Last week I showed you some snaps from my recent trip to Maui in Hawaii.
I know, it was hard to digest, endless sandy beaches and skies so blue. But I thought it would be worth sharing, in case you are planning a trip to Hawaii or know someone that is.
Just to recap, we jetsetted off for two weeks in Hawaii last month, dividing our time between:
- Kaanapali on Maui Island for 5 nights (read that post here)
- Haleiwa, The North Shore Oahu for 3 nights- Waikiki, Oahu for 5 nights
Today I am sharing with you some of my highlights, observations and experiences of The North Shore on Hawaii's Oahu island.
There is alot to see, do and explore!
EAT
We found lots of great food options in Haleiwa and the surrounds. We dined and can recommend...
Kua Aina Sandwich Shop - great handmade hamburgers and open grill sandwiches.
Joes Seafood & Grill - fresh seafood on the marina with a great sunset view.
Haliewa Bakery - amazing burgers, sandwiches, acai bowls, ice cream sandwiches and bakery treats. I am still dreaming about the vege burger with the pesto bun I had there. Yum! It is family owned and run and they are genuine lovely people, so happy to hear where you are from and share some secret spots to visit!
Banzai Sushi Bar - fresh and quick service, this was honestly the best sushi I have ever had. You can either dine at tables or sit traditionally on the floor.
Gelato Cafe - coffee, smoothies, acai bowls, gelati and waffles. All fresh and the business is family run. Perfect way to finish a hot day!
The Shrimp truck at Sunset Beach - we watched the sunset late one evening and then drove along the coast road, spotting a shrimp truck with cute seating and a bar. We stopped for dinner and had fresh garlic prawns, rice and a salad for about $10. The best bit was watching the full moon rise over the hills as we ate, with the moon light dancing across the ocean. It was a cheap and memorable meal!
Kua Aina Sandwich shop cheeseburgers
Haleiwa bakery - the amazing vege burger!
Gelati from Gelato Cafe
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We stayed in Haleiwa, a cute little tourist town at the beginning of the North Shore, It was so laidback - barefoot and bikins was the daily attire and the locals were super friendly. Tourists call is 'Old School Hawaii' because of its charm and chilled out vibes. Its common to see the locals driving their jeeps loaded with surfboards, food trucks on the side of the road and people stopping to watch the ocean and the big waves rolling in.
We chose to stay in Haleiwa as it had a cute village atmosphere, lots of food options (I am such a foodie!), turtles right on the beachfront and lots of beaches to explore.
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WHAT TO DO
There are some quaint and very cute shops in Haleiwa, whether you are looking for shells, homewares, surf shops, clothing, swimwear or footwear - it has it all. I had to restrain from making too many purchases as the Aussie dollar was so poor when we went, the currency conversion was a killer! I wanted to bring home shell chandeliers, nearly every palm tree cushion I saw and coastal driftwood finds. I will be back once the Aussie dollar improves!!
Downtown Haleiwa
Sunset beach
We loved exploring the beaches in our canary yellow convertible. It was so much fun, cruising along with the roof off in the summer heat. The photos below are Sunset Beach, which was our favourite. White sand, crystal clear ocean and hardly anybody there. We set up the beach umbrella and lazed here for the morning before heading further along to check out Turtle Bay.
Sunset beach
Sunset beach - watching the swell pick up out on the reefs
Waimea Bay - palm trees galore!
We visited Hawaii in their last days of Summer, so the ocean was quite flat, not like Winter when the big swell rolls in. On our last day though, the swell uncharacteristically picked up and big waves started rolling in. As the tide changed, so did the beach and the lifeguards closed the beaches. You will see a photo below of Waimea Bay, in Summer its a beautiful bay safe for snorkelling. However when we were there, the tide changed and the swell picked up, causing the waves to surge right on the shallow shore creating massive dumpers and for the waves to roll in 30+meters up the beach taking people and anything in its path with it. We saw shoes, camera, towels and people rolling around inshore as the wave caught them off guard and unexpectedly. In the photo the water looks calm, although surging, however in real life the waves standing up were huge and frightening! It showed us how quickly the ocean can change and how unexpected it can be.
Nothing beats a Hawaii sunset!
Living on the east coast of Australia, the sun rises over the ocean but we never get to see it setting over the ocean. We would take beach chairs, nibbles and drinks to the beach and watch the sun go down each evening.
Can you think of anything better?!
Sunsets on Sunset Beach
Th North Shore is a laidback coastal place, we didn't have any plans and based our days around the oceans tide. We wanted to snorkel with the turtles at any opportunity we could, so our day would revolve around swimming in the ocean out the front of our condo around mid tide. We found that the turtles were feeding on the moss and growth on the rocks in shore and it was best to swim at a mid tide so that we could easily float over the rocks and turtle spot. I didn't expect to see so many turtles, it was truly incredible! They would pop their little heads up for a breath of air and with a little flap of their flippers would dive down to the rocky shallows. They are quite curious too, happily swimming past you and taking it all in!
The main beach at Haleiwa is safe and great for snorkelling, or try Turtle Bay a little further north. Turtle Bay is a great spot if you are looking for a calm and safe swimming spot, especially if you have little ones. You drive into the resort and park in the public car park, then walk along the footpath to the public beach area.
Be sure to wander the beach front of Haleiwa mid afternoon, we spotted three large turtles within thirty meters of beach one day. Amazing if you want to see them on land, if snorkelling isn't your thing.
Did you visit the famous North Shore and see the turtles?
Isn't it such a special spot!
If you are an island lover, I know you will adore Hawaii.
As always, I encourage you to jump on in to the comments and share or ask away – if there’s anything I can help with, just ask, I would be happy to help if you are planning a Hawaii trip!
And before I go, don’t forget to share this post around the webs using the buttons below. Maybe there is someone you know heading to Hawaii?
Stay posted as I will be sharing my final days in Waikiki with you all very soon!
Linking up with My Brown Paper Packages Wanderlust.
Aloha island lovers x
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Hawaii looks gorgeous Ashlea. Such a treat to see a turtle up close and on the sand too! :-)
ReplyDeleteI feel very blessed Lyndall, it was an unforgettable experience!
DeleteOh ok ok, it's gorgeous! :) I think if or when I go I am going to have to get a yellow convertible!
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking up for #wednesdaywanderlust
The yellow convertible was such a fluke - we had hired the most budget Barina sized car and were able to upgrade for only $15 a day as they had so many convertibles in stock. It was truly so fun, loved every minute of it x
DeleteWow! This looks fantastic. I missed out on going to the North Shore because the weather was disgusting while I was there but it looks for brilliant!
ReplyDeleteThree days on the north shore was enough for us, it is really quite small. Glad to say we have been though, it was very beautiful! We always seem to get bad weather when we holiday and we were relatively lucky with this trip - there was a hurricane forming off the coast which made a few days on Maui a little iffy but fined up when we were at Oahú luckily :) x
DeleteOh far out your gorgeous pics are doing NOTHING to help ease my wanderlust. Hawaii is officially at the TOP of my list of I have to get my ass there asap places xx
ReplyDeleteMake it the top of your waderlust list (as soon as the Aussie dollar improves!) it is beautiful and I think your boys would love it! Sun, beach, palm trees, cocktails...whats not to love?!
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