Silverstar

We are now settled in Silverstar and it's great! The house is awesome - very nicely set up and recently renovated. I love the gas fireplace (very new with a remote control!) - you'd swear there's real logs in there. Our flights from Maui to Vancouver then onto Kelowna were without incident and we met up with Laurie as planned in the arrival hall. We arrived about the same time on different flights. The transfer went smoothly, including a stop at the supermarket to pick up a massive order I'd made online, plus a stop at the liquor store for a few boxes of wine! Here's some pics.....

Frozen lake from the taxi, on the way up from Kelowna....

Unfrozen lake on the way....

House we are staying in for 2 weeks. Note the height of snow either side of the driveway. The front door is snowed in so access if via the back porch.....

View of the back of the house. This is the little path we use to ski out and in each day....

Living room of house - note fireplace to left - big view out the back, kitchen around to the right....

View out back window....

Marian shovelling snow from the porch whilst it is snowing on day of arrival....

Random house on walk to village centre - note amount of snow on roofs....

The pine trees are big....

Walking up driveway with our skis on first afternoon....

Laurie shovelling snow from little shed where we keep our skis and boots....

Relaxing in the lounge....

Weather cleared this morning revealing more distant views ....

On the mountain this morning for our first ski for 4 years. Note fantastic snowy trees. The weather was great early but got more cloudy during the day - clearing in the afternoon again....

Not very busy!....

Blue skies when we got back late this afternoon....

Maui

We had an early start to leave Oahu for Maui, with great views from the plane as we fly past Honolulu. We only had two full days and used them wisely. The first day we drove up over 3,000m to the dormant volcano, which had surprisingly good bird watching and fantastic views. Later in the afternoon we went to a coastal boardwalk which was great and some other sights. The next day was mostly the Road to Hana, which is a spectacular (long) coastal drive with countless waterfalls. There were some great walks too. Later in the afternoon we visited the lazy beaches which Maui is famous for. Here's some pics:...

About to take off from Honolulu - Waikiki and Diamond Head in distance....

Waikiki from the air....

Waikiki and Diamond Head from the air....

Diamond Head from the air....

Over 3,000m on summit of Kalahaku in Haleakala National Park....

Kalahaku - remnant of a massive volcano ....

Kalahaku different viewpoint: note volcanic vents in foreground and in the distance, the two snow capped peaks of the volcanos on Hawaii (the Big Island) being 4,200m and 4,800m. Wow....

Above the clouds....

Golf Course where they bought some plans by Frank Lloyd Wright and built a clubhouse in about 1990!....

Coastal boardwalk, also a bird reserve, with a beach out of frame to the left....

The Road to Hana: waterfalls everywhere....

Huge bamboo forest on walk at end of the road....

More waterfalls....

Volcanic coast on the Road to Hana - all along the eastern coast of Maui (similar to many of the islands)....

Lazy beaches of Maui - much more laid back than Oahu....

Oahu Circuit

Today was our last day of three on Oahu. We drove anti-clockwise - up the east coast and back down the middle. The initial drive across the island is great, as it's very lush and mountainous, including a tunnel to avoid the most craggy bits. On the other side we went to the Botanical Gardens which were nice but a little uncared for (great parking and toilet facilities though - if that's the priority!). Up the east coast and onto the north coast was quite spectacular, with beautiful beaches all along the road and mountains inland. But, it was very odd - like 1978 Gold Coast, with 2023 traffic - quite dysfunctional. Parking was usually unsealed, accesses required backing out onto the main road etc. Even the buildings were all circa 1978, including prime locations on the ocean. If it wasn't for the traffic (which was full on), it would have been a very laid back great vibe. But alas the horse appears to have bolted. Here's some pics:

Serious mountains (a former caldera) form a dramatic backdrop to the eastern side of the island....

The Botanic Gardens had some great vistas.....

The 'Chinaman's Hat' off Kualoa Park, near the Kualoa Ranch where many films have been set, including Jurrassic Park.... 

View on the drive up the east coast.... 

Marian looking for birds at Laie Point.... 

Laie Point southern vista - cloudy but didn't rain today.,,,

Laie Point goomer - guess who!

Burger and Shrimp in Macadamia Batter at Kahuku....

Shaved Ice to follow - but not the best - too icy (ie. should be shaved much finer so it's not so much like a slushy but more like the texture of ice cream)...

Typical beach all along the east coast.....

The famous Pipeline swell at Ehukai Beach....

Turtles feeding off Laniakea Beach....

View of Waikiki (our last night)....

Aloha!

We arrived fine and are having a great time. The Qantas flight to Sydney was a bit bizarre as they seemed to forget to give the right hand side of the plane any drinks or snacks? Either that or Marian, the guy next to us and I all had a micro-nap at exactly the same time and they left us alone - but I think it's the former. The Qantas flight to Honolulu was fine and without incident. Legroom, screen and movies good - food acceptable. We got a Dodge Charger ('Hey Charger!') and went straight to the Pearl Harbour museum site. But it was soooo windy they cancelled all the boats out to the USS Arizona memorial site in the harbour. Nevertheless, we visited their on-site museums and went around to visit the USS Missouri (a historic battleship where the armistice for WW2 was signed by McArthur et al). We then went to our hotel at Waikiki. Today, we drove around the south-west not too far from Waikiki - plenty of mountains, lush forest and beaches. All pretty speccy - with shaved ice treats featuring high on our agenda! Broadly, we're a little surprised how basic and kind of run-down everything is outside of the central area, but it's not dodgy or problematic - kind of hokey and a bit charming. Here are some annotated pics:

Boarding the plane in Brisbane - very windy already!....

USS Missouri and the USS Arizona Memorial from the main visitor centre. This is where all the big ships were lined up conveniently for the Japanese in 1941....

Image showing the bombing. Above photo taken from left out of frame. Note torpedo trails heading to ships (including Arizona)....

They like their flags! Heading onto the USS Missouri....

16 inch guns can fire 20 miles.... 

View from our hotel balcony. Pretty awesome. Diamond Head on the left, so named because quartz crystals were thought to be diamonds. Unbelievably windy - see palm trees....

View back along Waikiki Beach in high wind!....

Yummm - shaved ice desert with mango....

Not many references to the past - this one was nice but very run down...

Walked up this to the edge of the Koko Crater - very popular - Marian made it all the way, but I gave up just when the very steep bit started, when my knee began to tweak!....

View to left (there isn't any tram - not sure of the history?). The little bay in the distance is famous for snorkelling and its reef - too busy when when we went past....

View to right.... 

Mountains are everywhere and very impressive and craggy - far more speccy than FNQ, but in other ways similar. Housing spreads a long way, including up pretty high - views must be great....

The whole of Hawaii is very volcanic - makes for great landscapes....

We walked up another path to an old lighthouse. This view is back toward Honolulu, looking at the other side of Koko Crater....

From the old lighthouse there are fabulous views in the other direction. You get an idea of the craggy and spectacular mountains from here....

Once we got back to Waikiki we went for another walk along the main prom - this time without the ridiculous wind....

....and had our final shaved ice treat for the day (I haven't included a photo of the one we went to in the middle of the day, which was our favourite)....