Sunday 13 May 2012

Aloha! Hawaii: North Shore of Oahu



We've spent this week living like North Shore locals with a family of North Shore royalty on the island of Oahu. When we turned up, Rex had just got off the phone with Jack Johnson - she was trying to persuade him to sing at the local farmer's market on Sunday to protest about the state wanting to shut it down (Monsanto versus Haliewa organic growers). Rex's has an amazing house on Sunset Beach, that she and her husband built around 30 years ago, which looks like it belongs to the Ron Weasley's Hawaiian cousin. It's built around a giant hanging fig tree with many wooden add-ons to reflect the changing family dynamics over the years.


It's hard not to come into direct contact with turtles here, as they're basking in the warm waters around the tide line everywhere. Right in Haliewa, we saw 20-30 in one spot yesterday, which led me to look up the collective term. Take your pick of a bale/dole/ or nest of turtles! None very satisfying. Turtles aside, my favs are a murder of crows, an ostentation of peacocks and a yaffle of cuckoos! 
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The house with the tree!






Sunset Beach

Wedding and dog walking on Sunset




We took a couple of trips into the local Elementary School. Bear wanted to stay all week as he got straight in with the local kids. We stood up and did a Q & A session in their library. Bear did most of the talking in his very well annunciated BBC voice.












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Sunset Beach Elementary School. Bear wanted to stay all week



Our beach access onto Sunset from the house and Raz at Turtle Bay



Paddling out at Turtle Bay 
Raz catching a wave at Turtle Bay




The real owners of the bay.




The boys on the same wave.


Beach-side houses fronting Pipeline.

Raz at Waimea with the head-plant sign.
Yay at Waimea!

Yay!


Yay x2!


The joy of getting trashed with your mates on the rocks.


Pipeline white water

In between Rocky point and Pipeline.




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Rocky Point







Who knew that getting your 5 a day could be so easy?





Haliewa institution of shaved ice that's been going for 30 years. They shave it off a block like an ice kebab.

Bring back May Day! May Day Festival at Sunset Beach Elementry School. Hawaiian princes and princess...

...the Queeen...


...the teachers doing a huula...and later a rap!


Pearl Harbour: USS Arizona Memorial 

Sleeping with the torpedoes on a sub. The trade off, was that you didn't have to hot-bunk and share it with anyone else!

Kitchen on the sub. Even had an ice cream maker!




A pearl from Pearl Harbour. Not the kind of oyster you would want to eat. It comes out so clean and shiny it looks plastic!