rain…and pour …but we had a vote and decided to carry on…with the hope that it would stop- but these stoppages were short.

We did go into some roofless sea caves- really tight ones and normal caves that were stinky in the back. With the rain came additional waterfalls and what I defined as our above water snorkelling experience 🙂

On our return trip we came across several large groups of birds made up of boobys, shearwaters, tropic birds and others.

With all the continued rain I was reconsidering my hiking plan- and just as well as it continued to rain well into the early evening before our parking meeting of new friends in Kokee State Park. I decided against hiking as there are too many warnings of the dangers of the hiking in these parts. Most tracks are along super narrow ridgelines that hikers slip to their death on after rain and the slippery nature of the soil when wet and soaked. And one will drop a few hundred meters ….no thanks:(

Hawaii North America USA

Waimea Canyon _ Kauai Island

Post author By Jo
Post date 28 September 2019
2 Comments on Waimea Canyon _ Kauai Island

I flew in from Honolulu into Lihue, Kauai Island in the morning. I was lucky enough that a lovely girl was leaving for the airport the same time as me and had ordered an Uber and said she didn’t mind sharing it free of cost for me. (She was here for work :))

I ordered a rental car to get around- my first time driving on the other side of the road –and it went well. I headed to Poipu, in the south of the island. It allegedly had good snorkelling but upon getting in the water I realised that the visibility was not great. So it was more a cool down swim. I then headed to the nearby Spouting Horn, after checking that high tide was indeed coming in. It is a blowhole that can sometimes put on a show. On the way there I realised that there seemed to be some nice gardens- however I was not willing to pay to 30USD entrance fee for those.

I headed to Kalaheo, where I could check into my accommodation a little early. Having a look outside it seemed that the weather would hold for the afternoon and so I headed into the nearby Waimea Canyon- the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. The drive is a windy yet scenic trip up into the mountains with many formal and informal lookouts. The views were of a super canyon –with waterfalls and greenery to boot. The soil colour around here is a deep red- reminds me of Central Australia. The rain that the island has seen this season is the highest in a decade-so everything is lush beyond words.

A Couple of hours into my drive/stop and check out the view I got to the “cherry –on-top” lookout which looks onto the Kalalau Valley. At this stage of the afternoon though the low clouds had moved in and it started to drizzle so all that I saw when reaching the top was a cloud of white and nothing beyond it!! I didn’t bother going to the last lookout to find the same- thought I would check it out the next day as I was camping in Kokee State Park. By camping I mean sleeping in my car as I don’t have my gear with me.

Fast forward one day, it completely pissed down with rain during my Na Pali coast cruise as well as after- so it was an afternoon of sitting in the car by the campsite parking, until the rain stopped that all of us that were in the parking lot got out to chat and stretch legs. We had a newly married couple from US who were spending their honeymoon in a “Rape Van”, a Canadian and another couple who had just completed a 4 year trip around mainland US making/living a Tiny House movement documentary. They were here to attend a wedding and were well and truly stocked up with booze- so they shared with the rest of us.

With the clouds still hanging low that night it was pointless going to the look out. However, the next morning I was up for sunrise and thus set out for the lookouts –holding thumbs that they were clear. They were indeed and they both had great views of the Pacific and the dramatic coastline.

PS –sleep in the car was elusive and I was pretty tired the next day after no proper shut eye.

Hawaii North America USA

North Shore O’ahu Island

Post author By Jo
Post date 22 September 2019

After a few buses I got to the North Shore- or particularly the only other backpacker that is on the island but not in Honolulu or Waikiki! Cheap accommodation does not exist here!

The North Shore is very popular for surfing- but that’s more in the winter months when the waves are allegedly super!! Now- all I have seen is very calm seas.

The exact location is nearly centre of the northern part of the island. So I figured I can explore in either direction by bus. On the day I arrived I took a snorkel in the bay just opposite the road- Three Tables and Ship Cove a little bit down the road. Three Tables had an excellent variety of fish and lots of them too! The visibility was good and not too many people. The area is protected by the reefs and rocks at the mouth of the bay, and thus not many waves make it to shore. Ship’s Cove is a shallow series of water pools that doesn’t have as much variety. You don’t really have to swim-or cannot- just propel yourself along the bottom using your arms. The variety of fish was not great and neither was the quantity.

I really wanted to see some more sea turtles- so for sunset I headed west to Laniakea Beach. It took a while, but a youngish turtle appeared on the beach and we got to learn a few things about the Hawaiian Honu or green basking sea turtles, from the volunteers who patrol the beaches to make sure tourists don’t get too close. They work in shifts.

The next day I went east to Turtle Bay. I was excited to do some more snorkelling. Disappointment hit as I realised that visibility was very poor and I thus gave up. It was a short swim rather than snorkel.

However, there is a silver lining. Not spending too much time here I set off back to Pupukea for lunch and then caught another bus to Haleiwa- surfing capital of the North Shore. It is a quaint town with old style buildings and a surprising large amount and variety of art galleries which I enjoyed browsing.

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Kailua _ Lanikai Beaches

The beach of Kailua was just like I like it- quiet, long stretch of sand and warm water. My accommodation, though pricey, was right on the beach which was good. It also had a kitchen, so I could do some food prep.

