Honolulu, Hawaii 16.6.-26.6.2011, Days 8 and 9

Our last big thing in Hawaii was a Lost locations tour. I've loved Lost ever since the beginning and even considered myself a hardcore fan at some point. I've had a crush on way too many cast members, too, and taking part in an experience like this was a must for me. Kos Tours are the best option to book with - we went for their eight-hour tour that costs $141 per person. They come and pick you up at your hotel and will take you back at the end of the tour as well, which is very practical. The hummer fits six people in addition to the driver so it's a small bunch you travel with. Our driver was very familiar with everything that ever happened on the show so he was talking all the time and I was very pleased with his knowledge of the show - he knew just as much as me :D.

You get to visit some brilliant locations on this tour! First of all, we were off to Manoa Falls and Paradise Park for The Orchid Station, Kate and Sawyer's cages from season 3 and The Temple. It was too good to be true to be able to see these places with your own eyes! It made the show seem more real, which is sort of the opposite of what you expect to happen when you're taken to see places where something fictional was shot. Just see for yourself!

 

Amazing, right? I definitely think so anyway!  Next up was Waikane Pier, which is where Michael and Walt leave the island and Kate, Jack and Sawyer are taken prisoner by The Others at the end of season 2.

The pier is in the distance. You can also see Chinaman's Hat there.

An attempt at a close-up.

Our next stop wasn't Lost-related but since it was there, our driver figured we might just as well check it out. So, we went to The Macadamia Nut Farm Outlet to taste some of their coffee and nuts. A lovely place indeed!

 

Our next stop was among the ones I'd been looking forward to the most, namely Fumi's Shrimp Van in Kahuku, which is where Sawyer shoots the man he thinks is the original Sawyer. We actually had lunch there and I loved it! Fresh shrimp caught that morning! 

My Fried Coconut Shrimp.

After Fumi's, it was time to head towards Waimea Valley and Waimea Falls, which is the place where they filmed parts of my favourite Lost episode ever, Whatever The Case May Be. It's where Kate and Sawyer swim and jump into the water from the rocks only to find there are dead passengers in the bottom of the pond as well as the case Kate so desperately wants for herself. The hike to the Falls took around 30 minutes and it was an absolutely beautiful hike with stunningly gorgeous nature all around you.

Waimea Falls!

This is the place where Boone dies during season 1.

Waimea Valley is an absolute must for anyone who goes to Oahu so I highly recommend it even if you're not a Lost fan - it's definitely one of the most beautiful natural sites I've ever seen anywhere. So, make sure to go there if you ever go to Oahu!

Next up was Papailoa (Police) Beach, which is where the Survivors' Camp was located in the show. This was another place where it was extremely cool to be in person as you get a shot of this beach at the beginning of countless episodes. It felt surreal to be there as you simply recognise it so well from the show! This beach was also nice in that there were lots and lots of sea turtles to be seen in the shallow water. Made up for us not spotting any at Hanauma Bay!

We also visited Mokuleia (Army) Beach AKA Plane Crash Beach for the Lost fans amongst us. Another cool place to find yourself at!

That tree is where Jack sees his father in the season 1 episode White Rabbit.

Whoah, now, when I'm writing this update, I can see that we really did visit a crazy number of locations! There are still a few spots left to mention - next up was Camp Erdman, which was used as The Others Camp/Dharmaville. They still have the barracks there so it feels like you're in the middle of all sorts of action!

 

Just a few random spots left now:

Dillingham Ranch where they shot the scene where Sawyer shoots a polar bear. It's also where Claire is last seen as normal...

Eric's Service Station, which is where Sawyer sells fake jewellery.

The radio tower, in Wailua.

Our final stop was not related to Lost - before heading back to Honolulu and Waikiki, we went to Dole Pineapple Plantation for some yummy pineapple ice cream :).

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It was definitely one of my favourite days on the trip, and we saw so much of Oahu, too! I highly recommend tours like this! We ended the day by having another sushi feast in our room :).

On our last full day in Hawaii, we didn't do anything much. I felt sad about having to leave even though I was ready to go home, too, because three weeks of constantly doing something gets a bit exhausting. We got our friends and family stuff to bring back with us, had a Burger King meal AND pizza, and just walked around in Waikiki taking beautiful pictures such as these:

 

On Day 10 of our Hawaiian leg of the trip, it was time to go home. What a crazy trip back! Woke up in Waikiki at 9 am, a nine-hour flight to Chicago at 4 pm, in Chicago at 5:10 am (there's a 5-hour time difference between Hawaii and Chicago), over 10 hours of waiting for our connecting flight, then our plane was broken and we had to wait 45 mins for a new one, we boarded it and then there was something wrong with it, too, TWICE, and we had to sit on the plane for three hours while they were trying to fix the problem. We finally took off at 6:15 pm and arrived in Helsinki at 11:35 am (there's an 8-hour time difference between Chicago and Helsinki). I panicked the whole time as I'm afraid of flying as it is, not to mention if I know there was something wrong with the plane to begin with. I was so relieved when we'd landed! 

It was one of the best trips ever! Not much else to add :).