Hawaiian Cruise on Holland America’s Oosterdam –Part 1

On February 4, 2012, Neil and I sailed away on a 14 day cruise, joining our friends, Bonnie & Mark, on the Holland America Oosterdam, from San Diego to the Hawaiian Islands and return.

For the first four days we were in a Pacific storm – high winds, cloudy, some rain, and large swells.  This kept the guests indoors; could not go on our balcony or on the outside deck.  The effect was crowding in the Lido Cafe and public areas!  However, we did not get sick and we did not miss a meal.  The food was excellent and so was the ship entertainment.

The weather and ocean conditions delayed our arrival in Hawaii which meant we had to miss the first port of call: Hilo on the big Island of Hawaii.  Quite disappointing as we had an interesting tour booked there.

So our first port of call was Oahu where we took a six hour shore excursion called “Explore & Taste Oahu’s North Shore”  which was led by a naturalist.  First we drove to the Valley of the Temples located at the base of 2000 foot cliffs of the Koolau Mountain range.  Here we visited the Byodo-In Temple, a very tranquil spot where we walked the grounds and saw the golden buddha – 18 feet high.  The Temple was established in 1968 to commemorate the first Japanese immigrants to Hawaii.

 

 

 

 

 

Then on to our next stop which was China Man’s Hat, a small peak shaped Island off the shore of Kualoa Regional Park, a very popular site for weddings.

Then our guide gave us a 30 minute break at Kokololio Beach Park on the east coast of Oahu, which was one of the most photographic stops of our trip – here is why:

 

Mark & Coconut

Next blog: lunch and the afternoon stops.