After collecting the hire car we hit the road and circled the island. We headed east from Honolulu and crossed the volcano, actually went through it. There is a tunnel near the top, as you exit you see steep cliffs and the east coast. The tour guide we listened to said the volcano is dormant but experts say that it could erupt at any time, I am not convinced though. As we dropped down to the coast we turned north and followed the coast. They have had some strong weather systems recently and the coast road was covered in sand at times and there was some damage to to edge which was being repaired, and caused some traffic delays. The first stop was to see Chinaman's hat, a rocky island off the coast. Hawaiian legend says it is a lizard's tail, but they call it Chinaman's hat because it looks like a Chinaman's hat. Just up the road was Kualoa Ranch, this is famous because it is a popular movie spot used by Hollywood. Here we did a tour that showed us the sites of the working ranch used in TV and film. Hawaii 5-0, Jumanji and Jurassic Park just to name a few were fillmed in the valley's of the ranch. It was also used during WW2 as a military front with bunkers and military batteries used to protect the coast from the Japanese. Our guide on the tour was excellent, sharing lots of her stories from working around the films and with the actors. After the tour we visited the shop before heading north along the coast. After stopping a few more times to get some pics we turned west at Turtle Bay resort, which has a very nice golf course (regularly used in USPGA tour).

The north shore is the mecca for surfing in the Hawaiian Islands. Winter is when the BIG swells come in and surfers try to get recognised. We stopped by Ted's Bakery to get lunch, this is the north shore's version of Port Elliot Bakery on our south coast. We took our lunch to sit in the sand and watch the waves at Sunset Beach. There was a reasonable crowd on the beach, mostly working on their tans, but we were here to see big waves and surfers. There was about 6-10 guys out and the waves would have been about 8-10ft, but choppy. Further down the road Banzai Pipeline was pumping with the same sized swell, but only 4 guys. It was still choppy, but there were some good clean barrels rolling in if you picked the right wave.

As we headed further south along the north shore we passed Waimea Bay and the tour spoke about Eddie Aikau. The surf comp held at Waimea Bay in his honour doesn't run unless the waves are bigger than 15ft. Today I don't think Eddie would have gone out, not that big. In the town down the road we tried the local delicacy of Shave Ice. This is shaved iced in a cup, flavoured with syrup. It wasn't too bad, but very sweet. I am sure it is more refreshing on a hot summers day, not winter time (even though winter in Hawaii is still mid 20's). The other thing we noticed as we travelled around Oahu was that chicken's seem to roam free everywhere. We saw lots of Hei Hei looking chickens (from Moana) on the sides of the road and in parks near the beaches.

Back at Honolulu we did a circle of Diamond Head, the volcano that over looks the town and is seen in many of Honolulu's photos, we will take the hike another day. After returning the car we hit the pool and had a drink before dinner. Tomorrow the girls are having the surfing lesson that Santa gave them on Waikiki beach. Time for sleep so they shred the waves in the morning.