The next day (I stayed 2 nights) I walked to Lanikai to do the Pillbox hike. This is a steep climb to two gun emplacements. I then carried on along the Ka’lwa Ridge and circled the village, coming back down a treacherous hill in the east. The views from this hike were great- you could see the stunning beach, reefs and then on the other side the Pali (eroded mountains) that conjures Jurassic park images.

In the afternoon I tested out my snorkelling gear in Lanikai and saw a green sea turtle within my first 2 minutes- and a few other species but the visibility was not great.

I was excited to hire a car for the next stretch of my trip –mostly to get to see the Ho’omaluhia Botanical Garden-which was difficult and lengthy to get to by public transport. On my way to pick it up though a lady called and said that they only had minivans, so I resigned myself to not seeing the gardens and changed my plans to go direct to the North Shore.

Hawaii North America USA

Honolulu/Waikiki

It was a long flying day- started with 3am pick up – to be dropped off at London Heathrow, then flight to Frankfurt, then Anchorage, Alaska and then finally to Honolulu. I was out pretty quick early that evening!

What I did manage to get is some helpful info from one of my roommates who told me that the Honolulu Museum of Art had its 3^rd Sunday free entry (entrance normally 20 USD) and that the Corpse Plant in Fosters Botanical Gardens was blooming- a rare event. So I had two things for my to do list the next day.

My first item to be sorted though was getting at US SIM card for my phone, especially to use Google transport to get around Honolulu and the island. I had a choice- 3GB of data for 35 USD or 25 GB for 45 USD; so I took the 25GB option…def should have me covered. I mention this as it makes data really pretty expensive in comparison to the other countries I have been!

I did a load of walking on these days and got some shots of lots of different aspects of Honolulu, some of which are below.

My first stop – as it neared the midday heat was the Museum of Art- to get into the aircon after a good few kilometres. I was pleasantly surprised at the very large diversity of displays- there was art in the traditional sense but also many sculptures, ceramics, as well as traditional body decorations from many cultures. The museum covers Japanese, South East Asia, Philippines, Islamic, and a light art showcase called GLOW, to name a few. The museum halls are built around central courtyards that are of varied themes- which are also nice to visit.

On the 3^rd Sunday there are also activities for the kids around art and there were some local musicians for some afternoon tunes.

After the museum I made my way to Fosters Botanical Garden to see if the corpse plant had flowered yet. It had not fully bloomed at that stage. It only blooms for about 2-3 days and then the flower dies off again. This botanical garden has been lucky, in that this is their 19^th bloom since 2013. The flower produces the smell of carrion to attract the insects that pollinate it. This was such a big event that the local news and several photographers were there to cover it!

Besides the corpse plant there are also many beautiful orchids, large old trees and cycads. There is one lonely but colourful rainbow eucalyptus too! An interesting tree was the cannonball tree- it has fruits the size of cannonballs hanging all over the tree and stunning flowers!

It was off to Waikiki from the gardens in order to meet up with Alanah and Trav- ex colleague and friend from Whyalla. They were over for a wedding, so I planned my visit to overlap with their dates too. We met up and had dinner at a Japanese place – very filling! We then walked around a packed Waikiki —-aaaargh!! So many horrid tourists!

The next morning, we met up at 7am at the start of the Diamond Head Walking Trail- along with 100s of other tourists. This is the walk up one of the iconic volcanoes that is visible from around Honolulu and Waikiki. It is a relatively steep climb, but not long. The view is of the old crater, a lighthouse and of course the Waikiki and Honolulu skylines.

We have a filling breakfast at a Mexican place and part ways…for another year or so? Was great to catch up and talk through what’s happening.

Czech Republic Europe

Prague

Post author By Jo
Post date 10 September 2019

I had my first trip to Prague about 10 years ago. I definitely didn’t enjoy the crowds and being charged 2 Euros for use of a public toilet left a bad taste in my mouth. I did however tell Monika (who I met I Chile) that I would come and visit- so here I was.

I must say that I did not expect to like the city as much as I did- I saw it with fresh eyes and having forgotten a lot of what I saw before it was good. Toilets going for 0.50 euro cents also helped :).

On my second day I headed towards the castle complex, even though my intention was not to go inside as I have already been. You can walk around the complex without tickets after going through security.

One of my favourite bits of art in the city was the moving face statue named Kafka. It has tourists running around as it moves. The horizontal sections sometimes move together and sometimes independently.

My last day was a mixture of activities- the botanical gardens, the attached winery with , a scenic glass of white wine , checking out slalom champ preparations and a walk down the river. The day finished at Vysehrad- a castle complex with nice night views of the Prague Palace complex.

England Europe

Greenwich

Post author By Jo
Post date 10 September 2019
1 Comment on Greenwich

Even though most of my time in London was spent just chilling after the last few months on the road , my brother and I went to check out Greenwich.

The weather turned in English style and remained rainy and grey for most of the day. With a royal price tag of 16 pounds for a ticket to enter the Greenwich Royal Observatory Museum, I decided against it and we went to the free National Maritime Museum instead. It was an informative and varied few hours.

*I have been to London before for a week so I did not make the time to check out those sites again.