11 Nov Hawaii Scenery – Not Your Average Vacation
WOW, is all you will keep saying to yourself when you experience the scenery in Hawaii. Even though Hawaii is known as a ‘sun and sand’ destination, and don’t get me wrong, the beaches are amazing and varied and the weather is perfect all year round, it is in fact the surrounding beauty of the vast mountains that take your breath away each day of your visit.
Saying that, one of the best decisions we made on our Covid, Christmas visit to Oahu was renting a car. This allowed us the opportunity to circumnavigate the island, repeatedly, and thoroughly. The Jurassic Park scenes are not just an artist rendering of an imagination in overdrive. All those beautiful creviced peaks covered in thick vegetation are very real, and you can make them part of your memories by visiting this beautiful part of the planet.
As a traveler, Hawaii was obviously, always on my list. The thought of experiencing the Magnum PI beaches and winding roads depicted in all the movies and TV shows meant it was a destination that needed conquering. But, having traveled through a vast number of US states, I thought Hawaii would be similar, but oh, was I wrong. Granted, there are obviously a lot of similarities, but as far as vegetation and scenery, Hawaii is so unique you need to experience it to understand it. Beyond beautiful is an understatement!
Some of our favorite scenic experiences were Kaiwi Scenic Shoreline with a stop to hike/walk up to the Makapuu Lighthouse; the Waimea Falls Park (where scenes for Jurassic Park were filmed) and Koko Crater Botanical Garden walk/hike.
On most vacations I take loads of family photographs but this time I found myself taking loads of photographs of the scenery, either beaches, waves, rocks, craters or mountains and peaks. When I look at my downloaded pictures I suddenly realized that they do no justice to the impact of the surroundings of Hawaii. The only way I can recapture that WOW that is missing from my vacation snaps is to go back regularly to keep my memories alive. Yes, Hawaii is no longer an ‘on the list’ vacation destination, with a ‘been there, done, that’ check mark. This is a soul revival destination that warrants repeat visits, because this is a place that takes your breath away every morning, noon and night just by being there. My only regret is that I didn’t go sooner.