Pride of Aloha Review 12/12-22 Pt 3 (wild horses ...)

[Floppy McTurnriver]

continuing on...

 

Day 5 (Kona, Hawaii):

- Tendering didn't seem to be a problem. We got ashore around 9-ish. We did Thriftys once again. Thanks to this board, we knew to book at the King Kamehameha hotel location at the end of the pier. Thanks also to Capt Dave at the Expedia desk in the hotel. He gave us a good tip to be shared below.

 

- our original goal was to just find Hapuna beach (once again it was a Frommer's 10 best), but since we got ashore earlier than expected and from the previous days' experiences on Oahu & Maui, driving to places in Hawaii really doesn't take that long. So we improvised and headed south to find the Place of Refuge first - glad we did. We got there before any tour buses arrived so it was very serene. Liked the wide open areas, saw the snorkelling spot right beside the park as described in other posts. Many people were already there in the water. It was just a nice place for a stroll, a bit of scenery, green turtles clearly visible right at the lagoon lounging about, swimming about. We then proceeded back north, past Kona towards Hapuna beach. This drive was our first exposure to lava fields. Very different & interesting. We did a lunch stop at around the turnoff for the Waikoloa Beach resort. New mall with food court, Starbucks, etc. (I go for a plate lunch any chance I get). We continued onto to Hapuna. Found the beach. It was nice but 10 best?? (i don't know about that). Once again I keep comparing Hawaii to the Caribbean. I think Hawaii is spectacular for it's coastline mountains and the Caribbean for it's silky white sand beaches and turquoise waters (Virgin Gorda & St. Lucia immediately come to mind).

 

- left Hapuna beach after 10 mins and continued north along Hwy 270. Capt Dave at the hotel's Expedia desk said the scenic loop bordered by Hwy 270, Hwy 250, & Hwy 190 is another 10 best drive. Frommers should hire Capt Dave. We drove to the end of Hwy 270 and passed the small town of Hawi. We wanted to take the road east to the end for the lookout point around Pololu Valley but chickened out halfway because of time constraints. So we headed back south along Hwy 250. The elevation rises to about 3500' and the views were AWESOME. Now this was worthy of a 10 best drive. Thank you Capt Dave. He also told us if we were pressed for time to take a shortcut back to Kona via Hwy 19 so that's what we did. Returned the rental and tendered back onboard.

 

Day 6 (Nawiliwili, Kauai):- once again did Thriftys rental car. No problems. Shuttle automatically comes. BlueChip membership cuts the waiting time. We headed north along the east coast. Princeville and Hanalei were our destinations. Our 1st stop was a lighthouse at Kilauea Pt. $3pp admission. Scenic. Recommend. We then rejoined Hwy 56 hopped to the opposite side of the road to Banana Joe's for some smoothies (sis's Lonely Planet guide). Then we proceeded to Princeville. We checked out the Princeville Hotel resort. Strolled a bit, took photos (scenic backgrounds) and then continued onto the town of Hanalei for lunch. Found some popular fish taco place but was disappointed as the taste was quite bland. Strolled a bit thru town after lunch (would like to spend more time there next time) and then headed for Hanalei Beach park (just behind the town) for more scenery, photo taking.

I originally wanted to drive to the end (Ke'e beach - Frommer recommendation) but I was getting more and more doubtful about Frommer recommendations. And I knew I had a shot the next day to see it by air.

 

- so we headed back to Nawiliwili. Me & wifey hit WalMart for our Mac nut souvenirs while sis & folks did emergency laundry at 24hr laundry mat. Thanks again to the posters for advising Walmart indeed having the lowest prices. They are cheaper than ABC stores and even the Mac nut factory as we would later find out. We grabbed the free Walmart shuttle back to the ship. [Foodie Sidenote: MacDonalds in Hawaii has several different twists. There is a banana pie available, burgers with teriyaki sauce, and breakfasts where spam or portugese sausage slices are served with rice & egg.]

 

- for dinner that night we strolled over to the Marriot hotel just next door to the pier. Just a 10-15 walk. We ate at Dukes in the Barefoot bar. The pupus menu was more than enough to fill our tummies. Tip: for 1st timers you can access the resort the backway from Dukes, you don't have to walk all the way around thru the property's front drive-in entrance.

 

Day 7 (Nawiliwili, Kauai):- this was the day I was looking forward to. Heli ride with Blue Hawaiian. We all walked off the ship and headed towards Harbour Mall (10 min stroll) where they had a storefront. We weighed in, saw a brief video and then was shuttled to the Helipad just 1 mile away. We saw the previous group just coming in (very cool), our birds being refuelled and then we boarded.

 

- Spoiler alert*. As we took off, the soundtrack from the headphones played the Hawaii Five-0 theme song. Very, very cool. The helicopter is 1st class, the pilot (ex-military flew Cobras & Apaches in Desert Storm. Thank goodness he had no war flashbacks.) very professional. He said he wouldn't do no sudden moves and he didn't. My mother is motion sensitive and had bad memories of an earlier flight around the islands back in the 70s in a plane where she did an imitation of me back at Molokini crater.

This ride cannot be beat. There is a bit of buffeting but this is normal. Before this Hawaii trip I had no idea that Hawaii was such a windy, windy place. When planning this vacation I was also considering a Na Pali coastline cruise but due to time constraints I didn't. I figured I'd see it anyways from the air and I did. I also got to see Ke'e beach, Waimea canyon (must do that drive next time) plus so much more that simply is not accessible by car. At one point we entered an old volcano and rose to the top nearly touching the clouds. We saw the Jurassic Park waterfall and on cue the soundtrack from the movie comes on thru the headphones. I knew this was going to be a once in a lifetime event, especially as a family, not knowing how many more of these 'active' vacations my elderly parents would be able to do in the future. It was $1000 for 5 people and I don't regret Blue Hawaiian. I chose them purely on their helicopter. I'm sure there are many excellent pilots and firms with good safety records. But I've yet to see more modern (ie. comfortable) helicopters than the EcoStar. The flight was recorded via a 4 camera digital system for $25 on a dvd. Now please note that for whatever reason my stomach was feeling queasy the whole flight (same with mom). So definitely there is something wrong with me as I age. I did not take any medicine or wear any patches/bands before hand (she did). I'm glad the flight was no longer than 50 mins as any longer and I might not have held it together. Still no regrets, would recommend, and glad to have done it.

 

 

... to be continued

[Floppy McTurnriver]

Day 6 (Nawiliwili, Kauai):

- forgot to mention the ship arrived 2 hrs earlier (8am instead of 10am). the departure time did not change to an earlier time the next day. Give credit where credit is due. I've never been on a cruise where they extended a port stay. Unexpected bonus from NCLA. Kudos.

 

Day 7 (Nawiliwili, Kauai):

- the ship departed at 2pm so it could do the Na Pali coast sailby. Don't get your hopes up. It's pretty far from shore, even with binoculars. You cannot see the beauty of this coastline unless from the air or an upclose private dinner cruise on a smaller boat I imagine.