HAPPINESS ISLE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22100, 4 May 1935, Page 1 (Supplement)

HAPPINESS ISLE

CHARMS OF HONOLULU BY AB INITIO If you can picture an island in the Pacific's most favourable latitudes, endowed with all the blessings that Nature can bestow in her generous moods, surrounded by a gentle ocean of warm blue waters matching the sky's unchanging colour, and remote from the nearest shores by two thousand miles, you have an outline of the Isle of Oahu on which Honolulu dreams away its peaceful existence. If you are British, you may feel a twinge of disappointment that Captain Cook, when first he set eyes on this uncommon' paradise, did not carry his action further and hoist the British flag. It would at least have saved the English visitor from a rigorous customs examination and perhaps from the obligation to pay head-tax for a stay 011 what is now American territory. But the absence of our Sovereign's emblem does not detract from the warmth of Honolulu's welcome to the foreigner. It is so arranged that you always seeni to arrive there on a fine morning. As the vessel swings quietly through a gap in the reef to the harbour, there are fifty brown bodies keeping pace in tho water, eager for a dive for silver. Scarcely a coin is missed, and competition for this cash trade is keen enough to attract many races besides the Hawaiian. Constant sun and salt-water develop a coat of waterproof tan on each back, off which the water slips like quicksilver when arm or shoulder is raised. At the wharf, and even before you have stepped on land, you wonder what honoured visitor on board has caused this special greeting. A native band, spick and span in white uniforms, with gleaming instruments, awaits tho vessel. A Hawaiian melody floats across, and it tells of days and nights that will be carefree as long as you stay in Honolulu. Crowds of smiling people, whites and natives, call cheerfully to the boat. Ihe ship's band responds to the music from the shore. People whistle and sing the refrain, unable to keep joy from their tone. And then you realise that behind this welcome is a personal greeting: there is no distinguished visitor on board; "Honolulu only wishes you to be happy with everyone else. The Spiiit of the Place Fortified with a first impression that is altogether conducive to the pursuit of happiness, one enters immediately into the spirit of the island. There is a group of Hawaiians not far from the wharf with sweet-smelling leis for sale. It is natural to present some to your friend, and receive several as a gift, because the wearing of these fresh chains of flowers signifies your definite association with Honolulu before the eyes of its delighted inhabitants. All you see and do is transformed by the scent into a vivid memory that instantly returns whenever the exotio perfume is smelt again. Prominent among tho attractions of the island is the enticing ocean, protected from invading sharks by a reef encircling the shores at a distance of a-quarter of a mile. Normally the temperature of the air and the water vary by only a few degrees, making it an easy matter to enjoy bathing for three and four hours at'a stretch. The coral bottom is unusually hard on the feet, and after beginners have stubbed toes and knees they find it easier to weallight shoes when taking part in the sport of surfing. As a precaution against the dangers of coral cuts, which are sometimes followed by complications when a segment of coral becomes embedded in the. skin and starts to grow, there is a first-aid station on the beach, where you can get treated with an antiseptic lotion. Surfing has fascinations which grow in proportion to the experience you obtain on the heavy and at first very cumbersome surf-boards. It is most fatiguing to paddle yourself along, resting lengthways on the board and using your arms for propulsion. After the first hundred yards you feel that another stroke is impossible. Until the muscles becomo strengthened, the assistance of a "beach-boy" is necessary. After a week or so, however, it is not difficult to paddlo out to meet the large rollers Thrills and Pleasures The achievement of standing on a surf-board and riding swiftly before a wave for several hundred yards is regarded with awe by many who have not actually experienced this sport. Strangely enough, it is easier to stand up on the board than to continue in a prone position once you have "caught the wave" —and far less dangerous, too. An appreciable number of surfers have been injured through believing that it is better to get accustomed to riding the waves by lying on the board. What happens is that your weight on the front of tho board pushes its nose under water once you gain speed, and at the precise moment that you bob up again the board swings over from behind and crashes on your head! One of these warnings is enough, if you happen to survive, and thereafter you find it is better to stand up, for if things go wrong ycu are thrown clear. The nights are still and quiet, with' moonlight often gleaming in a silver channel on the water. There is the distant harmony of guitars and the perfectly-blended voices of the natives; a tropical atmosphere laden with rich scents banishes thoughts of the morrow; you relax into an easy frame of mind. The Hawaiian dances, expressed by graceful movements of tho hands of attractive, dusky maidens are complete tales of important events in the island's history or of tho victories of bold warriors. The Future Centrally situated in a great ocean, this island is sometimes called the "gem of the Pacific." From a tourist point of view it is important, but as a naval, military and air force base it is more so. In time Honolulu will become the centre of the trans-Pacific air services, and will probably be the key-point in the control and protection of *the North Pacific. It is small wonder, therefore, that the United States Government has concentrated on providing such a 1.-u-ge permanent defence force. The departure from this happy isle fills you with feelings of regret that you may not have experienced before on a slioi-t visit. People crowd up the gangway with numerous leis round their necks; there is the same band to farewell you with poignant Hawaiian music that brings on a sense of homesickness; overhead a dark cloud breaks on the hillside and sheds some "liquid 6unshine"; and eager brown faces peer up from the water in the hopes of chasing a final coin. Tho strains of the rather sad little song "Aloha Oe" follow the ship across the harbour: Farewell to thee. Thou charming on© who dwells among the bowers, One fond embrace. Before I now depart, Until we meet again. You throw the leis overboard > before leaving port and hope that it will signify "we gieet again."