Tuesday July 25th
We are arising a little earlier each day as our bodies slowly adjust to the time difference, or is it simply the fact that we are now post party, returning to normal habits of early nights. The hurricane Fenanda has moved away from the islands leaving a clear day with blue skies and only a little cloud on the horizon. Apart from Diamond Head to our east, whose elevation is not high enough to attract cloud cover at its peak we are unable to see the usually cloud covered green mountains behind us. The hotel strip of Waikiki blocks out that northern view completely leaving only sun, sand and sea for our eyes to gaze upon.
The milky blue ocean is calm this morning, but creamy white breakers still foam up out of the calm to give the surfers and adventuresome paddle boarders a ride. In little crescents the waves appear and disappear no doubt great for the beginner surfer. Just a thin line of deeper blue separates the ocean from the sky. I am tempted by the eggs Benedict this morning my favourite breakfast. While Amanda goes for her normal lighter toast and jam option. Fresh Guava juice coffee and tea stokes our morning fires ready for another busy day.
After another leisurely breakfast, it’s time to attend to the mornings business of holiday making. Amanda is going to spend some time with her sister Kate today for a little sister to sister time. While I have opted to take my main camera, no my only camera, apart from my phone, to the zoo. Honolulu has a small compact zoo right in Waikiki, set in tropical gardens, should be interesting.
We both take off together Amanda calling Jimmy our little Vietnamese cabbie for a ride to Ala Moana and me taking my flip flops for a stroll down Waikiki’s main street, Kalakaua avenue. We say or goodbyes under the huge Portico entrance to the Royal Hawaiian and I am on my way. Kalakaua Avenue has undergone significant renovations over the years since we have visited, now I believe more or less complete. The latest revamp of the famous International market place we will visit tomorrow with Kate, but was completed only this year. The Avenue is lined with palms, beautifully paved and home to the most exclusive of brands on the planet. They sit beside historic hotel gems like the ornate plantation style timber clad Moana Surfrider that upon its 1901 debut, boasted innovations including Hawaii’s first electric-powered elevator.
Then of course came the Royal Hawaiian with a new era of glamorous accomodation, the 1927 unveiling of this pink, Spanish-Moorish architectural gem brought a major innovation in trend setting style to Waikiki. It places one foot firmly in the past through cultural activities and vintage decor. Moving on, flip flop down the street the Oceanside opens up to the beach park of Waikiki itself. All beaches in Hawaii are public owned, no one person or entity can own those sandy strips of land that seperate the ocean from the land proper. Indeed all the developers have had to allow for public access to the beach and ocean as well, as a result narrow alleyways lined with surfboards cut through in places from Kalakaua Avenue to the beach.
Here the smell of sun tan lotion mingles with the salty sea air. Standing proudly in this beach park is a bronze statue of the Duke, an Olympic athlete who is considered the father of Hawaiian surfing if not the worlds. The Duke, real name Paoa Kahanamoku, won gold in the 100m freestyle swimming event in the Olympics of 1912. Also a great oars man in canoe and outriggers, but best known for his wooden longboard surfing. From this park you can walk straight onto the beach, colourful beach umbrellas line the shoreline, around the curve of the bay to the west sits the Royal Hawaiian to the east Diamond Head.
I continue my walk eastwards passed the enormous Banyan trees that shelter a resident pigeon population and are also a feature of the landscape here until I spot the sign directing me across the road and to the zoos entrance.
The zoo as previously mentioned is set in landscaped gardens with Diamond Head rising up behind. Originally a park donated to the people by King Kalakaua in honour of his wife Queen Kapiʻolani, the King continued to keep his own collection of exotic birds there. The Parks administrator was a keen animal lover and soon procured a sun bear, a monkey and some lion cubs. When an African elephant was purchased from a ships captain in 1916 the city officially had a zoo. Unfortunately in 1933 the elephant named Daisy had to be put down by city police after it trampled its keeper. The zoo is laid out somewhat like the San Diego zoo that we visited two years ago but on a smaller scale. I wander around for a couple of hours taking photos of those animals that are not hiding in a burrow avoiding the heat of the day. More than occasionally taking advantage of the shade provided by the amazing trees here, huge Banyans, Monkeypod and Kukui nut trees provide a cool environment away from the heat of the Waikiki commercial strip.
