The outbound journey is now complete and we are back in sunny Christchurch. While Andy commences the hunt for Bluesmobile II, here comes the account of our intervening adventures. Our last two days in Hawaii held some surprises,starting with the flight back via Maui. On the second leg the pilot turned to us and lifting his Aviator sunglasses asked if we would mind a short detour to view Molokai's north shore, which has the highest sea cliffs in the world. Naturally this offer was eagerly accepted by all four passengers - you don't get this kind of thing on big planes with more than one engine!
We were treated to a spectacular flyby of green cliffs over a kilometre high, inaccessible valleys, waterfalls and even the old leper colony. Molokai apparently has neither traffic lights nor much going on, but is a mere 20 minutes flight from the mayhem of Oahu. The approach came in over the freeway, on the landward side of Diamond Head, past Waikiki, Punchbowl and over Pearl Harbour before the final frantic landing and rapid exit from Honolulu's busy runways. And all for 50 pounds each.
We stayed overnight at the airport hotel (which is actually quieter than Waikiki!) and this allowed us to stow all the luggage and get to the Arizona memorial in Pearl Harbour. The stringent security regulationsdon't allow you to take so much as a camera bag so it needs some organising. We struck lucky and only had to wait 20 minutes for our tour, which begins with a film of the attack and then takes you on a boat ride out to the memorial.
This is built over the wreck of the USS Arizona, which was sunk on 7th December 1941 with the loss of 1177 crew. A three-day fire and the demands of the war meant that most of the bodies were never recovered, and so the Arizona is a war grave and has been left where she sank. Some of the ship is still visible through the water, and drops of black oil still float to the surface. The list of names on the memorial is still growing, as some of the survivors are exercising their privilege to have their ashes placed in the wreck when the time comes.
Unfortunately you get less than 15 minutes on the memorial, and naturally the historical side is somewhat biased; there is an insistence that DEcember 1941 marks the start of World War II, conveniently ignoring the two previous years in Europe. One historical oddity; a photo shows the USS Phoenix steaming past the burning Arizona. This ship was later sold to Argentina and saw further action - she was renamed 'General Belgrano'....
next journal - iguanas and kava in Fiji!
loveHelen and Andy
Hidden Valleys and Sunken Warships
Thursday, November 18, 2004
Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
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