The search for waves...

The place we stayed in Hawaii is a very short distance from the most famous waves of the world. The place is called Plantation Village, in Sunset Beach, and used to belong to the legendary surfer Mark Foo.

Plantation Village

                                                                           

Sunset Beach

During the Winter months Sunset Beach is one of the best places for surfing with waves often between 15 and 20 feet high making it perfect for surfing competitions. But, even though Winter was close, no big waves, in fact, they were too small!

So we could enjoy the warm water and swim all day long.

Even though the waves were small, Dad went for surfing...

...and Mommy too.

                                                                                                    

 While we watched the Sunset in Sunset beach :-)

With no waves for few days, we had time to take a ride and explore a bit of the Island.

The island of Oahu was formed by two volcanoes, the Waianae Volcano in the west and the Koolau Volcano in the east. The Waianae Volcano formed the western third of Oahu and the Koolau Volcano formed the eastern two thirds of the island. 

TV show LOST filming set locations at the North Shore:

LOST TV show set locations

In Laniakea we had the chance to see marine turtles up close. Hawaiian green turtles - Honu - crawl ashore daily to bask. To ensure the turtles are not bothered, volunteers at Laniakea use red rope to mark off a "no-go" zone, and place signs to keep visitors informed.

RESPECT the Turtles!

Honu - Hawaiian green sea turtles

After a great day filled with adventure, nothing better than enjoy a rainbow shave ice.

                                                                               

 No trip to Hawaii is complete...

... without tasting Shave Ice!

Few days later and the waves started picking up...

George, our Dad, surfing Gas Chambers

Shorebreaks and rip currents are very dangerous in most of Oahu's beaches if you are beginner!  Our Mom and Dad always check out the beach and waves conditions and warnings on-line, and sometimes even talking to the lifeguards, before going out for surfing. Our parents can surf such waves, but we are just beginners, so they decided to search for a beach where the waves would be gentle and the ocean calm, thus we'd have lots of fun! And we did!! We found the perfect spot for us: Malaekahana Beach!

Dangerous ShoreBreak + Rip Currents signs

Malaekahana State Park, Oahu - Panoramic View

Kalani in Malaekahana

Go Kalani!

Makaha waiting for his wave

Makaha

We are just giving our first steps in surfing, but what a better place in the world to start?!

Keep visiting our blog to follow our adventures!

Aloha from the heart to you all!

Makaha Beach -West Coast Oahu

With no waves on the North Shore, we decided to explore the West Coast of Oahu, where the famous wave of Makaha Beach is.
Well, as we told before, we've got Hawaiian names. Our parents choose the name Kalani because it means "the one who came from Heaven" and Makaha means "the one who sees the breath of Life" (but also means big and fierce).
The waves in Makaha weren't so big that day, but they are strong and ferocious, for sure! And we even got to swim with green turtles - the Honu (Hawaiian for sea turtle).

Arriving in Makaha Beach

   Makaha in Makaha.

          Makaha & Kalani having so much fun
          with the waves in Makaha.

We had lots of fun in Makaha and we were so lucky to see the brightest, largest and closest rainbow ever on our way back to the North Shore. Actually, there were two rainbows! So large they couldn't fit into the photo!

That was a very special day in Hawaii!
Aloha from the heart to you all!

The Hawaiian Islands - Oahu

ALOHA! We finally arrive in Hawaii, on the 11^th of October 2011. From the plane we could see one of The Hawaiian Islands called Oahu.

The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands:

Niihau (The Forbidden Isle)

Kauai (The Garden Isle)

Oahu (The Gathering Place)

Molokai (The Friendly Isle)

Lanai (The Pineapple Isle)

Kahoolawe (The Target Isle)

Maui (The Valley Isle)

Hawai’i (The Big Island)

We arrived in the island of Oahu and stayed there for three weeks.

Oahu is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands. The capital of Oahu is Honolulu where the airport is located.

From Honolulu we went straight away to the North Shore where the biggest and most famous waves of the world are.

Oahu - West Coast

View of Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puʻuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. The attack on Pearl Harbor by the Empire of Japan on December 7, 1941, brought the United States into World War II.

 

         Honolulu International Airport

Ahh! The North Shore... Ana showing the right direction

Happy George!

Pineapple Plantation and the North Shore at the backgroung

The famous Hale'iwa sign

Pipeline

First thing we did as we got to the North Shore was to check the waves, of course! And the first one was pretty easy to recognize, despite there was no sign: Pipeline, a dream coming true!

Pipeline

Makaha & Kalani happy to watch Pipeline breaking

Sunset over Pipeline