Five Islands In Paradise- Femina

A fortnight is all it takes to don the garb of a true blue native in Hawaii, says Ethel Da Costa, and tells you what you must see and do on the top five islands

I’m dreaming of steamed pink lobster, succulent shrimps and grilled salmon on a bed of dew-fresh iceberg lettuce, ripe baby tomatoes in a thousand island dressing, and crystal flutes brimming with chilled Moet et Chandon waiting just for me. Not to forget handsome, bare-chested Polynesian stewards with shiny teeth, micro shorts and strong hands made for giving one a back massage...

Hawai’i invites me and you — E komo mai kakou me ke welakahao! (Come over and have a wonderful time). With aquamarine waters, surfers riding the waves, the scent of palmyras and bougainvillea in the wind, pink orchids dancing around the neck, soft strains of the ukulele, refreshing fountains dancing on well-manicured lawns, green volcanic mountains looming over the horizon, and loud cheers of ‘Aloha!’... The azure blue of the Pacific Ocean makes you think you’re Raquel Welch, lolling on the white sands of Waikiki, shopping at Guess, Macy’s, J C Penney’s and Karl Lagerfeld or walking down Duke’s Boule-vard at midnight with a percuss-ion band playing in a corner.

O’ahu (The Gathering Place)
O’ahu intoxicates the senses with beauty, excitement and soul. But beneath her surface lies Hawai’i’s history of royalty and riches, turbulent conquests and peaceful resolutions. You can’t miss Diamond Head — an ancient, extinct volcano — which makes a perfect backdrop to sparkling Honolulu and Waikiki Beach. Just above Honolulu proudly sits Pearl Harbour, the Arizona Memorial and the Punchbowl National Cemetery. Beyond lies the soul of O’ahu: Lush rainforests, massive waves crashing on the North Shore, cascading waterfalls and sugarcane and pineapple plantations. Even sharks, giant stingrays and tropical fish perform to the gallery at the Waikiki Aquarium.

Blow Hole, near Koko Head, is awesome; large waves force seawater through a tiny hole in a lava ledge and water geysers gush high into the air. The locale was the idyllic love setting for the Hollywood pot-boiler, ‘From Here To Eternity’.

Breathtaking Nu’uanu Pali affords you a splendid view of Windward O’ahu. If Nirvana were a possibility, you could achieve it right here with a bottle of native brew! A local story tells of a young man attempting to commit suicide off this mountain perch, only to be blown right up again by the strong winds. So much for a brush with fate! It was also here that Kamehameha the Great’s armies conquered the armies of O’ahu in a bloody battle in 1795, thus adding the island to his empire.

Maui (The Valley Isle)
With over three quarters of uninhabited land, Maui is like one continuous natural park. Explore its interior, from the peak of Mt Haleakala — an imposing, dormant volcano whose crater is big enough to hold Manhattan — to the splendid natural extravagance of the Sacred Lao Valley. Drive down the spectacular road to Hana, which twists along the dramatic Eastern coast past jungles of ferns, countless waterfalls, underground caves and the Olowalu Petroglyphs.

Ohe’o Gulch (seven pools), located past Hana between Wailua and Kipahulu, has crystal-like po of water where, in the past, Hawai’ian women used to wash and bleach tapa-cloth clothes. At Haleakala National Park, the floor of Mt Haleakala’s volcanic crater measures 64,749 square kilometres, and there is a drop of 914 metres from the crater’s topmost rim to its floor. The richly coloured cinder cones can be viewed from a public observatory operated by the National Park Service. Lahaina was once the great royal capital of Hawai’i, then a whaling village and now a charming laid-back beach town. Lahaina Mission is steeped in the memories and evidence of the whaling days, missionaries, ancient Hawai’ian rulers and the plantation workers who migrated to the island.

Moloka’i (The Friendly Isle)