Day 19 Saturday 15 November

The sailing boat that was wrecked on the reef last night was our first destination as we had seen from our apartment that overnight the waves & wind had pushed the wreck further across the reef & the mast was leaning in the other direction. It is a fairly large sailing boat, somewhere between 30-35 feet long. After breakfast we became adventurous & caught the No.2 bus to the Bishop Museum. Ron enjoyed the ride because he could look out & enjoy the scenery, no stress driving on the right hand side & trying to find the place.

The bus stop was only a short walk from the Bishop Museum & after paying admission we lucked in on the start of a tour which flowed into another tour of the garden & then another tour inside the museum, all very interesting & worthwhile. The Bishop Museum holds historical artefacts from the Hawaiian culture & various Polynesian cultures. The Hawaiians had four main gods & there was an interesting explanation on each of these in Hawaiian culture. The fishing god, Kaneikokala , was especially handsome. The main display hall is set over three levels, with the skeleton of a giant sperm whale presiding over the gallery. The displays are very well presented with good explanations. One of the highlights was standing next to the Duke’s wooden surfboard.

Other parts have displays of colourful beetles, butterflies, shells & fish. There was an interesting display on volcanoes & the formation of the Hawaiian island chain, complete with landslips & tsunamis & the resultant effects of each. Another building in the museum grounds held active hands-on displays designed for kids to interact with & learn more about physics. All in all it was very interesting & before we knew it closing time was near & we caught the bus back to Waikiki. If Ron ever asks you to go to the museum, think about it twice – 6 ½ hours & he still could have stayed.

Back in our apartment we looked for the wrecked sailing boat & finally found it, it had moved further inshore & was nearly submerged. As night fell we saw a flashing light near the bow as the wreck was nearly in the channel leading to Hilton wharf. Later on the Pride of America sailed past on the start of its next week long cruise. We spent quite a long time looking out the window & enjoying the boats out at sea & the lights of the city. We will miss the million dollar views, but not the noise from the traffic. There is a lovely breeze comes off the sea, but you have to close the windows & turn the air conditioner on (as it is too hot) to be able to sleep. There is an international Jehovah Witness Convention – they are everywhere – that is the reason why we had trouble finding accommodation & nearly joined the homeless (I could think of a lot worse places to sleep under the stars than in Hawaii). Two ladies even invited us to go along to share the wonderful experience.

We think that the weather is great, around 25-30 C, but here the locals think it is cool, their shops windows look just like in Canberra late Autumn (Fall) – jumpers, coats, scarves & even Ugg boots. The Christmas lights & decorations are going up in the shops.