Driving in Dreamland Hawaii Part II

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The sun getting brighter and brighter!

Hanauma Bay

Volcanic eruption is always violent and its destructive forces must not ever be underestimated. However, what comes after the devastation is another story. And at Hanauma Bay which was formed by a series of volcanic activities, ocean life is thriving. Over 400 colorful and shapely species inhibit the bay. The expansive coral formations that provide food and protection from the ocean waves can easily be seen through the clear emerald water. Everyone comes here to snorkel and swim with many schools for colorful fishes and green sea turtles, and to look for starfish and other small creatures on the ocean floors. Snorkeling here reminded me of The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau Documentary. We unloaded our snorkeling gears, picnic basket, and enjoyed the sunshine!






Polynesian Cultural Center

Located in the north shore, this large center offers unique participatory ways to experience various Polynesian Cultures from Fiji, Hawaii, Rap Nui, Samoa, Tahiti, Tonga, and many others. To get here from Wakiki, we took Kalanianaole Highway / Route 72 East. This 2-lane-on-each-direction road is mostly straight with a few bends and gradual incline.

Route 72 turned into one-lane-on-each-direction twisty and scenic road that hugs the coastline just after Hanauma Bay. There are so many vista points along this path. We stopped to see the Halona Blow Hole.

Later, we picked up coastal Route 83 / Kamehameha Highway heading to the North Shore. This road is mostly flat but it features many beautiful vista points looking out to Pacific Ocean, white sand beaches, and many interesting rock formations on the east side. On the west side at Kahana Valley State Park, the view was filled with gigantic mountains raising vertically with sharp jagged ridge lines.

At Polynesian Cultural Center, visitors can join wood and Tiki carving, enjoy signature foods from many different islands, watch Voyage of Discovery show, join cooking lesson, learn about fire making, practice spear throwing, take canoe tours, practice tree climbing and many others. Given the breath of activities and the time required to fully enjoy the center, and the fact that we still more places to drive to, we decided to only study the map of the complex and browse the gift shop. We made a mental note to come back here on our next visit to Hawaii.






Kahuku

There are probably many reasons to visit Kahuku in the North Shore. But for us, the reason why we came to this small town of 2614 was to experience the Hawaii Shrimp Truck phenomenon popularized recently, again, by the new Hawaii Five-0. Using Google, we were able to find the most famous Shrimp Truck: Giovanni's, located right off the Kamehameha Highway in Kahuku. Thanks to Facebook and Yelp and the obsession of our X and Y generations to share things online with their friends and their friends' friends, Giovanni's Shrimp Truck story has gone viral through the internet. We heard people speaking Dutch, Russian, Japanese, and Korean while waiting on a long line to place our order.

Due to its daily sales volume, the owner built a permanent tent so visitors can enjoy the delicious garlic shrimp without worrying about the daily tropical passing rains.

The truck itself is now placed on a concrete floor. While they still cook the shrimp in the truck, the truck is no longer drivable. If we didn't know about Giovanni's reputation, and we saw this graffiti covered truck, we would not stop because we would not think good food could come out of that truck. We did confirm that the delicious Shrimp Scampi and the non-refundable Hot and Spicy Shrimp are definitely worth the internet sensation. Shrimp, butter, garlic, flour, paprika, cayenne pepper, white wine, sea salt, lemon, and probably some secret ingredients created an amazing culinary fanfare. The sticky rice added a distinct flavor to the delightful ensemble.

Banzai Pipeline

Before we started heading south towards Honolulu we made our last stop in the North Shore. Unlike Waikiki, that features long rolling breaks good for learning to surf, Banzai Pipeline is notorious for forming large, hollow, thick curls waves. They are not only exciting to avid and adrenaline-crazed surfers but they can also be deadly. The Billabong Pipeline Masters event is held annually since 1970 attracting many world famous surfers.

Tropical rain poured intermittently with varying degree of intensity during the drive. The rain sensing feature came very handy and it worked beautifully. It adjusted the speed and the frequency of the wipers depending on the intensity of the rain.
We parked our Q5 and took out our binoculars, a camera with a very long lens, and a large golf umbrella. We walked to a high ground and from there we watched surfers riding curls waves for a while.

-Andreas. D

More complete story, visit: www.dariving-vacation.com/Hawaii

More pictures, visit: DV-Gallery-Hawaii

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