Hanauma Bay

A question many people asked before I left (ok, several people...definitely at least two) was which place was I most looking forward to visiting. The answer I was tempted to give was Honolulu, but didn't, as I figured it was also the place that had the most chance of letting me down. After all, it's an island with some beaches, how nice can it be?

However the omens were good as we docked at around 7am, with the sun rising over a mountain perched on the edge of the ocean right next to downtown Honolulu. This, I was about to discover, was Diamond Head, a volcanic crater on the south east corner of Oahu island. A tunnel takes vehicles into the middle of the dormant crater which was formerly a U.S. military facility and is now a nature reserve, a self-contained park where birds and butterflies abound. The trek to the rim gives great views over the town below, and it's something I wish we could have done earlier as the sun is already beating down.

All nice enough, but the real action began as we took the coast road north-east. What unfolds is breathtaking; ridiculous picture postcard views of the kind where the colours have been crudely enhanced. First up was the inlet where Burt Lancaster and Katherine Hepburn frolicked in, 'From Here to Eternity'. The location people did well, it's a romantic nook where the tide surges in, and where scuba people set up shop these days to explore the reef beyond. However it's as nothing for what lies a couple of miles further north.

Formed when the seaward wall of a crater collapsed through the attrition of the tides, Hanauma Bay is the beach you would create if you were God for the day. The remaining horseshoe of the crater is covered in thick, tropical fronds and the walls fall steeply down to the palm-lined white beach. The shore has virtually no waves, protected as it is by a coral reef which means the waves break about one hundred feet out. This leaves a quasi-lagoon, turquiose in colour and teeming with fish who are more than used to humans. Before you can set foot on the beach you have to watch a short film (don't touch this, don't touch that, keep away from this etc) which seems to have the desired effect; the beach is clean and the clientele respectful.

Continuing northward we reach the longest unbroken stretch of beach on the island, and its worth the drive. Did I say Hanauma Bay was perfect? Well then I either lied or this one somehow succeeds in being more than perfect. A narrow, two mile belt of unbroken white sand and clear waters that beg to be swam in. Jagged mountain tops frame the beach from behind and and Rabbit Island, a big scoop of volcanic rock, breaks up the horizon.Driving inland and upward the main highway somehow winds through the mountains, allowing you to stop off at various lookouts over downtown Honolulu, which is where we return to later in the day. The city is predictably commercialised without being tacky, and a walk down the main drag shows that Cartier, Gucci et al are in evidence.

We've been granted an extended stay in Honolulu by way of recompense for the immigration fiasco in San Francisco, and as the sun begins to set it seems like the right time for a farewell drink. The Alamoana Surfrider was one of the original hotels in Honolulu. Colonial in style, and built on the edge of Waikiki, it has a capacious courtyard bar that spills right onto the beach. It's busy and a band is playing what, to my ears, sound like authentic local tunes which those in the know sing along to. I'd be happy with a beer but the situation calls for stupidly overdressed cocktails, and several drinks later we sway out of the bar, not entirely in time with the band.

Honolulu, and the island of Oahu as a whole, completely charmed me. It's definitely a place I would return to for an extended stay. The main obstacle is that it's so bleedin' far away - a five hour flight from San Francisco, although cost is less of an issue as Hawaiian Air will take you there for about £100. From what I've seen, it's worth the hassle.

In other news the onboard bucket list has reared it's ugly head. Apparently a world voyage, known for attracting a certain demographic, usually has a few that join the one-way excursion to neverland. Last night at a neighbouring table a woman collapsed. No laughing matter at all, minutes passed, the doctor arrived, ashen faces all round. Five minutes later she had recovered sufficiently to finish the remainder of her calves liver with Madeira reduction, and today I saw her munching a bagel at breakfast with no obvious ill effects. I bet she could have fought off Hitler on her own.

It's three days now until Christmas Island, population five thousand, number of piers nil. Weather permitting we will anchor offshore and take the tenders in for an uninvited nose around other people's lives. Noone, travel reps included, seem to know quite what to expect.