Month: July 2017

Whoever originally came up with that pithy little statement is on my sh*t list, right above the person who said “good things take time”, and below the person who decided “everything happens for a reason”.

I can bake a chocolate cake in 1 hour, and it is a damn good cake – you don’t need to wait years. Happens for a reason, seriously, look around you, there is no reason for some of the bollocks that takes place.

Grumble.

As you can tell I am adjusting to the end of our holiday very well.

29^th June – Goodbye Hawaii Hello Winter

Our flight was at a respectable hour of 930am. So we were treated to a lovely breakfast on the deck.

It was so good, they even bring a toaster so you can either have your bread fresh or toasted, as you like. I wonder how I can sort this kind of service at home.

We had packed the night before so the morning was actually extremely relaxed.

Our Speedishuttle arrived on time, not early as the app had promised, but that’s ok.

We were at the airport with lots of time to spare.

As we were checking in we told the lovely Air NZ lady behind the counter how happy we were to be flying with them again. It’s the little things right.

We were flying premium economy and that means, in Honolulu at least, we get to use the “gold” queue for security. Which actually means the gold non-queue. We got through superfast.

Air NZ does not have a lounge in Honolulu they share with United, so we found the united lounge and settled down for the wait. Actually, Jason settled down with the wifi and a whiskey, I went to duty free J

Our flight boarded on time, we had lovely comfortable seats, and nice staff.

The only down side of our flight was the fact it was a day time flight, its pretty tough to try and sleep during the day, but with a few liquid sleeping pills and a couple of movies I got in a few hours. Bit of a miracle for me.

Jason just slept, as he does (it is his super power), whilst the King Kong movie blasted in his ears. How does he do it!

The nine hours zipped by and we were treated to lovely champagne to finish our honeymoon trip. Jason has quite a taste for the blubbly stuff now.

Without a doubt there is no beating Air New Zealand customer service. The food and drink selection were also very good.

Our arrival in Auckland was hassle free, just like the beginning of our trip J we even managed to get on an earlier flight to Wellington where Shanthi, Toadie, and Poppy were waiting for us.

As we landed in Wellington, about 40 minutes late, it was a pretty sad feeling. Even though we had been gone for two months it did not feel that way. Yep, we had done a lot of stuff, and been to a lot of place, but it did not feel like 2 months prior we had stood in the airport ready to go.

Strange.

Jason went with Shanthi in my car – there was no room for all our luggage and us in my wee Suzuki.

Toad and Poppy were to drive me home. It was lovely to be welcomed back home by friendly faces.

The cold temperature we could have done without.

Trip Summary

From the 5^th May to the 30^th of June:

• 20 flights
• 11 airlines
• 71+ hours in the air
• 10 time zones
• 15 countries
• 2000kms driven
• 0 luggage lost
• Temperatures from 8 degrees to 35 degrees
• Millions of laughs
• Hundreds of experiences
• Loads of wonderful people
• Memories that will last a lifetime

I hope you have enjoyed following us around the world, we certainly have enjoyed doing it and sharing it with you all.

We are back into our normal routine now, work, dogs, housework, bills, shopping, cooking our own breakfast, making our own bed, and it feels pretty good. I would be happier if it was about 10 degrees warmer.

Thank you to everyone who looked after us, our house, our dogs, our travel. Without you it would not have been anywhere near as awesome.

Princess Poppy the Poppet

Everyone had been asking how Poppy was coping in my absence and what she would be like upon my return.

She was thoroughly spoilt I have to say. Massive thank you to Sarah, Shanthi, Toad and Richard, and Becky who all took time out of their busy lives to look after her. She is a spoilt wee poppet and it was a massive upset to her routine.

The last two weeks of my absence she had spent camping with Shanthi, B, and George and hanging out with Toadie, Richard, and Aya.

As Toad had Poppy we devised a plan. Toad would bring her to the airport. To avoid any crazy jumping out of the car to see me and running into traffic, Toad was to put my backpack on the front seat (diversion), I was to put the suitcase in the hatch (stealth like), and then climb into the back seat all before Poppy was aware.