While in the African savannah section, an unusual bird catches my eye, from the back a crown of yellow spikes forms the head, like a giant golden dandelion seed head. One of a pair looks as if it’s sitting on a nest next to the water, the other a little way off is stretched to full height as if listening for some far away sound. These are African Cranes, with strikingly colourful markings, standing at a meter tall with a wingspan of two meters they are very impressive. In the same grassy compound, Giraffe, Zebra and striped Bongo (a type of antelope) graze. Nearby a couple of small Asian elephants shuffle around in their barren dusty enclosure the sand coloured powdery material hanging in the heavy air as they kick it up.
A I make my way full circle back to the entrance, I spot some pink flamingos, sleeping by the waterside, in typical pose, one leg bent under their bodies, their heads tucked neatly into the rose coloured feathers of their backs. As one moves the neck uncurls not in a smooth curve as I would have imagined but revealing a segmented curve, like a line drawn in a digital drawing.
The humidity has built up during the morning, making the walk back to the hotel a muggy one. I stop off at the Tesla show room, letting the air-conditioned coolness envelope me for awhile, while I view the two vehicles on display. I chat to a bleached blonde woman, native of India who is attending the display but she has only a rudimentary knowledge of Tesla’s vehicles and other operations.
Having cooled enough to make the rest of my way back to the hotel I again venture out onto the strip, I look for a higher vantage point opposite the beach park, ostensibly to take a downwards facing picture of the beach scene. I manage to gain some elevation but conscious of the time move on back to street level across Kalakaua Avenue and make my way towards the Royal Hawaiian.
I grab a cappuccino from a street vendor on my way through the wide back alleys where tourists queue for the Waikiki trolley bus and then the final few meters home.
As I walk into the Royal Hawaiian grounds I am immediately impacted by the cooling grace of the surroundings, the shady trees and swaying palms that cast shadows on the pink building welcome you back to enduring serenity.
Back in the room I set up, to watch the Adelaide Crows play the Geelong Cats, a top of the table clash between top Adelaide and second Geelong. The Crows were sorely beaten by Geelong at their home ground earlier on in the season and now I am hoping they can turn the tables at our home ground. The match is a fierce contest with Crows emerging the victors this time, a significant win for the team, that keeps them firmly on top of the ladder.
Amanda arrives back from her somewhat successful shopping expedition with sister Kate late in the afternoon and we relax awhile until our dinner date with Kate and Jim is looming closer.
Tonight we are dining Mexican, Buho Cocina y Cantina is a nearby rooftop restaurant right on the Waikiki strip. Just a short walk away, we leave as we receive a text from a Jim to say they are on their way. The high humidity of the day is still evident as we stroll to our destination, a lone loud electric guitarist is playing a fuzzy seemingly random group of chords and riffs as we arrive at the elevator entrance to the restaurant. We wait a few moments for Kate and Jim, then decide to ascend to the rooftop, as we leave the elevator car the cool night air greets us, we seemed to have left the ground level residual heat from the street and buildings behind us. To our surprise Jim and Kate are already seated at a corner table awaiting our arrival. The sounds of Waikiki are way below us, the lights of adjacent buildings come flickering on as the cloudy blue sky darkens to grey.
Today is taco Tuesday, diners can build their own tacos from a cart at a special offer price, we decide to choose from the extensive menu. After a hot and sticky day beers are in order, Amanda opting for a Pacifico (Mexican brewed) and me for a more familiar Corona light. We share a small serve of guacamole, served with warm corn chips and then both of us in sync tonight order the fish tacos. The fish being Ono or Wahoo common in local waters is served on a brace of small soft tortillas with a mixture of red onion, jalapeño and diced mango, absolutely delicious. We spend a fun evening with Kate & Jim as dusk turns to night before strolling back to the Royal Hawaiian in the now cool evening breezes that have descended at last to street level.
