fuchsia fragments: beach

aquarium

A trip of a lifetime in many ways... but aren't all holidays something special? It was my first (perhaps, my only) trip with my sister and my sister only. It was awesome. No tantrums and only minor disagreements. Who would have thought?

The first half of the trip was spent on the island called Hawai'i, nicknamed the Big Island so as not to confuse everyone with the Hawaiian Islands in general. It was the island of adventure and loads of papayas, rambutan and other exotic fruits.

We got straight into in the next morning. Bright-eyed and getting up at 6 AM for a kayak/snorkel tour at probably the BEST snorkelling location on the Big Island: Captain Cook's Monument. You have to paddle about 2 km there and back. It's an easy paddle but with everything surrounding you (i.e. OPEN water, who knows WHAT ELSE is in the water), it can be a little bit scary. We were in a group of 6 plus an awesome guide. Cute too. :P

Snorkelling was the best fun. Who would have known that fish swim so close to shore or there are so so many yellow tangs around. Had a bit of a walk around the monument where Captain Cook fell. He had an altercation with the local people and was caught in a fight. As he couldn't swim, he was unable to make it back to his boat and died. True story.

It made for the best start to our holiday and made us want to snorkel more. We visited Two Step the next day but the waves and current were quite strong there. It didn't stop the masses of people visiting this beach. We went over towards the beach and went snorkelling there instead. A lot easier. The waters here weren't as clear as the day before but still beautiful. We dried off and went for a short walk around the wave damaged historic park which was a place of refuge. A lot of the attractions were closed due to recent wave damage.

We also visited a couple of coffee plantations and did a coffee tour. Very educational and I now appreciate coffee even more than I did before. Even if I disagree with the way coffee is brewed in Hawaii. Plunger vs machine?

On the fourth day, we drove from one side of the island to the other (it's not that far) and stopped along a couple of noteworthy attractions like the Waipio Valley and Akaka falls. Both beautiful and breathtaking. So was our impromptu picnic lunch of chicken, salad and milk shared with the stray cat sitting on the picnic benches outside the National Park. Scavenger! Lucky we had lots to share.

There were two main attractions on the east side of the island we wanted to see. The first was stargazing at Mauna Kea Observatory. Unfortunately for us, it was very very very very windy and dangerous the evening that we went so no telescopes were rolled out for viewing. We did see some stars with our naked eye but without the telescopes and due to the dust the wind picked up, there wasn't much else we could see so made the slow descent back to the hotel to watch Chicago PD instead!

The second was the volcano. AMAZING day. I didn't think we needed to spend a whole day there but we got there around midday and we spent a good 7 or 8 hours there. We had chips, jerky, bread and water and we were set! We did a 3 km round trip in the scorching sun to see lava artwork. We walked to the edge of the park to see where the volcanic lava turned into lava rock and created a sea arch. We walked a trail of destruction to see the devastation of lava flow. We went through a lava tube which is a bit like a save. And we stayed till dark to see the glow of the active volcano that had erupted last year.

It was goodbye to the Big Island and hello shopping and tourist strip on O'ahu and Waikiki. It was the right decision to stay on the strip. Worth being close to the action. We were up in a high floor so the noise was minimised and this was important on Saturday night when the area turns into nightclub-esqe feel. Loud music, screaming, doof doof. Ew.

We did equal parts activities and shopping. And some beach time too. Some things you can't do in Australia. Like ATV riding. Insurance in Australia wouldn't have allowed to us to do something like this. It was pretty cool to ride around the trails where Jurassic Park was filmed.

We also visited the Palace and some famous statues of their royalty. We had yum cha in Chinatown which wasn't anywhere near as good as Sydney's. In fact, the food was average in comparison. Not much fresh meat and veg. The sashimi products weren't nearly as fresh as ours and hence, we ate it once and decided not to again (read between the lines!).

We were so lucky with shopping - additional discounts and shopping events, etc. Some things were still pretty expensive. We weren't so lucky sightseeing with no barrel waves on the North Shore, no stars at Mauna Kea, wave damage to some of the National Parks, etc.

