space they took up in your luggage. It is too diverse to fully appreciate with just the obligatory stops at Waimea Canyon Overlook and Puu Hinahina Lookout. Hire a car and travel further up to Kalalau Lookout, a blissfully serene setting with views down to the sea. From December to May, whales can often be seen from the lookout. Returning to OAHU offers the chance for a few days post-cruise to wind down and explore the natural side of the island, hiking through windswept Diamondhead tuff crater, once part of THE coastal defense system, for a view over Waikiki that rewards the effort expended climbing 175 stairs, navigating a 225ft tunnel and traversing a winding path to the top of the crater’s 560ft summit. Journey west from Diamondhead,


where sobering Pearl Harbor military base stands as a memorial to the “day that will live in infamy” and the impetus for America’s entry into World War II. A short video tells the story, recreating the December 7, 1941, Japanese attack, culminating in the sinking of four ships, including battleship USS Arizona, visible from the modern Memorial Center built directly above the sunken ship, tomb to 1,177 sailors.


Retired after tours of duty during WWII,


the Korean War and Gulf War, battleship USS Missouri is honoured for her role at the end of the War when US General Douglas MacArthur accepted Japan’s unconditional surrender on her deck. The ship is surprisingly accessible, through guided and self-guided tours. Also worth touring is the USS Bowfin submarine. Impossibly scenic Highway 3 crosses


Central Oahu, leading to the coastal delights of Highway 80 on the way to 4,000 acre family-owned Kualoa Ranch,


Winter 2012-13 I WORLD OF CRUISING 27


once the retreat of royalty, now dedicated to cattle ranching, adventure tourism, and preservation of sacred land.


E


xcursions range from the popular Movie Sites & Ranch Tour, a sedate bus journey past filming locations for some 50 big-name films, including Jurassic Park, Godzilla, George of the Jungle, Windtalkers and TV show, Lost, to the rugged Jungle Expedition Tour, exploring pristine Ka’a’awa Valley from the bed of a 6-wheel Swiss Pinzgauer jeep. Gentle horse-riding trails and easy ATV


tracks crisscross the landscape; catamaran voyages navigate pretty Kane’ohe Bay; or hike off those Pride of America buffet calories on a narrated tour through Hakipu’u Valley. And, if you want to get your hula on, there are lessons for that, too. North Shore’s Sunset Beach, birthing ground to enormous waves prized by


surfers worldwide, proves mesmerising, with each surge of surf a unique entity; no two waves are the same. Professional surfers make it look easy but this is experts-only territory where even the most brazen wannabe respects the turmoil of the tide. A visit to Oahu would not be complete without witnessing this centu- ries-old sport of kings, a statement of power and control over the waves. Describing a gentle arc in the expanse of


the Pacific, the Hawaiian islands quietly take hold, wrapping softly around you and enticing you back with promises whispered on the breeze. They are meant to be savoured at a leisurely pace. Tectonic, even. 


MORE INFO: call 0207 6446 127 or visit www.gohawaii.com/uk (1808 973 2255 or www.hawaiitourismauthority.org in the US). Roberts Hawaii are experts for all tours and transfers; see www.gorabbitgo.com.


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