World United States Hawaii Kealia

Chris Warry's World Trip website

Hawaiin Islands, United States of American Mar 6, 2007

At Newark airport it was clear there were a few people quite keen to get to Hawaii. So keen in fact that they had already donned their Hawaiian shirts and straw hats, a hilarious sight given the view outside of snow falling over Manhattan in the distance. But after a London winter and a cold week on eastern seaboard of the continental United States, I too was craving warmer weather. Now if you've been to Surfers Paradise then you pretty much get a 70% idea of what Honolulu's Waikiki beach on the Island of Oahu is like, high rise towering over the beach, restaurants and bars everywhere and a whole lot of Japanese tourists (to be fair though, they are pretty much out numbered by continental American tourists). The 30% difference comes in the dormant volcanic mountains which offer stunning views from the top, the ability to go a short distance to Pearl Harbor and the site of one of the 20th centuries defining moments and the word Aloha being thrown at you from all direction by the genuinely friendly and good hearted local people. True locals and a sense of a normal Hawaiian life seem hard to come by. I guess it's not surprising given that well over half of the economic activity here stems from tourism. So it was a trip to the Big Island (actually called Hawaii, the other islands although part of the American state of Hawaii have different names) where I was exposed to the small town Hawaiian life, even if that to was dominated by tourism. But the town of Hilo did have a more relaxed and genuine feel about it. But I didn't go there chasing the off the beaten track experience...the Big Island is home one of Hawaii's biggest attractions, the Kīlauea volcano One of the world's most active volcanoes, you can walk across the old lava flows (some only a decade old which from geography at school I know is like a second in their time) and see the path they have cut over the island as they have made their way down to the coast. It's amazing to walk across it, see where it has covered the roads and actually see live lava hit the ocean and create a massive steam bath. But all in all Hawaii is like visiting coastal Queensland....If you're not a person that is happy to waste the days away beachside or poolside and see some stuff in between, then Hawaii may not be the best place for you to visit. Fortunately I definitely am, so I enjoyed my time.

Advertisement