My husband and I had a fantastic day made even more enjoyable by our tour guide/driver, Tommy Chong, who is a wealth of historical as well as local knowledge. From the moment we boarded our tour bus Tommy engaged our group with humor, story telling, wit and respect for the places we visited.
Pearl Harbor is a must see for those of us who have been lucky enough to not have experienced the horror of war. To walk around this well cared for area and monuments and realise that this is where the world changed; from the sobering moments when we viewed the information movie showing actual footage of the Pearl Harbor bombing, boarding our boat, circling the Arizona, the mix of emotions was enormous. Unfortunately, the Arizona platform is still out of commission. The Pearl Harbor section of the tour was well paced and informative.
Circle Island tour gave us the opportunity to visit many of the island's landmarks. We travelled into the mountains to the Nu'uana Pali Lookout. This is the actual site of the 1795 Battle of Nu'uanu. The view from the lookout is amazing and being on the windward side to the island be careful to hold on to your hats/caps etc.
Our next stop was the Japanese Byodo-in Temple. After crossing the entrance bridge visitors have the opportunity to ring the large temple bell which is said to give peace to your soul. The temple itself is serene and comforting. The temple is surrounded by lush gardens and yet there are areas where you can simply rest and take in the serenity of the area or just relax and watch the Koi carp swim.
Lunch break - and we visited the Kualoa Ranch. The ranch is approx. 4,000 acres and has been featured in many films including Pearl Harbor, Kong - Skull Island and Tears of the Sun to name a few. The stampede scene from Jurassic Park was also filmed here.
Surf's up!! Wow, we visited the surfing beaches I have only ever read about; Sunset, Banzai Pipeline, Waimea Bay, Shark Cove etc. The surf was moderate and picking up but apparently the big surf only happens in the Hawaiian winter.
Dole Plantation is a working pineapple plantation and as a visitor you have to sample their Pineapple Ice Cream (which is not actually ice cream as there is no dairy products used), it is delicious.
Overall the day was a marvellous success - full of wonderful photo opportunities, amazing scenery and mountains of information. Well done Gray Line and Tommy Chong -Tour Guide extraodinaire.