Disappearing Sand Island

Our next layover was Lono Harbour where we barely had the anchor set before the boat was swarmed by bees. We shut everything down and headed ashore where a made made lagoon was the perfect swimming hole for Bowen. It was his first time in the water (he hadn’t even had a bath yet!!!!) and he loved it. Well he didn’t cry and was super relaxed which I am taking to mean he loved it…

That night we left at midnight for an overnight-ish trip to Kane’ohoe Bay on Oahu. Unfortunately it was a messy trip across and no one slept well (except for Fynn). Kane’ohe Bay is a spectacular place. The bay is huge and completely protected by a barrier reef, creating calming waters within. On and it is bordered by dramatic mountains that shoot up form the sea, forming the back of the craters. Inside the day are dozens of circular reefs with some of the best coral we have seen in Hawaii. There is even a huge sandbar that become a local hangout on the weekends and tourist trap midweek.

We anchored in the designated anchorage as per our guidebook, but after checking in with the harbourmaster we were told to anchor by the sand bar or go through the process of applying for a permit to anchor in the designated anchorage. We opted for the sandbar.

Sandbar Anchorage

For their last two days in Hawaii we rented a car and toured the sight of Oahu – including climbing to the top of Diamond Head and snorkelling with the giant fish in Hanauma Bay. We made the mistake of driving the North road on the Saturday of the long weekend and ended up in number to bumper traffic for most of it. It was fun to see the locals setting up camp for the weekend on the beaches- bbqs going and huge family groups of adults and kekeis milling around. People here certainly make good use of their beaches. As they say – Aloha, it’s a lifestyle