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

The next few days we visited Lahaina (again!) and then went pack to Kanapali for a few nights. The beach here is fantastically fun as it is super steep right into the water. When everyone had their fill of beaches we headed up to Honolua Bay. The bay is a nature preserve and a favourite spot for charter boats to deliver hundred of snorkelers. It was also a favourite spot of ours, despite the charter cats that would cozy up to us for the afternoon. There are excellent reefs along either side of the bay and a big hunk of sand down the middle. We could anchor right snug into the head of the cove and it was completely flat, despite the rollers ripping through the channel between Maui and Moloki. On our first snorkel we saw an octopus and at one time had four turtles in our field of view.

Green Turtle

The next morning spinner dolphins came into the bay to show off their skills and Kolby hopped in the water to join them. This time they obliged and he was about to watch them swim and jump underwater. What a lucky guy! I was stuck on the boat with a babe on the boob, but I’m sure my time will come at some point…

Rain Storm at Honolua Bay

We head to Molokai that afternoon and had a great sail basically into the Harbour. The little town is not only the biggest but the only town on sleepy Moloka’i. The town consisted of one long street of shops with two grocery stores and a few restaurants. It took maybe 30 minutes to walk the strip… but it would take a bit longer to soak up the culture here, which seemed to be dominated by local Hawaiians. We stood out like a sore thumb! In the cafe where we had breakfast of cinnamon buns the girl at the till asked me if I was visiting someone on the island – was it Bria? I sure looked a lot like Bria. I laughed and told her no – we had come on our sail boat. Molokia sees few tourists and I’m guessing they like it that way.