Why Hawaii Knocked Me Off My Feet and Where I would Live

The Hawaiian Islands lie in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and around 3,850KMs (2,390 miles) away from California (the mainland). Over a million people visit the islands every year and we hate to leave. Read on for why Hawaii knocked me off my feet and where I would live.

Ever since I was a kid, I instantly associated Hawaii with the word, paradise! Tropical islands (where it does snow at times!), green luscious forests and grass, and volcanoes. I knew from a young age how amazing it would be to visit one day. What feels like a millions years later, I visited the islands in November 2017. And boy, did I feel depressed when I had to leave Hawaii!

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There is every mixture here you can think of! It has the bustling city, the lazy beach life, the up-country living and the disconnected-from-the-world lifestyle. So take your pick! I explored each of these and decided I’d love to live on….Maui!

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Truth be told, I’d live anywhere on any one of the islands. I started off on Oahu and didn’t want to go to the others, haha. The North Shore was divine and the bus is so accessible. Even for a tourist for just $5 a day you can have unlimited bus transport!

Next on my island hopping adventure was the Big Island (Hawaii). It was ideal to have a hire car here as it is (obviously) the biggest of the Hawaiian Islands. So it was more convenient to have your own transport. The weather is known for  not always being friendly and I experienced that. Not the whole time though, although one day was dreadful. But I kept at it and still had an amazing day. This bad weather day was when I explored the National Volcano Park. This is a must do and make sure you put a whole day aside for it, or at least half.

People generally stay in Kona or Hilo as they are the big towns. I stayed in Hilo and I really enjoyed it.  I was at Reeds Bay and it was gorgeous. Make sure you check out Coconut Island, it’s so cute!

My last island was Maui and boy, did it exceed my expectations. Although I usually don’t build up expectations when I travel as I know I’ll enjoy myself.

I was blown away and in love with Maui! I stayed in the areas; Lahaina and Wailuku.

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I stayed in two laid back, friendly and interactive hostels. They are always hard at first, not knowing who you’ll meet and who you’ll be happy to not see again. But they were great! I highly recommend these locations if you’re going to Maui.

Maui is a small island! You could easily spend a few days here and have gone to some places a several times. It was no bother where on a few occassions I drove Lahaina-Kahului just to stock up from Walmart!

My favourite day came with Road to Hana! I highly recommend (so does everyone) doing this. It is a long day but well worth it. I was picked up about 6am and dropped back around 7pm. I suggest taking a tour or going with other people. Avoid driving it yourself as there are hundreds of turns and one car width parts. Our tour guide said they aren’t fond of tourists driving as they cause accidents and slow down traffic, especially locals. You also miss out on a lot as you must focus very hard on the road and you miss out on the scenery surrounding you.

A day later, I ended up getting another tattoo at Exotic Eye Tattoo with the lovely Rachel. She was so kind, welcoming and we now keep in touch. Rachel is a big traveler too and has another studio in Alaska! Traveling is a beautiful world. Sure it can kick your a** one day but then delivers you a magical moment/day/week  you’ll always want to repeat.

Speaking to Rachel was an eye opener and we exchanged life stories. She is a local gal and gave me plenty of ideas, insights and motivation to make me want to quit Australia and live on the island. A location to pick for me would be somewhere along the shore between Paia and Hana. Preferably Jaws after hearing ‘the goods’ of it from Rachel.

On a blue skied Sunday and with a sad face, I caught a ride to the airport where I boarded a flight back to Honolulu.

A couple of days later I was on a big jet plane delivering me back home to Australia and wondering how I can run back to Hawaii.

If you haven’t had the chance to visit yet, make sure you keep trying to get there! And if you have been, I feel like you will resonate with the motions of the paradise oasis that is the Hawaiian Islands!

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Heading to Honolulu? Make sure you read Visiting the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor for $5USD.