Oh how we underestimate the Poppy.

The minute the hatch was open she smelt me, fair enough too – long flights with no shower, and it was game on.

I had to throw the suitcase in the hatch quickly and climb into the backseat where a barrage of licks and funny noises greeted me all the way to Upper Hutt. I am so glad she is not the type of dog that will sulk.

What’s Next?

We are planning a holiday next year, but nothing on this scale.

Work has kicked in and I will be travelling a fair bit.

I think we need to update the blog for all our new adventures to come.

For now goodbye, au revoir, ciao, adios, doviđenja, addiju, bless bless. slan.

 

After a sleep, that was not long enough, we headed to the airport for our flight back to Honolulu.

The car rental drop off, check in, and the flight were all fast and easy and we arrive on time. We have been amazingly lucky considering the number of flights we have taken.

We left a beautiful day on Kauai and landed to an equally beautiful day in Honolulu.

Rather than a personal shuttle I opted for the Speedishuttle service. It was about 1/5 of the price. If they turned out to be really bad I could book another company to go back to the airport.

Instead they were fabulous, we had our bags, and were on a shuttle within 30 minutes of landing.

With only one day of holiday left, there was no desire to waste any minutes waiting on pickups or standing in queues.

I definitely recommend this service, check them out when you are travelling. http://www.speedishuttle.com/

We were dropped off at our hotel, Halekulani, which, according to our driver, is one of the best hotels on the island.

Well it certainly did look impressive.

The nice men at the entrance took our bags and we went to reception.

A lovely lady called Joy scooped us to one side and started the check in process. At this time our room was not ready, but we could go to the pool or anything we like until it is ready.

Then, Jason drops the H bomb.

He tells Joy that this is the very last night of our Honeymoon and how we have been looking forward to this hotel, even though it means our two month adventure is over.

WELL! Joy, god bless her, kicks into over drive. She goes looking for an upgrade, and an upgrade that is ready now, within 20 minutes we have a beautiful large room, with pool and ocean view.

At this hotel they do not hand you the keys and give you directions to your room, no, no, no. They walk you through the hotel, pointing out all the things you can do, and where to go to get help, and where all the restaurants are.

You are then escorted up to your room where they point out all the facilities and ensure you do not have any questions before departing.

My god, it’s like being back on the cruise, but BETTER.

Joy departs and then the porter arrives with our bags.

The room is amazing, and the balcony is lovely. I wish we could have stayed here longer. Just don’t think about the price.

We take out what we need and store our suitcases in the massive wardrobe. Time to hit the streets and get a look around this place. It is getting close to lunchtime so it would be great to find a place to eat.

At the concierge desk we sort out an ocean view table for dinner, obviously the fact that it is our honeymoon is now on the computer, and everyone goes the extra mile to ensure we are happy. Why didn’t we drop the H bomb more often! Damn it.

The concierge recommends where to go to eat. Where to walk and what to see.

Outside the weather is heating up nicely. We walk around the main street, popping into the occasional shop. If for no other reason than a hit of air conditioning to breathe life back into Jason’s wilting body.

This place is busy, a lot busier than Kauai.

We find the lunch spot that was recommended and it smells fabulous. Jason has BBQ on his mind, and there is a BBQ place right there.

It’s a very cool set up actually. Like an upmarket food court. There are about 8 different food options, and two bars. You purchase what you want to eat, and what you want to drink, then park up.

So Jason got his BBQ and I got my tuna poke (there is no such thing as too much fish) and we sat at the bar.

As always Jason goes for a local beer, and I select a local wine. Which just happened to come in a can. Yep, wine in a can. It was actually really nice. And an awesome serving size! 333mls, that’s nearly half a bottle, for 10USD. Happy place. If you are in Honolulu check this place out, International Market Place – http://www.shopinternationalmarketplace.com/dining_entertainment

Fed and watered (well wined anyway) we ventured back outside.

The shopping centre was so very cool, with a massive tree in the centre atrium, water features, lounging areas. And not filled with masses of people.

We did a little shopping, ok I did and Jason watched, before heading back to the hotel for a swim and a bit of relaxation.

