Destinations / Hawaii

The first Polynesians, believed to be from the Marquesas, settled on this island chain some time between 500 and 600 AD. They lived in peace until, in 1000 AD, the Tahitians arrived and introduced their customs, religion and a strict social order.

LOCATION :
The US state of Hawaii lies 1470 miles (2367 km) north of the equator and 2500 miles (4025 km) southwest of the nearest continental land mass, North America.

LANGUAGE :
English, pidgin & Hawaiian, brah

CURRENCY :
US Dollar

ELECTRICITY :
110/120V, 60Hz

GEOGRAPHY :

The six main islands are part of a 128-island archipelago stretching 1523 miles (2452 km) from Kure Atoll in the northwest to the Big Island in the southwest. The main islands include Oahu, and the Neighbor Islands of Maui, Kauai, the Big Island (Hawaii), Molokai and Lanai. A crack in the earths crust which has been spewing lava for 25 nillion years created these islands, which are actually the tips of huge mountains rising out of the sea. The Big Island, Hawaii's southernmost, is still igrowing. Its most active volcano, Kilauea, has pumped out more than two billion cubic yards of lava in the past 12 years. The islands are mostly covered in lush vegitation due to an abundance of precipitation as warm moist air moves over the mountainous terrain and rain falls as the air rises and cools.

HISTORY

The first Polynesians, believed to be from the Marquesas, settled on this island chain some time between 500 and 600 AD. They lived in peace until, in 1000 AD, the Tahitians arrived and introduced their customs, religion and a strict social order. The first known Westerner to visit the islands was British explorer Captain James Cook who arrived in 1778. At first, Cook was heralded as the legendary Lono, god of fertility and peace, but a freakish turn of events led to his fatal stabbing at Kealakekau Bay on the Big Island. A witness to Cook's slaying was a fierce warrior, known as King Kamehameha or Kamehameha the Great, who was to unify the Hawaiian islands and establish the Hawaiian monarchy. Kamehameha engaged in lucrative trade with American sea captains interested in Hawaii's sandalwood forests. In the mid-1800s, descendants of missionaries established Hawaii's sugar industry. The declining native population meant plantation owners soon began to look overseas for a labor supply. Laborers were recruited from China, then Japan, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Korea and finally from the Philippines. As Hawaii's sugar industry grew, the USA became more integral in the affairs of the Hawaiian islands.The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, was the pivotal event which persuaded the USA to enter WW II. After the war, on August 21, 1959, Hawaii became the 50th state of the USA.

HIGHLIGHTS

Some of the events to look out for include: the Merrie Monarch Festival (Hawaii's biggest hula competition, April); Lei Day (lei-making competitions, May); King Kamehameha Day (state holiday with parades, June); Aloha Week (celebration with parades, cultural events, canoe races and Hawaiian music, September); and the Quicksilver/Eddie Aikau Memorial Big Wave Classic (surf event held when wave heights exceed 20ft/6m, December). Pearl Harbor, north-west of Honolulu, where 1.5 million visitors come each year to learn about the surprise Japanese attack on December 7, 1941 Waimea Canyon - dubbed the 'Grand Canyon of the Pacific' - is smaller and a mere 200 million years younger than its Arizona cousin, but otherwise not at all dissimilar. The Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is the most unique park in the US National Parks system. It covers a huge area and encompasses two active volcanoes, a still-steaming sunken crater and geologically awesome landscapes of cinder cones, pumice pillars and hardened rivers of lava.

WEBSITE :
www.gohawaii.com www.visit-hawaii.org

CAPITAL :
Honolulu

TOURIST INFORMATION :
(808) 973-2255

POLITICAL STATUS :
US State

TAXES :
There's a US$6 departure tax on all international flights.

AREA CODE :
808

TIME :
UTC minus 10 hours

DOCUMENTS :

Conditions of entry are the same as those for the USA. Most visitors require a visa. However, Canadians need only proof of citizenship and citizens of the UK, New Zealand, Japan, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland can stay up to 90 days without a visa.

POPULATION :
1.2 Million

AVERAGE WATER TEMPERATURE :

74 degrees F

AVERAGE VISIBILITY :

100 ft

TYPES OF DIVING :

shore, boat, live-aboard, wreck

BEST TIME TO DIVE :

Waters are their calmest at the peak of summer in July and August. This is also when the water is warmer.

WHAT TO WEAR :

A Full 3mm suit would be appropriate for most dives. You can probably go down to a 1.5 in the warmer summer months when the water temperature rises into the low 80s.

DIVES NOT TO MISS :

Hawaii is full of unique diving with everythinf from volcanic caverns to rare marine life. Lehua Rock may give you the opportunity to see an endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal as well as several pinnacles and a sheer wall with a keyhole passageway. Au Au Canyon is a volcanic crater that lies entirely under water. Holes in the steep walls provide shelter for many forms of critters. Hanauma Bay is a protected marine park where one side of a volcanic crater collapsed into the sea forming a lagoon. It provides sheltered water for coral and a dense population of fish including colorful parrotfish to flourish. Molokini Crater's backside is an incredible wall dive rising 200 ft above the sea and plumeting 200 ft below it. There is also a reef to dive on the inside of the crater. "Turtle Towns" can be found at many dive sites on almost every island in the Hawaiian chain. The turtles flock to these areas to be "cleaned" by the Yellow Tang and Stripped and Gold Ring Sturgeonfish that gather to feed on the algae covering the turtles shell. Hawaii also has several lava tubes that form coverns for divers to explore. The Crack, on the big island opens up on shore 40 yards for the waterline and divers can swim out to the open ocean through the formation illuminated by skylights. The Cave (Oahu), Three Caves (Big Island), Five Caves (Maui), The Caverns (Kauai) and The Cathedral (Lanai) all offer volcanic cavern diving and the chance of a turtle or reef while tip shark encounter. If you visit the islands in the Winter months (Jan-Mar) you may hear the songs of Humpback Whales on your dives.