They say you haven’t been to Hawaii until you’ve been to Waikiki, the bustling, beachfront neighbourhood on the island’s sunny south shore, a place featuring a mix of modern resorts and historic landmarks. In this bustling leisure and shopping paradise, high-end shops and dive bars, upscale restaurants and hole-in-the-wall eateries greet the senses—and you don’t need an uber or taxi to see it or do things there. The famous Fijian hit ‘Ciqomi au’ with its first famous line ‘Au a karikaria na nuku mai Honolulu’ accentuate the wonders of the famous Waikiki beach.
When informed that I was part of the Fijian media delegation to the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture earlier this month, I made it my point to plan a visit to the famous beach in the world which wows more than four million visitors every year with its breathtaking views At the mention of Waikiki Beach, one automatically visualises images of dancing palm trees, Diamond Head, white sand, and the blue Pacific Ocean. Even if you’ve never been there, you’d probably seen Waikiki in movies, television soaps and travel magazines. Diamond Head, a historic landmark that overlooks the beach, was the site of a luakini heiau, an ancient ceremonial structure dedicated to the natives’ war god and used by the ancient Hawaiians for worship and human sacrifice.
In 1968, Diamond Head was declared a national natural landmark. The crater, also called Diamond Head Lookout, was used as a strategic military loo.