When we arrived back at the room a lovely fruit platter, courtesy of the hotel, was there to greet us. Why do we have to leave!!!

The pool and the beach were calling us.

The beach was lovely, golden sand, and warm water. Easily felt like you were climbing into a bath. There must have been some erosion of the beachside because the water crashes into the pathway, and parts of it are now closed. Not entirely clear how they will protect the hotel land from being eaten away – regardless of what they do, my money is on Mother Nature.

We finish with a dip in the salt water pool before getting changed and heading out for walk down to Diamond Head Park.

Even though it is late in the afternoon there are still a lot of people on the beach and around the town. What is very evident on this walk is the high number of homeless people that set up camp by the beach. I am not sure how that works as every second lamppost has a sign saying no camping.

I guess if you have to sleep outside and rough it, there are worst places to be than the Honolulu beach front. We did not see any trouble and there is a very high police presence.

Back at the hotel it was time for another swim and a drink on the deck before our dinner reservation.

It is our last night and all, we needed to make the most of this place. There was a knock at the door and a lovely man was there with a complimentary bottle of bubbles to help us celebrate our honeymoon! Farking love it!

We polish off the bottle as we get ready for dinner.

https://www.halekulani.com/

The food was delicious and the excellent service continued. A couple of raspberry mojitos helped the mood along too.

There was live Hawaiian music and Miss Hawaii 2016 performed hula dances – not the stereotypical grass skirt and shaking hips, but the rhythmic and subtle story telling hula. Very beautiful.

With our final day in Honolulu winding to an end we head off to bed.

Such an amazing end to a fabulous trip.

Tomorrow we head home. Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

 

27^th – 28^th June

We woke to another beautiful day in paradise, it must sound like I am saying the same thing over and over again. But really, the sun was shining – again, the sky was blue – again, the weather was warm – again. I could get used to this.

We also see a lot of Kauai native birds, they are large, and quite noisy. They are called helicopters. It is very rare not to see the sky filled with these birds. The views must be spectacular from the air, but we did not have enough time to book in a tour.

Today we had a fishing trip planned.

We both really enjoy a good day of fishing and the hope that you will catch the big one.

I did some research online and found recommendations for a charter company. I contacted the charter company and immediately got a response. As we were always travelling I had to give Captain Jeff a rundown of all my numbers i.e. we are in Europe so this is my number, I will get a new number when we land in the States, or you can reach me on my New Zealand number.

We agreed I would ring him when I had a USA number.

Which I did! The initial conversation was hilarious. Comments suggesting I was perhaps a spy, with all my contact numbers etc. I simply said I could tell him, but would have to kill him.

Captain Jeff sounded pretty cool.

We had arranged to meet him at the pier by 830am for a 4 hour fishing charter.

Getting on the boat:

• Remove your shoes
• Do not sit there
• Do not stand there
• No mention of life jackets
• No comment on what to do in the event of an emergency
• Nothing

Captain Jeff was appearing to be not so cool.

Anyway, off we went. It was a calm day, thank god, because if this was calm we would hate to see what the sea was like in the rough.

There was a fair about of rocking and rolling going on, waves splashing up onto the deck.

It was a fiberglass boat, and she seemed to cut through the water pretty well.

We had 6 lines in the water and we went in search of fish. Jason did his usual win people over routine, chatting to Captain Jeff, but the responses were few and far between, so he gave up. We sat in the sun and watched the birds.

2.5 hours in, nothing.

Captain Jeff suggested we go closer to land and see if we hit anything. Cool with us.

As we were zipping along I notice one of the lures is bouncing along the top of the water. That’s a big lure I think to myself, and continue to day dream.

Turned out it was a yellow fin tuna bouncing along behind the boat, not a lure. Pay attention Jo. I reeled it in, it was a pretty decent size.

No time for a photo, Captain Jeff grabs the tuna, sticks it in the fish box, and off we go.

Another hour goes by and we start to head back to the pier. Still watching for signs of birds and any other indicators that there were fish about, nothing.

Then BOOM, we got a hit! I jump up from my sun platform aka the engine, and tell Jason it’s his.

