mattyd74




I'm doing 35 things
 

mattyd74's Life List

  1. 1. run the London Marathon
    329 people
  2. 2. dive the Great Barrier Reef
    262 people
  3. 3. swim with Whale sharks
    38 people
  4. 4. hike the Inca Trail to Macchu Picchu
    66 people
  5. 5. see a Great White shark
    20 people
  6. 6. see the Moai on Easter Island
    3 people
  7. 7. see the Pyramids
    1,028 people
  8. 8. ride the Indian Pacific train across Australia
    3 people
  9. 9. go see the polar bears in Churchill, Canada
    9 people
  10. 10. spend the rest of my life with Donna
    1 entry
    1 person
  11. 11. see a blue whale
    1 entry
    57 people
  12. 12. kayak with Orcas
    1 entry
    15 people
  13. 13. travel the entire route 66
    11 people
  14. 14. take the Siberian railway
    19 people
  15. 15. see the bears at Brooks Falls
    2 people
  16. 16. hike Half Dome
    1 entry . 1 cheer
    104 people
  17. 17. watch a space shuttle launch
    991 people
  18. 18. walk on the Great Wall of China
    309 people
  19. 19. build an arcade cabinet
    35 people
  20. 20. three peaks challenge
    1 entry
    8 people
  21. 21. climb Mt. Kilimanjaro
    491 people
  22. 22. hike across the Grand Canyon
    1 entry
    19 people
  23. 23. visit Angel Falls
    17 people
  24. 24. go snowmobiling in Yellowstone National Park
    2 people
  25. 25. learn to play the guitar
    1 cheer
    13,539 people
  26. 26. write a song
    1 cheer
    4,777 people
  27. 27. learn another language
    1 cheer
    4,037 people
  28. 28. camper van across Australia
    3 people
  29. 29. visit the 7 natural wonders of the world
    2 entries
    53 people
  30. 30. have a photograph published
    37 people
  31. 31. write a book
    28,393 people
  32. 32. have a travel article published
    1 person
  33. 33. hike up to the volcano in Vanuatu
    1 cheer
    1 person
  34. 34. Go on a safari
    1 cheer
    822 people
  35. 35. visit all 50 states
    1 entry
    7,640 people
Recent entries
go island hopping in Hawaii (read all 2 entries…)
An incredible 2 weeks! 1 month ago

We finally did our island hopping experience in October 2008 – in my mind I had imagined that we would hop between islands by boat, but at the time, it was only possible to do this between Oahu and Maui on the Hawaii Superferry (the seas round the Hawaiian islands are very rough so only a large ferry would be able to do this). I have since found out that due to environmental protests, the Superferry was shut down in March 2009, so we were actually very lucky to even do 1 leg of the journey by boat! So the other 3 legs we had to do by air.

I’d always seen a trip to Hawaii as being a very expensive thing but, as we found out, it can be done on a shoestring. We got a ridiculously cheap flight from London to Honolulu – £250. The reason for this was the 8 hour layover between each leg of the flight; a small price to pay in our view! On the way out we flew via Seattle, and on the return we went via L.A. We decided to spend the 2 weeks camping on each island. It turns out that it is even more ridiculously cheap to do this; in a State park, it only costs $5 a night to camp in some pretty amazing places (usually on the beach), and if you camp in National Parks it’s free!

We flew into Honolulu on Oahu and drove to Malaekahana Beach Park where we would camp for the next 2 nights – a highly recommended place to stay, just yards from the sea. On the first day on Oahu, we drove up to the North Shore, where the big waves are (although they weren’t so big when we were there) and we queued for a delicious shave ice at Matsumoto’s. We then drove back to the south and spent the evening wandering down Waikiki Beach; an experience although a bit tacky. On the second day we went to Pearl Harbour and the USS Arizona Memorial; the final resting place of 1102 of the 1177 sailors killed on that ship during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941. Very interesting – you actually board a boat out to the memorial which is a floating platform above the sunken Arizona. You can look down and see the gun turrets just below the surface of the water. After that, we hiked to the top of Diamond Head; a dormant volcano overlooking Waikiki. It was incredibly hot, but worth it for the views from the top.

On our third and last day on Oahu we went snorkelling in Hanauma Bay – an incredible experience. Neither of us had done it before, but once we got the hang of it, we absolutely loved it. Hundreds of fish and we also saw quite a few sea turtles too. You’re not allowed to get too close to them but it’s ok to stay still if they come close to you. At some points we were a few feet away watching a turtle feeding on coral.

The next day we rose around 4am to catch the Superferry to Maui.



visit all 50 states
35 down, 15 to go! 21 months ago

visited 35 states (70%)Create your own visited map of The United States or try another DouweOsingaproject



go island hopping in Hawaii (read all 2 entries…)
Yes!! Another one will be crossed off the list! 2 years ago

We’re all booked up to fly out to Oahu in October.

Hoping to definitely go to the Big Island for the volcanoes and Kauai for the Na-Pali coast and Waimea Canyon. Would also like to go to Maui and Molokai, time-permitting.

Can’t wait….!



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