And the funniest thing was the day that we were leaving. I thought our flight was at 10 am. But it was at 9. We got to the airport at 8 AM and we were thinking, oh we're so early! And then we see the crew check in and we're like.. oh... they're here so early too!! Then, the girl at the counter told us boarding started at 8:45. err... what?! We still had to go through customs and walk across the terminal to our gate on the other side!!! But we made it... phew... and it was refreshing to hear Australian accents and be comforted in the knowledge that we were on our way home.

australia day

Happy Straya Day

1/26/2015 05:06:00 pm

beach

Oh Yep... It's quiet

1/07/2015 08:52:00 am

beach

Sunday: Moments of happiness

10/27/2014 11:20:00 am

This weekend has been one of the most productive, relaxing and content weekends that I’ve had in the second half of this year so far. Seeing a little boy smile and appreciate something you did for him through his eyes. Batting down the hatches and putting in the hard yards to get that Tax Return done. Taking the time to spend with family and having lunch with grandma. And even something as mundane as picking up groceries with the parents. Starting on my Christmas shopping.

But it was Sunday that really made my weekend. She’s back again! Our Valerie Rose is back!!! And we did so much that it was so worthwhile. Even I am amazed at how much you can squeeze into a day.

Need to start the day the health way with brunch! The Rustic Pearl which is another hole in the wall kind of café came highly recommended from a few credible sources (yes, urbanspoon was one of them but also from real-life people). They are located in the heart of Surry Hills and a few stones throw away from Messina. The apple mint tea was very refreshing although a tad on the sweet side for me. The addition of pomegranate was very clever. Oh and this café is Turkish-inspired in case you are wondering. The choices were pretty adequate and we all ended up getting eggs, one way or another. Royale, Omelette and scrambled and washed down with plenty of coffee for the caffeine drinkers. I do recommend trying but would I go back anytime soon? No but only because there are so many other options in Surry Hills and I have barely scraped the surface.

Next up, we decided to catch some sun at the beach. So it was a short drive to La Perouse. I like it for the views, the walk across the rocks and being able to see the aeroplanes. In hindsight, probably not the best beach beach to go to. Disappointing to see so much broken glass on the sand (take care!) and I can only imagine why parents would let their kids run rampant around. However, this was more than adequate for our needs today… we went for a lovely walk along the rocks and came across Mr Pelican who was lapping it up from all his human admirers. We saw divers, fishermen, a couple of fancy boats and went for a walk along the beach. The water was still pretty cool but it didn’t stop us from spending a couple of hours here. Thank goodness today was lucky parking day and there were no difficulties at any occasion to find a parking spot.

To satisfy our dear Val’s craving for all things seafood, the now very touristy and commercial Sydney Fish Markets were next up. The highlight of the trip here was that a car from behind me almost clipped me as he tried to overtake me to get onto the Anzac Bridge. So not cool dude. What is wrong with doing the right thing and following me. The light was red hence why I was going slow. Anyways, the markets were still pretty packed at 3:30 but we still managed to shop up a lot. Clearly, we ate with our eyes and before we knew it we had: prawns, salmon and kingfish sashimi, a Moreton bag bug and lots and lots of oysters. And a bottle of Sav Blanc. Can’t forget the wine. And it was most important to keep the wine cold over the seafood. Lol. Rather than sitting around the packed verandah outside, we decided to go to the Botanic Gardens and have a mini picnic instead.

Such a winner. First parking spot right outside the gardens and then being able to enjoy it all with water views. Had a cooler bag for the wine, had ice and had technology. Picture perfect moment. Funny to hear afterwards that Mandy and her friends were having a picnic there too. Too bad we didn’t run into each other.

And not complete Sydney visit these days without a drink at the Opera Bar. Again, we found a nice seat outside facing the bridge. Some bubbly. Watched as the cruise ship left port and watched as the world passed by.

Finally, headed to dinner at Jonga Jip in Eastwood. Lol… my GPS… took us to the other side of the station which was a bit fail. So we had to drive around. And so we ended up getting there only just before Donna (who had to go back for the cake pops and flowers). We were quite full from seafood but still managed an effort in getting the whopping 10 side dishes, soup and hot pot a good go. We had to doggy bag for the doggies a lot of the hot pot. And we smelt like Korean BBQ afterwards. Sunday evenings are a good day to drive from Eastwood back to Hurstville. Minimal traffic, 25 minute drive. Worthwhile. Not so much on a Saturday morning or afternoon. Would take more than double the time. People always ask me would I ever live in the North and I always answer ‘no’. It’s the same concept for them not wanting to live in the South. Crossing the bridge, traffic, tolls. I much prefer the Inner West or Eastern Suburbs. One day, one day. Although where I am (transport wise) is not so bad at all.

Was so ready for bed by the time I got home at a respectable hour of 10 p.m. but considering a 10 a.m. start, it was a long day. It did take a little time to shut down though. Had a good sleep, hope you all did too and got up for the gym (yay!). It was pretty busy. And I am in need of new swimming goggles and cap. Must get this soon.