Sharks, Inches Away in Hawaii!

Okay, you’ve heard about it and you’ve seen footage on TV and the Internet.  Shark encounters!  You get into a cage walled with Plexiglas, are lowered into the ocean and you hang out with those toothy denizens everybody’s scared to death of.

We do that here in Hawaii.  A lot of people don’t like the idea.  They say it’s not a good idea to attract sharks for any reason, but there’s no denying that the adventure is thrilling.  Watching a shark swoop up towards you from the depths is primal; you aren’t likely to forget the sight.

The most popular encounters are from Oahu’s North Shore, and there are others.  Here’s the drill: You start with a safety briefing.  Masks and snorkels are provided, but you can bring your own if you want.  The boat’s captain will take you three or four miles out.  When you get to the area, you climb into the shark cage, which holds two of you, and the cage is lowered into the water.  The visibility almost always is great.  You can see the sharks coming when they are attracted – not by you, but by fish bait.  Be sure you have an underwater camera with you.

No, you don’t need any diving experience.  Just relax (if you can) and enjoy the thrill.  If you like the idea, your Hawaii-Aloha agent will set an encounter up for you.  Find an agent at hawaii-aloha.com, or call 1-800-8771. 

Add comment June 17th, 2008

Hawaii has its ghosts and their haunts

Perhaps you’ve heard of Madame Pele.  You certainly will have become familiar with her by the time you leave these islands.  Pele, Goddess of Fire, is the most famous of all the legendary Hawaiian gods and goddesses.  Lurking in the craters of the Big Island’s Kilauea Volcano, she’s been sending those fiery rivers of lava down into the ocean, adding new land to the island almost continuously for the last quarter of a century.  Stories – from perfectly sober and reasonable people – are told about picking up an old woman dressed all in white and accompanied by a little dog along roads in Kilauea National Park; then, when checking the rear-view mirror, the drivers find their back seats to be empty.  Visitors have discovered Pele’s face in photographs of eruptions when they get back home, and swear the image was not there originally.  Those of us who live in the islands speak very respectfully of the goddess.

These islands, Oahu in particular, have become well known around the world to people who are interested in supernatural phenomenon.  As Oahu has grown and developed in since the 1940’s, sacred grounds have been desecrated, buildings have gone up over ancient burial grounds, and roadways have been laid out through rainforests that had been untouched since the beginning of time and through caves of buried and beloved ancestors. 

There now are tours on Oahu of some of the most haunted places.  The guides know how to tell spooky stories, and they know their stuff.  They claim all the stories they tell are true, and will assure you that all the sites they take you to are real based on historical and ancestral information and eyewitness accounts.  Some sites may simply be reputed hotspots where ghosts have made homes and paranormal activity is unexplained.  Both walking and driving tours are offered.  The tour operators caution that, while kids are welcome, some of the stories and the intensity with which they’re told might not be suitable for some young children.  If you’re interested in ghosts or paranormal phenomena, Hawaii-Aloha Travel will set up a tour for you while you’re here.  Call us at 1-800-843-8771, or go to the home page Hawaii-aloha.com  and select an agent.

Add comment June 17th, 2008