I landed in Hawaii at 5:15am Hawaiian time (which maybe was a few hours later in Vegas? It was hard to tell.) I rented a car for the brief morning excursion - there was a highly regarded snorkel spot just 30 minutes from the airport, and it opened at 6am!
It was just barely starting to get light as I started driving, but the highway was mostly a highway. When I got to the stoplights before Hanauma Bay - and the cyclists, runners, and surfboards on cars - it started to feel like a different place. I stopped at a lookout just before the entrance to take in the city side, and the hill I was on.
I had expected it to be packed (all the reviews said it would be), so when I didn't pay for parking (the arm was just up!) and got a spot right near the entrance, I was a bit confused. But, I got out my snorkel gear (after having my bathing suit on from the plane) and headed instead.
But wait! Wildlife! These marmot things started scrambling out of the trash cans along the lookout over the gorgeous, wildly picturesque bay. I stopped back by the car to get my phone and take some pictures of both the small mongoose and the view.
On my way in, two workers/volunteers explained that the ticket booth wasn't open until 7am - at 6:40am, I could get in for free! I also didn't get the intro video required later in the day - instead, they told me not to step on coral and to use sunscreen that doesn't kill coral. Done and (kinda) done (because I just didn't use sunscreen that morning...)
Saved myself the $1 of parking and the $7.50 entrance fee!
After getting down to the beach, I grabbed my snorkel and mask and hopped in. It was chilly with the sun low and darting between clouds. I saw some fishes, a few small coral, but mostly a lot of large rocks. Maybe I was in the wrong place? I swam back to shore.
The shore was just as cold as the water, so I hopped back in, shivering. Nope, still not much, so I decided that a nice walk along the beach would get my heartrate (and thus my temperature) up a bit.
At the far end of the bay, someone was pointing at something - and it moved! It was a large monk seal, about fifteen feet up the beach, just hanging out for a snooze. Two beachgoers went past it and paid it no mind. Two others came out from further along the water and I pointed it out to them. (Also, they were Australian, so I said I was headed there later that day.) It took quite a few points to get the guy of the pair to see it; a still seal is pretty rock-like.
Shortly thereafter, a volunteer marched over and let us know to remain a good distance away, and he asked us to tell others to stay away as well. I enjoyed being a de facto ranger, but I mostly enjoyed that I'd explain there was a seal to people, and, if it wasn't moving, it looked exactly like a rock and no one would see it.
After spending a good 30 minutes watching this seal do nothing, I felt like maybe a brisk walk down the beach, and I could steel myself for another dunk in the water. So I did. And I saw some other fishes. And a little coral, some fans, some urchins. And got a bit nervous from the waves and how close I was to the rocks we weren't supposed to touch, the lack of a partner, and the chilliness, so back I went to the beach.
After spending a good 30 minutes watching this seal do nothing, I felt like maybe a brisk walk down the beach, and I could steel myself for another dunk in the water. So I did. And I saw some other fishes. And a little coral, some fans, some urchins. And got a bit nervous from the waves and how close I was to the rocks we weren't supposed to touch, the lack of a partner, and the chilliness, so back I went to the beach.
With another bit of sunshine, I was finally understanding the draw of the place, just in time to get back to the airport. I had (wrongly) assumed the showers were inside the bathrooms, and thus I would be able to completely change, but instead, I got a rinse outside, then toweled off and changed (and still was shaking out sand) in the bathrooms.
One march up the steep hill, back to the car, out of the parking lot that they were already turning people away from, and a picture of the same horizon on the way in - this time, with sun!
Back at the Honolulu airport, I walked through the outdoor Japanese garden to get to one of the lounges, to hopefully steal a bite to eat and a more comfortable chair (and I had time, because this was the real international flight, and I didn't want to miss it.)
The garden space was lovely, but the lounge was crowded, so I just got to wander back the way I came. A much less picturesque walk along a concrete walkway where I ate sweet rolls and chocolate.
The flight to Melbourne had extra seats! What luxury! I zoned out and and watched The Post, Book Club, Ready Player One, and Love, Simon. Had a little chicken dinner to fill the cracks between the sweet rolls (and stolen chocolate), but didn't touch the weird lunch (?) sandwich when it came fused in its wrapper.
When the plane landed, I got on the Wi-Fi and got ahold of Mark. He told me what transport company he used, and I bought my ticket, waited with a gaggle of others, then missed my stop. I had mistook “Ibis Sydney Airport” for “Ibis Budget Sydney Airport”, so after twenty minutes of waiting, ten minutes of loading the car, ten minutes to a few different hotels, I realized it and they very kindly circled around for me.
Mark had told me what room number, so I marched up and hopped into the shower... where I found more Hawaiian sand. Sorry customs!
Since it was my birthday, he had candles and a small nip of wine waiting for me. And, also since I hadn't slept for some amount of hours, we fell asleep exhausted by 10pm.
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