Maholo Hawaii!

Our last full day in Hawaii was an absolute knockout.

We booked a five-hour snorkelling tour as the grand finale of our trip.

There were lots of fancy Champagne catamaran tours available, but we went with Redline Rafting, which skips the flashy stuff to focus on the adventure.

Redline sticks to 14 passengers per trip – some boats take up to 140 people – and zips around to spots those boats are too big to visit.

We went on the five-hour Molokini & South Maui Trip. Molokini is one of only three volcanic calderas in the world, located in the ‘Alalākeiki Channel off Maui’s southwestern coast.

It was formed more than 250,00 years ago during a volcanic explosion and is home to more than 250 marine species, with incredible water clarity.

We also snorkelled at the less-visited Backwall of Molokini and another pristine coral location before heading to a spot the Captain dubbed ‘Turtle Mansion’ to swim with Hawaiian green sea turtles.

Swimming with the turtles was incredible. At one point I was floating within a metre or two of at least four of these giant, serene creatures.

I cried many joyful tears … which got a little messy in a snorkelling mask!

‘Turtle Mansion’ is a cleaning station for the turtles and it was fascinating to watch surgeonfish swarm around cleaning their shells.

We arrived back at our hotel room with just enough time for a quick shower before checking out and heading to the airport for our flight back to Honolulu.

Our last hotel for the trip, the Best Western, was a bit of a switch from the fancy Grand Wailea, but very close to a tiki bar called La Mariana Sailing Club.

The tiki bar’s location initially freaked me out – down deserted streets in the middle of a dusty industrial area – but the venue itself was absolutely awesome. We totally fell in love with it and are keen to return to Honolulu just so we can go there again.

Founded in 1955 by Annette La Mariana Nahinu and her husband, it’s one of the last remaining original tiki bars in Oahu and feels like you’ve taken a step back in time to 1950’s Hawaii.

The venue is decorated with glass balls, puffer fish lights, fishing nets, huge shell-covered lamps, tiki statues and rattan chairs with koa wood tables. I was completely dazzled.

The menu prices are also like a step back in time. We tried the bar’s famous Mai Tais for $US11 and coconut shrimp for $US14, cheaper than Aussie prices! The cocktails weren’t just cheap they were strong! I’m a cocktail veteran and two almost had me almost under the table!

Fortunately it was just a quick Uber ride back to our hotel for a fitful night’s sleep before flying home.

In spite of the noisy hotel, our last full day in Hawaii was one of our favorites, up there with spending DD’s birthday at Mama’s Fish House and exploring the Road to Hana.

Back in the real world, I am knackered after arriving at Sydney Airport last night and I’m not looking forward to heading into the office today.

But it feels like we’ve been away a million years – even though it’s only been just over a week – which is a great sign of a good holiday.

Song of the day: Elvis Presley “Blue Hawai’i”