Jason says to Captain Jeff, do you want us to reel in the other lines – important to note that when we have fished in other charters they always want you reel in the other lines to avoid tangles, mess, and general chaos.

Apparently not on Captain Jeff’s boat.

Then as quickly as it was on, the fish was gone. Man, did we get a telling off.

“I don’t understand why you guys didn’t start reeling”.

“Waste of a fish”.

“Would have been better on the deck”.

Jason asked don’t you want us to reel in the other lines? Nope.

The rest of the trip back to the pier was a quiet one.

Of all the don’ts we were informed of when boarding the boat, there was no “do’s” regarding catching a fish. Ah well, it’s all an experience.

We get back to the pier and Captain Jeff is on the phone to someone, so we go around in circles for a while as he has his little chit chat.

Eventually we are docked, he cuts up the single, very expensive (if you do price per person divided into number of fish) tuna, and we depart.

Once we are in the car we just look at each other and laugh. Captain Jeff was a grumpy bastard wasn’t he.

It is now around 100pm, and what is better than fresh tuna for lunch? Nothing that we could think of.

As we are heading back towards the apartment we search for a radio station. And found the golden oldies. PLAYING THE BANGLES! Seriously, since when did The Bangles qualify as golden oldies, I feel somewhat insulted by this and change the station.

Tsk, old indeed!

We grab a few salad items from the supermarket and head back to the apartment. The tuna was amazing and beautifully cooked. I may have married Jason for his cooking 😛

Snorkel Time

I had read that there was some lovely snorkelling areas further around the island, only 40 minutes’ drive from where we were staying, so we decided to go and rent some equipment and hit the beach.

Initially the drive was horrendous. Who would have thought that such a little island would have so much traffic! Being the very patient person that I am, AH HEM – not even a little bit patient, I was ready to turn around and go back, when the traffic just disappears.

There were a few police cars around, but nothing that indicated any issues to cause delays.

Tangent Alert: we had noticed a massive discrepancy in the police cars compared to those seen on the main land i.e. New York and New Jersey.

The police cars on Kauai look like those left over from the Blues Brothers movie, you know the one or two cars that did not get crashed, smashed, or blown up. Very quaint.

We continue to head north to Hanalei where we could rent some snorkelling gear. The further north you went the surroundings took on more of a jungle look and feel. It really is quite lovely. Massive trees, swamp lands, creeks, and rivers.

We arrive in Hanalei rent some equipment, get instructions on where to go and where to park, and continue on our way.

The lady behind the counter is quite interesting. Her name is Bobo. She has long grey/white hair in two plaits.

We start talking about where we are from and she said she was in New Zealand last April and went swimming in the beach every day. Swimming out as far as the lighthouse and back. Holy crap, this women is easily in her 60s. She then mentioned that when she went down to Doubtful Sound she got in the water there too, went for a swim. She thought it was amusing that all the locals came out and watched her!

Anyway, she was lovely! But clearly bonkers.

We were told to go to Tunnels Beach, it was only another 5.5 miles along the main road.

When you reach Tunnels Beach parking is at a premium, and there are do not park signs all along the side of the road. Apparently this is an easy fishing area for the Police, they will get you.

We kept going until the main carpark, it meant a bit of a walk back to the snorkelling area, but also meant no parking tickets.

Also, as it was late afternoon we were lucky because most people were already leaving.

We parked up, got our gear and hit the beach and MY GOD it was stunning. The water is perfectly blue, to match the sky, there are Jurassic Park cliffs on one side, and palm tree surrounded beach houses on the other.

The beach itself is a perfect crescent shape, excellent for photos and postcards, the sand is golden, and the water is warm. What is not to love! There are a lot of signs regarding the under tow so we go where it is deemed safe – between the flags people.

The local name for Tunnels Beach is Makua. Lava tubes have formed many underwater caverns and that is why it has been called Tunnels. After the lava tubes there are very, very, very steep drop offs where you can see nothing but water.

