Hawaii Five-0

Aloha! Welcome to O’ahu. What better way to start my journey across America than in the ‘Paradise of the Pacific’ – Hawaii. Having been living in a Canadian winter for the last four months, the weather here certainly gave a shock to the system. Once I was outside Honolulu airport the humidity made it tricky to breath, at least for the first few minutes, and the rain was unlike any rain I had experienced for quite some time; it was actually…warm.

Having checked in at the hostel, which was only a few hundred metres from the infamous Waikiki beach, I decided to take a look around. As it was a Friday night, countless bars along the beach were all full to the brim and everybody I met was extremely friendly and in high spirits.

However, the sheer amount of ‘exclusive’ clubs, over-priced restaurants and designer retailers did take me by surprise and the whole Waikiki area was far more commercialised than I hoped it would be. But thankfully O’ahu is a large enough island to be able to remove yourself from all that crap should you wish to.

A short walk along the beach on my first night and I came across a large group of people staring in the same direction into the night sky. I was then greeted by an almighty fireworks display, the reason for which I still do not know. But it was a great introduction to an island I thoroughly enjoyed.

My first day on O’ahu, however, did not go to plan. I left the tropical temperatures and clear blue skies at Waikiki to head up to the North shore of the island. A two hour sweaty bus journey later, with all the Hawaiian insects in existence, and I was greeted by absolutely atrocious weather. Grey skies, rain and a cool breeze were not what I had initially envisaged.

Nevertheless, I had to make the most of it while I was there so I attempted a brief swim just off the beach at Haleiwa. The notorious North shore waves lived up to their reputation and I took a bit of a battering before I decided I had had enough for one day. Even the fearless Hawaiian surfers who normally live on that beach didn’t fancy it that day either! I prayed that the weather wouldn’t be as bad for the following three days. Mercifully, they weren’t.

Having made in back to Waikiki in one piece I was invited to go out for drinks with a couple of roommates from the hostel. Several beers, some awful dancing and a dip in the ocean later had ensured that I wouldn’t be feeling too peachy the following day…

J