Memories of a Royal Hawaiian Adventure

In 1999, I spent a few days in Waikiki, Honolulu, on a stopover on the way to New Zealand. Stopovers are a good thing when taking ultra-long-haul journeys.

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Mine had started at London Heathrow, flying Air New Zealand via Los Angeles.

8 or 9 hours to LAX plus another 6 to HNL.

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Highlights of this stopover

● Walking along the Waikiki beachfront and the famous Pink Hotel, which made its name in the 1950s as the place Hollywood icons would take their vacations. Difficult to imagine that this was the only hotel back then.

●????? Coach ride to Diamond Head, the extinct volcano. All the majesty without the lava. Well, the hot kind. These days, there is a road tunnel that goes through it, plus great views from the top.

●????? A visit to the Pearl Harbour memorial and cruise to the wrecks still leaking oil ever since 1941. History is raw, and history is real.

● Later, I took a helicopter ride from the airport over the areas mentioned. A personal highlight is that I love flight. On this occasion, it was just me and the pilot. A lot of fun.

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What were they like?

—Waikiki Beach: I had this idea that Waikiki Beach would be large. Yes, it’s white and soft. What immediately struck me, apart from a parade of bronzed figures, was how sharp and decent it was to the actual waterline. Not on the day I was there, but I suspect the waves must apply pressure when they crash onto the shore. A wall of sand greets you as you look behind you. You are lulled into a sense of security. The pristine curved beach as it looks towards Diamond Head, plus the hotels along the shore. Seeing the famous pink hotel dwarfed now by its neighbours, it’s difficult to imagine this was the only hotel which must have had post-war charm and the Hollywood glamour to match. If Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall had been here, they would have had the place to themselves. Also not far away were groups of hula girls singing and dancing for tourists.? I can hear them now, chanting their sounds of happiness.

—Diamond Head. It’s one of those places that actually looks like an ex-volcano. It’s intact; it has the right shape and most importantly for a visitor, it is extinct. Being located not far from Waikiki Beach, it’s very prominent. On our coach tour, we were treated to the unique experience of driving through it. Can you be a lava tourist? Fortunately, no dripping lava can be found, but the views from the top are more than satisfactory.? To think that nature created these islands with tremendous force and power. It’s all calm whilst you’re there. “Oh yeah, one or two volcanoes were active in these parts”.

As the 50th state of the US, it is little America out in the great blue ocean.

Pearl Harbour. A visit to the pinnacle location of 20th-century history for the US and the world was a must. Still an operational harbour, the focus is on the events of 7 December 1941. The USS Arizona is the focus of the memorial, and witnessing that even after all of this time, oil is still leaking from the wreck that is the final resting place of over 1,000 sailors is a moving experience.

—A personal helicopter trip. I had previously been on a helicopter in 1981 around New York City, plus a circular route to the Statue of Liberty. That was a group trip, and this was personal. Just Me and the pilot. The normal flight on a plane is not the same. In a small helicopter, you are inside the machine. The rotors are above and behind. In the front, you can see all the instruments, the sticks, and the pedals. When I boarded, the pre-flight checks had already been completed.? Refuelling had taken place with me a long way off. The engine was already turning over when I was beckoned to board. The rotors were already turning a little. It was noisy and windy. Thinking I would be entering a bubble was not the case. Inside, it had an intensity to it. The machine was humming, plus there was a controlled shake of anticipation. Just before it was time to depart, everything increased. The noise, the rotor speed, the vibration. And yet, the pilot had the machine under control. One gentle nudge on the stick, and we lifted around 10 feet.

To depart Honolulu airport, he had to follow a track just like an aircraft does. Except we were already airborne. This movement meant the helicopter drooped forward as the pilot followed a white line out towards the departure point. This was truly exhilarating as we were flying close to the ground. It felt like we were going faster than we probably were, skirting in between aircraft hangers. When we were permitted to ascend, it happened quite quickly and we were now heading down the coastline, first past downtown Honolulu, Waikiki Beach and Diamond Head.

From on high, everything looks small, of course, but in a helicopter, the view is better. It's all glass, to the front, the sides, and below your feet. Well, I didn’t test it.

It was still noisy inside, but when cruising, it seemed to be in its element. We were meant to fly over the northern part of the island, but a weather front was coming in, so we flew over Pearl Harbour instead. Seeing it from a height gave me a good sense of what makes it a great harbour.

Finally, just as exciting was flying over and into an active airport. First, to a predefined arrival point, and then a repeat of the low altitude track back to the departure point, which included a 180-degree hover turn before a gentle set down.

We must have been airborne for around an hour and a bit. It certainly flew by (pun definitely intended).

This was a 3-day stopover I’ll never forget.