Very reminiscent of Finding Nemo, and whilst we were floating on our own, all we could think about when we saw the drop off was “shark bait”! Bloody scary I can tell you. Needless to say we kept to the lava flows and away from the shark pit (there were sharks, I didn’t see any, BUT I have seen Jaws so I know the sharks are there, waiting for the sacrificial girl in a bikini to do something dumb).

The water is not as clear as Rarotonga, but the fish are very cool all the same. We spend an hour bobbing around and enjoying the warm water, before pulling the plug (not literally, cause where would the fish go) and exit the water.

Just opposite the beach and the parking lot is Maniniholo Dry Cave. It looks like a gaping hole in the side of the mountain. Kind of scary and you hope there are no bats, we didn’t see any, but you can explore the cave easily and is fun to explore with children (and husbands). Not sure if there are any bats, but if you look at the ceiling, keep your mouth shut, just in case.

After a long morning fishing, then driving, and then snorkelling, we are getting a little weary.

Plus, Jason had tuna to cook for me – good man 😀

Time to head back to Hanalei, return our gear and head for home.

As we had hoped the traffic was gone, everyone else had already returned to their respective homes, so Jason had a smooth ride back. He is getting the hang of driving on the dark side.

Back at the apartment we have a lovely fresh tuna dinner, drinks on the deck, and a swim in the pool. This life is quite idyllic.

Tomorrow we head to Honolulu, the last stop before we go home.

Time is going way too fast.

 

25^th – 28^th June

Our flight with United was good. The service was good, the people were nice, and the seats were decent. We had paid for an upgrade thank goodness because the seats at the back of the plane were quite squishy, kind of like being hog tied.

No one was dragged from the plane and there were no fights between passengers. Excellent.

To top it off we arrived in Hawaii early, how often does that happen?

Then it all went a little pear shaped.

The captain informed us that the customs documents we were all required to fill out had not been given to them and would have to be handed out and completed on the plane before we could disembark the aircraft.

Some passengers were getting a little fidgety about that.

But we were promised that someone would be at the gate the second we landed so there would be no delays.

We land and are still early. Another aircraft is still at our gate, so we have to wait for them to depart. The early margin is decreasing.

After a small wait we pull into the gate and the captain, who does not seem to be having a good day, announces that we have pulled into the wrong gate and needed to be pushed out and then onto the right gate.

More grumbles from those around us. Our connecting flight had loads of time so we were not stressed and if anything we were quite amused.

Eventually we were pushed back from the wrong gate and made it onto the correct one. Only for the captain to make another announcement that the paperwork had not arrived at the gate as promised so there would be another delay.

I am sure the captain was thinking “you have got to be f*cking kidding” but he sounded very relaxed.

We all filled out the paperwork and made it off the plane without anyone losing their temper and we had lots of time to get to our next flight.

We walked across the terminal, it is really long and drawn out, but it was nice to walk around after sitting on the plane for so long.

We arrived in Lihue, Kauai, and the weather was amazing. The views as we landed were stunning, like Rarotonga but on a bigger scale.

We landed on time, got our bags, and headed to the car rental.

The lady who was serving us, Dollar Rentals, was lovely and very efficient, then boom. All the power goes out, just for a minute, but computers don’t like that. Not at all. Halfway through our check in all the computers needed to be rebooted, the reconnection to their system didn’t work, and we (with a bunch of others) were left waiting.

Their computer tech came along, took one look and was like “its fine” and leaves again. Ha, ha, brilliant. I’m sure he was a mechanic that was hauled in to fix them because he has a computer.

The cause, evidently, was someone had driven into a pole outside. I wonder if they were driving one of the rental cars.

Not long after the systems were up and working, we had our car and were on our way. The lovely lady must have upgraded us for free after seeing our luggage. Great service.

Our accommodation was only 12kms from the airport so we made it there in good time.

The place is perfect, overlooking the beach, a pool outside, air conditioning, everything you need to relax and enjoy yourself.

We popped across the road, got supplies including FRESH FISH, from the supermarket and settled in for an early night. The time difference was really messing with us. That and we knew, that Hawaii meant we were nearing the end of our holiday.

