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

Fiji Day Celebration – Last day

On the 10^th of October is the celebration of Fiji Independence, which they call simply ‘Fiji Day’. The Fijians are very proud of that and to express their pride and joy they celebrate it all day long. We were really lucky to be in Fiji on that same day, so we could gather in the celebration too. First we watched the Chiefs doing the Kava (traditional drink from Fiji) ceremony, then all the Fijians sang their National Anthem, after that we all got together for games and playtime outside.

In the evening, we watched the most beautiful sunset ever. Our last sunset in Fiji! And the celebration continued during the night with a group performance competition of traditional Fijian dances.

We didn’t have chance to surf in Fiji, because you have to go by boat to the surf spots and the waves are huge to kids like us. But Dad and Mom went surfing by boat to a surf spot called Cloudbreaks and also to Wilkes Pass, and they love it surfing in the Coral reef.

We had so much fun in Fiji and were kind of sad to leave,  on the 11^th of October, but at the same time excited to go to our next stop: Hawai’i.

Our last day in Fiji was sunny and hot and we still had time for a last swimming and snorkeling. And we finalize our Fiji time saying thank you in Fijian:

Bula Vinaka!!

Fiji Day - Kava Ceremony

Celebrating Fiji Day with our Fijian friends

Our last sunset in Fiji

An amazing sunset

Our last day in Fiji

Having fun in Fiji

There was a Kid’s Club in Plantation Island Resort and everyday we had a different activity, just like school! We have made many friends in Fiji, mostly from Australia. But our best friends were the Fijian people. They are so friendly, always smiling, funny and happy! Fijians love kids and babies; they are so kind and helpful!

Our days in Fiji were so fun: waking up early in the morning, having a huge breakfast filled with tropical fruits and juices, breads, eggs, danishes, muffins, pancakes, cereal, etc. Then we could go to the beach with Mom and Dad or go to Kid’s Club, depending on the activity of the day.

Some days we went to the beach with Mom and Dad to go snorkeling, sailing, swimming, kayaking and discovering the surroundings of the Island.

Other days we went to Kid's Club and there we had much to do: play with our friends, make boats out of a coconut, weaving banana leaves, t-shirt painting, outside games, traditional Fijian dance, Ping-Pong, Mini-Golf, watch movies, crab racing, volleyball and much more.

Kalani preparing to snorkel

Makaha chilling under a coconut tree shadow

Lots of coconut everywhere

Drinking coconut water... yummy!

Playing outside with friends

Makaha running with an egg on a spoon 

Kalani doing sac racing

... and Makaha

Volleyball

Kalani and Makaha's costume to perform a Fijian dance

Fire ceremony

Kalani and Makaha ready to perform the traditional Fijian dance

Show time

Dancing with a Polynesian performer

Kalani painting his Fiji time t-shirt

Makaha showing his t-shirt all ready

Sailing with Mom and Dad

Fiji Islands - 1st day

On the 1st of October we arrived in Fiji Islands. As soon as we get out of the airplane it was soooo hot! It was 30ºC, very different from New Zealand which was 15ºC.

There is a word you’ll hear all the time in Fiji and that is “Bula” – “Bula” can mean hello or welcome, cheers or good health. 

First night we slept in the main Island, at Mercure Hotel, in Nadi. Next day in the morning we went on a boat to Malolo Island to stay at Plantation Island Resort.

Fijian people singing and waiting for us with some shell necklace.

FIJI

Bula everyone! Sorry we are not updating the blog because where we are, in Plantation Island, the internet is too slow and we want to load some photos as well!
Next week we are heading to Hawaii and hopefully it will be better there!
Vinaka!