October 16-21: Luke and Giselle's Hawaiian wedding.

I arrived at around 8am Sunday morning to Lihue airport to be greeted by perfect warm Hawaiian sun. I must have looked like a right royal idiot with my snowboard too! I had a few hours spare and decided to pickup the hire car we had organised. I 'kind of' got a little swayed by the lady attending the counter at the Hertz rent a car. Originally we had planned to hire a four door average family car.. but I took the plunge and hired a convertible instead. It was bloody nice though to drive a convertible around in Hawaii for the whole week so Im really glad I did it! I hope the boys who were sharing the expense with me werent too upset and enjoyed it also but Im sure they did.


Driving our Chevy Sebring convertible on our first day.

After a short drama at the airport trying to find Richard, a friend of the bride's who would be staying with us we all jumped in our cars and headed off to our Condo. It was an absolute palace. Massive, 3/4 bedrooms, with enough room to fit 10. Fully air-conditioned, new fittings and one of the rooms had a bathroom that most places in London would be able to fit inside. Im talking a shower with full tiling roof to floor, and two showerheads.. it was so big the bathroom had its own closet!! I ended up getting the short end of the straw and having to sleep in the same room as Dan, on single beds, with no privacy! There goes any chances we would have of picking up!!



On the first day, I headed up the mountain in the hire car as my friends Danya, Nathan and Dan were going up there for a hike and needed the ride. I kinda lost track of how long I was out in the sunshine and well kind of got just slghtly burnt on the first day. Later that evening we went out to have a swim.. and the water was soooo perfect we stayed until sunset when the water was still so warm and lovely.


Ben capturing the beach where the wedding took place in sketch.

Luke and Giselle got married on Shipwreck beach. There was a more relaxed attire for the wedding and family and friends enjoyed the ceremony standing on the sands of shipwreck beach.








The week was filled with a variety of activities that people decided to do. Not everyone participated in everything though due to different interests and so there were some relaxing days mixed in with days spent participating in the activities. I decided to go Kayaking, play a round of golf, Surf at Hanalei Bay, and just relax in general.

Most of the group went on the Kayak tour. We were to take Kayaks up a river in Hawaii and visit a beautiful waterfall where we could eat lunch and take a breather from the hard work kayaking. Dan and I were trying to figure out who would end up being the first couple to tip their Kayak over. By the end of the day it was Dan and I who ended up being the only ones to swim as it was too nice in the water so we committed suicide and dived in! We also were saying "Oh Crikey - look at the size of the snapper on that thing!" alot, whenever we saw anything that could have been a croc in the water (Such as small logs).


Just after leaving our Kayaks starting our small hike to the waterfall.


Our group and tour guide, heading up the trail to the waterfall.


Pete in front of the Queen's bath. Years ago if you bathed here you would have been decapitated!

The waterfall was beautiful and you werent allowed to swim there, so we all swam there. :) Directly underneath the waterfall the water wasnt so deep, and it was really rocky so none of us stayed under the water for very long as it obviously is a place where you could get hurt. It also really stang your eyes !! but what a lovely place to relax and enjoy the surroundings.


Waterfall view



We had a guide on the Kayak that day, a really relaxed dude who spoke about the surroundings and the plant-life and how the Hawaiians make use of the flora that grows there. He was a pretty cool dude, but at times the things he showed us were really not that exciting. The following photo is a ancient fireplace or something.. but it just looked like a pile of rocks to Dan and me, and Dan decided to have the following photo taken:


Big Dan: "Im excited!"

How little did I know how much my life would change when this photo was taken ! Wait for the New York photos .. thats all I can say!

After the Kayak, we attended a Luau (Dinner with entertainment) at Gaylords' restaurant. This was awesome, as we all got loaded up and enjoyed great food, and really good entertainment. There were Hula girls, Fire twirling, Singing and dancing being performed. A really good show. Even the MC was a funny guy!


These girls can really dance!

On the last day we had there, we all went to Hanalei Bay. Dan and I even caught up with the American girls Alexis and Laura we met on the Kayak. Most of us surfed for the first time, including myself. It was pretty damn good although not big waves at all! It was also kind of raining, but still warm that day too. Later in the day I was swimming with Nathan Lam. We were out in the water at sunset and saw two perfect rainbows, one encompassing the other. We were out in the water and both wanted our cameras, but knew it wasnt to be. That was one memory that I couldnt catch on film.. but I will have to remember forever. We lied on our backs in the beautiful water and enjoyed a fantastic moment!

Hawaii Summary:

Countries visited since leaving Australia: 2.
Best thing: Having a fantastic holiday with close friends - awesome.
Worst thing: American sports cars. the thing didnt idle properly and almost drove itself and was really plastic.
Best beer: Heiniken (The local stuff was only alright - but Heiniken is hard to beat.)
Next destination: Cannes, France.