So sad 😦

A few details about Kauai, it is expensive. To buy food at the supermarket you really are left marvelling at the cost. We are guessing this is probably due to the majority of the food being imported. However, a bit of research shows that the median price of a single-family home was $528,000, a 40% increase over 2003. That’s quite a growth spurt.

However, even though food can be expensive there are massive discounts for locals and, on average, it is cheaper than Hawaii main island.

Jason can confirm the beer, Longboard, is awesome and well worth drinking. Far superior to anything he found in the UK, other than Guinness in Dublin of course.

Kauai – 26^th June – Wahoo Island Fun

The island is home to thousands and thousands of wild chickens, think Rarotonga chickens times 1000. They are everywhere, but, unlike the Rarogtongan chickens, they do not crow all day and all night.

Also, they seem to be quite road smart as we did not see very many splattered on the road.

We wake up to a beautiful day. We can get used to this sunny shite! Me especially, Jason is not overly thrilled with the humidity. The air conditioning unit is getting a work out. We went out during the day and he left it pumping. The floor was too cold to stand on.

Anyway, I had booked us a half day tour that included a trip around Na Pali, snorkelling, speed boating, lunch, and general fun.

I had actually forgotten what it was and for some reason I thought we were actually river rafting. Rather than sitting on a little raft speeding through the sea.

Two warning items accompanied the safety briefing.

1. This is not suitable for anyone with a bad back.
2. This is not suitable for anyone who has recently had surgery.

We just looked at each other, shrugged and hoped for the best. I mean it’s been months since his surgery and his back has been really good.

We were on this inflatable boat, not big, and there were 12 of us. We were taken through the safety briefing, always hold on, keep your feet tucked under the raft, let them know if you want a life jacket.

And we were off, damn fast, two 115 horse power outboards doing their thing. It was amazing how much speed you get up to. There were a couple of kids on the boat, both under 10 and brother and sister. Brother was nearly beside himself, tears, eyes squeezed shut, holding on for dear life, his sister was grinning and squealing with delight. Funny how diverse one family can be.

I am definitely in the latter category. I could only really hold on with one hand anyway so may as well throw caution to the wind and lean back to touch the water as you zip on by.

Our captain, Captain, was great, he knew his stuff and knew his boat. We rode the wake of bigger boats skimming back and forth, leaning front and back (well I was anyway). All the time marvelling at the beautiful scenery zipping past.

Kauai has been used as a backdrop in many Hollywood films, and it is easy to see why.

It looks like something out of Jurassic Park with steep cliffs, wild terrain, and no way to reach these tiny, stunning beaches other than via boat.

There is a hiking track through Na Pali State Park, it is 22 miles round trip, but you can hike to the beautiful little beach and have someone pick you up. Even so, 11 miles was more than we had time and were prepared for. Apparently it can be challenging in parts.

Back to our boat ride.

On our way out to our snorkelling location we stopped and watched green turtles as they cruised past the boat, the youngest around 5 years (you can tell this because it is the size of a dinner plate), and dolphins, so many dolphins its amazing. They were surrounding us.

The time of day, mid-morning, indicated that it was “romance time”. So Neno, our guide, was telling us that this is their time to be “intimate” whenever we could see the white belly of a dolphin (they were so close you could touch them) they were having some fun!

What do you say to that?

We left the dolphins to their “business” and carried on our merry, wind-swept, fear inducing ride!

Another 10 minutes or so we stopped to have a quick dip. The water is like a bath. Beautiful, warm, crystal clear, and refreshing. As we climb on the boat Captain is warning “watch your fingers, you don’t want to break them on the ladder”.

“Yeah a broken finger would really suck when you are on holiday bro”, I say as I waggle my neatly bound fingers (insert ironic face here).

Back on the boat and we continued along and see more dolphins, they are everywhere, so cool, they come within inches of the boat as we sit and watch. You are so tempted to slide into the water with them, but they are clearly getting jiggy, so we move on.

It is good to mention that our local guide Neno is fabulous, he tells us all the local stories and myths, the history and the progress that has happened around the island. What a great accompaniment to the thrill seeking tour.

We eventually reach our snorkelling spot. I don’t need to be told twice, boom. Into the water, time to explore.

