The Aloha Shirt (aka. The Hawaiian Shirt)

It should come as no surprise that the first Hawaiian shirt was made in, well, Hawaii.  In the 1930's a Chinese immigrant, Ellery Chun, started making these shirts by sewing brightly coloured pieces of leftover kimono fabric together.  Mr. Chun labelled his creation "aloha shirts" and sold them to visitors.  The popularity of the shirts gradually took off, and they are truly now a symbol of the islands.  Usually covered in patterns like palm trees, the ocean and sunsets, these shirts are available all across Hawaii and worn by visitors and locals alike.

Now, my trip to Hawaii wouldn't be complete without buying an aloha shirt to take home with me, so I need your help.  Which shirt should I buy?  Here are the choices:

Green shirt

Red shirt

Black shirt

Blue shirt



Humuhumunukunukuapua'a

Try saying that ten times quickly.  Well if you can’t, that’s okay, because I can’t either.  What is a humuhumunukunukuapua’a anyhow?  Well it is the state fish of Hawaii...and today I got to see some up close.

If you look carefully at the water in Hanauma Bay you can see darker patches. 
Those patches are alive!  They are coral reefs.

My fish hunt began in Hanauma Bay, a great place to visit in Oahu if you want to go snorkelling.  With more than half a million fish for you to spot in its reefs, Hanauma Bay is a snorkeler’s paradise.  I spent the day floating around, face down, taking in as many of the amazing sights as I could.

Mask, snorkel and flippers all in place, I am ready for some fish spotting.

As soon as I started floating over the reefs I realized something, “Hey, this is just like being at an aquarium!”  Seeing all the colourful fish swim around made me think back to being in Malaysia and visiting the KLCC Aquaria.  There was one main difference. Today, it was like I was in the tank with them too!

A fish snacking on some of the reef.

With over 500,000 fish to see, I had a lot of work to do if I was going to see them all.  I have a challenge for you.  Take a look at the pictures I took, then use the guide below (I was given it at Snorkel Bob’s today when I was renting my snorkelling gear) and see if you can match any fish to their names.  Can you identify any of the fish I saw today?

Use this guide to label some of the fish I saw today.

 

Do you think this is a Threadfin or a Pyramid Butterfly Fish?



Can you label this fish?



Mr. P Visits Sandy Beach (aka. Break-Neck Beach)

One day Mr. P decided to explore the beaches of Oahu.  "I know," he said to himself, "I will visit Sandy Beach".  Mr. P had read all about Sandy Beach.  He knew it was a favourite beach with locals, and also exciting was the fact that it was a popular beach for bodysurfing. "I can't wait to try that!" he exclaimed.  Bodysurfing, when you glide along a crashing wave, seemed like loads of fun. 


A local teenager bodysurfing at Sandy Beach.

When he arrived at the beach the water was full of young surfers all enjoying the waves.  What Mr. P didn't notice was that there were warnings posted on the beach "Caution: Dangerous Shore Break, When in doubt, stay out"  The signs were warning Mr. P of the dangerous waves that were crashing on the shore, and having never bodysurfed before, he should have stayed out of the water. 

It didn't take long for Mr. P to learn a very valuable lesson about water safety.  As soon as he entered the water one of the powerful waves swung over his head and knocked him over, picking him up and flipping him upside down.  Just as he was trying to stand up another wave hit, again spinning him round and round.  Lucky for him he wasn't alone and his swimming buddy was on hand to make sure he was safe (because you should never go swimming alone).

Water and sand rushing all around Mr. P as he is tossed around by the waves.  Not so much fun.

"Wow," Mr. P gasped.  "Those are some pretty powerful waves."  He then heard the voice of the lifeguard over a megaphone (probably talking directly to him) "If you aren't familiar with the powerful current and shore break on this beach please stay out of the water.  Sandy Beach is well-known for causing neck and back injuries.  Please come and see me if you need directions to a safer beach."  So from that moment on Mr. P read all signs on the beach, and always made sure a lifeguard was on duty before entering the water.  So the lesson of the story boys and girls is: When in doubt, stay out!

 

Having learned his lesson Mr. P enjoyed the show from the safety
of the shore which still made for a fantastic day.



A Kid's Guide to Honolulu

I am excited to be in Hawaii.  There is so much to see and do.  Can't wait to explore the island of Oahu and try out some of your suggestions.