A Relaxing Endeavour

Sun Herald

Sunday March 9, 2008

Ian McKinnon

Cruising the islands of Hawaii gives Ian McKinnon and family the opportunity to explore an important Australian landmark.

The spot where Captain James Cook was killed is marked by a monument in a

clearing in a gorgeous little bay on Hawaii's rugged Kona Coast, tucked away from where the ocean swell explodes through lava tubes and sea caves.

It's a fitting setting for the greatest British navigator the world has known.

A native village stood here on the blue waters of Kealakekua Bay, but otherwise it is much as Cook would have seen it when he arrived aboard HMS Resolution 230 years ago: calm waters sheltered from the open sea by a cliff to the south and trees to the north.

It's pretty under the water, too. On this hot summer day the bay is occupied by about 150 Americans and three Australians. The Americans, who wouldn't know Captain James Cook from captain Ricky Ponting, are here to snorkel the coral reef, reputedly the best in the Hawaiian Islands.

But for my wife, daughter and me, the chance to see Captain Cook's Monument is not to be missed. That it takes some getting to only heightens the anticipation: a 20-minute bus ride from Kona to Honaunau Bay on the island of Hawaii to link up with a snorkel tour company and then 25 minutes in an open skiff.

The skiff ride is sometimes wet and often bumpy, but offers a splendid view of the high mountain range that hugs the island's coast.

The reef, about 300 metres long, has good coral and many species of tropical fish, a spectacular array of colour, although it's surprisingly lacking in large fish.

The reef extends only a short way from shore before the water gets very deep, so Cook could easily have anchored by the shore. However, he chose to go in by longboat, perhaps influenced by the way the Endeavour had run aground on the Great Barrier Reef in 1770, not long after he first sailed into Sydney. And that decision ended up costing him his life.

Cook was a great man and a decent man: he circumnavigated the globe 3 1/2 times, producing charts that would serve ships for more than 200 years until the computer age led to global positioning systems; and he cared for his crew, as exemplified by being the first captain to stop scurvy, caused by a lack of vitamin C, by insisting that his men eat fresh fruit every day.

But he lacked diplomacy.

When Cook first arrived in December 1778 the natives thought he was a god and deferred to him during his two-month stay. Cook left in February 1779 but a storm forced him to return and things soured after that.

Versions vary about why he died but the Hawaiians say there was a dispute over missing nails in a longboat. The chief apparently thought the nails would look very nice in his kayak.

Upon hearing this development, Cook took eight men and went ashore by longboat to sort out the heathens, intending to snatch the king until the nails were returned - a tactic that had worked for him in Tahiti over a similar dispute.

But even a god can't kidnap the king. By the time Cook realised his mistake he was overwhelmingly outnumbered and was speared in the back as he turned to escape. Four of his men were killed and two wounded in the attack.

Had Cook known that the Hawaiian language did not have a word for stealing or even ownership, that they shared every possession, his approach might have been different.

The land around the monument is still considered sacred, so we were asked not to climb out of the water. But that doesn't stop dozens of others.

I swim up to a middle-aged man sitting on the steps, point to the monument and ask if he knew anything about it or James Cook. He rubs the flipper he's holding against his ear and says: "Did he play for the Dodgers? Someone was saying they thought that a sports star drowned here."

That'll do me. Time to get back to the ship, in this case it is P&O's Regal Princess, which relocated full-time to Sydney as Pacific Dawn after this cruise.

That's the thing about cruising: you'll experience amazing locations and adventures but the big event is always the ship, a floating resort with its great food, service, entertainment and untold ways to relax and have fun.

That night it was a four-course dinner, followed by a stage show and a tour of the night spots as the ship made its way to Hilo on the other side of the Big Island, so-called because it's larger than all the other Hawaiian Islands combined.

Early that morning we had arrived at Kona, going ashore at our leisure but still having a couple of hours to explore before snorkelling.

We are drawn to Kona's highest structure, a white steeple that turns out to be Hawaii's oldest church, Mokuakaua, built in 1837. Surrounding it is a delightful village of small clothing and craft shops, historical buildings and cafes serving Kona coffee, for which the area is renowned.

It's laid back and a world away from the bustling commercialism of Honolulu.

In Hilo, we opt to cycle around part of the crater of Haleakala, an active volcano 3055 metres above sea level - so high that it rains every day. In fact, you can ski on it sometimes. No kidding. Mauna Kea - Hawaiian for "white mountain" towers another 1000 metres in the background and gets snow from December to March. But it is wilderness skiing and for the experts. No lifts or grooming here.

Today our cycle ride takes in waterfalls, valleys and rainforests with only a couple of slight inclines, all the elevation having been taken care of on the ride up in the cycle company's bus.

We are even lucky enough to encounter a Hawaiian ceremony honouring the volcanic gods.

The Hawaiians are animated, their colourful traditional dress standing out against a background of steam, volcanic ash and overcast gloom.

Three ships have seasons in the Hawaiian Islands this year - Diamond, Golden and Tahitian.

The 116,000-tonne superliner Diamond Princess will undertake 15-night, round-trip cruises from Los Angeles, taking in five Hawaiian ports. Tahitian Princess offers the most space and staff per passenger in the Princess fleet. She will do two cruises between Hawaii and Tahiti - in May and September.

The 109,000-tonne Golden Princess will do the 14-night cruises between Los Angeles and Hawaii from October until April, 2009. These cruises offer a full day in Hilo, still enough time to visit Captain Cook's monument.

Cruising is the only sensible way to take in a lot of Hawaii in a short time: we have done five ports in as many days. We even had time to take in a fabulous sunset. All the stops are full days because the ports are so close together.

Try doing it by air and you'll spend too many hours in airports because there are connecting flights for destinations other than Honolulu or Maui.

© 2008 Sun Herald

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