Jason and I head out as far as we are supposed to go, and on the way see a lot of fish that are familiar due to the snorkelling we have done in Raro and Fiji. Then we spot a shark, not big, but definitely a shark (thanks Jaws, snorkelling will never be the same ha, ha).

Then another shark, they are studiously ignoring us, so we continue on our way.

As we progress Jason is furiously waving at me, whilst trying to stay completely still (not easy), and points in front of us. To where a rather large seal is swimming across our path.

Ummmm, it is important to note that seals in NZ mean “get the f*ck out of there” they are notoriously grumpy and are known to attack if approached.

So, being the sensible people that we are, we promptly retreat and head back to our tour guides.

Apparently the Hawaiian seals are very few, about 1300, so we were very lucky to see one. AND, they are very friendly. I wish we had known that beforehand because it was so amazing to see one, only 6 feet from us, and would have been better to see it closer.

All in all a very successful snorkelling trip. Time to get back on board and head for home.

On our way out the surf was relatively flat, not a lot of wind so the sailing/speeding was very smooth.

Not the case on the way back. The wind had picked up and the waves were bigger and the ride was fabulous. I was really enjoying myself. Holding on with one hand, it was like a mechanical bull. There were a few others with gritted teeth but most of us were just loving it.

Not a dry face on the boat, sea spray everywhere!

It felt like a really long ride back. The wind, waves, bumps, and craziness. I must admit, I really loved it. But I think it broke Jason a little.

We arrived back safe and sound and it was only 1pm. The whole day was ahead of us.

Neno had told us about a drive up the Waimea Canyon, as we were down this side of the island, we thought “well, whilst we are here, it would be wrong not to”.

We jump in our stunning little rental car, which is not stunning but is practical, and head towards the canyon. BTW, there are so many convertibles on this island its incredible. The majority of them are rental cars.

It is only 25 minutes to the top of the canyon, but you need to stop and take photos along the way because the views are amazing. It is like someone has taken the Grand Canyon, shrunk it, painted it a darker shade of red, and put it on Kauai.

Really beautiful! And well worth the drive up to the top. We did a couple of little nature walks, but the temperature was soaring! We were not prepared for any decent sort of walk so we kept them all pretty short.

The sky is beautiful, the view beautiful, the drive… frustrating in a shitty automatic and a 25 mile speed limit. All the same, glad we did it.

PLUS!!! Jason decided he would like to try driving on the “dark side” of the road. So I got a break!

He did really well, see, he could have driven through Italy, France, and Switzerland.

As mentioned earlier there is a part of the island you cannot drive to, so what would be considered a ring road on other islands, is a crescent road on Kauai. And we thought we would take the time to drive to the end of that crescent road – whilst we were here.

And what an exciting drive it was. No, it wasn’t, it really wasn’t, not at all.

It turns out that Kauai is home to the U.S. Navy’s “Barking Sands” Pacific Missile Range Facility, on this side of the island. So as we are driving as far as we can go we end up at the gates. Hmm, time to turn around quickly and head back.

No doubt we are on record somewhere haha.

As we had continued to head to the south west we had gone a long way from our apartment and it was an hour to get back. On the way we decided tonight, we would find a restaurant and eat out. But right now, we needed a snack. The Fish Shack – we are coming for you.

A quick visit to the Fish Shack, they were closing, we are loaded up with three types of poke (raw fish dish) and a complimentary tray of sushi, we head home.

All this time on the water, driving about, and sightseeing, we were shattered. Luckily our restaurant of choice was only 500 meters away.

So we sat on the balcony ate poke, had a cold drink, and just chilled.

I had booked us into the Wahoo Seafood and Grill. Unfortunately, as I had done a couple of times before, I got the date wrong and booked us for the next night. Luckily the concierge of the restaurant was very understanding and they set us up a table on the deck.

The food was nice, but I was just full and tired, so doggy bag was ordered and we were back to the apartment and in bed before 1000pm! With the 6 hour different from New York, our brains and bodies were taking a hammering – it was actually around 400am YAWN.

Our sleep was glorious. Tomorrow. Fishing.