Hawai’i Tourism hopes a TV series following the life and times of one of the best-known crime writers will provide a boost to visitor numbers.
Travels with Agatha Christie & Sir David Suchet, showing on More4, reveals that the author had a surprising passion for surfing and that Hawai’i was where she and husband Archie attempted to conquer the waves.
In fact, surfing became a lifelong love that she fully embraced on Hawai’i’s shores as is depicted in Episode 4, ‘Hawai’i’.
After two decades playing Belgian Detective Hercule Poirot, Suchet steps into Christie’s real-life footsteps retracing her 1922 world tour, which also took in South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
In her autobiography, Christie wrote: “I learned to become expert – or at any rate, expert from the European point of view – the moment of complete triumph on the day that I kept my balance and came right into shore standing upright on my board!”
In 1922, when Agatha arrived in Honolulu she was presented with a ‘leis’, a floral garland. As is shown in the show, the tradition remains today.
“Surfing is indelibly woven into Hawai’i’s cultural fabric and visitors can enrol for lessons across our islands,” said Darlene Morikawa of the Hawai’i Visitors and Convention Bureau.
“Our most iconic surfing spot, Waikiki beach on O’ahu, is overlooked by palm trees, hotels and the volcanic crater, Diamond Head. Its gentle waves are coveted by beginners.”
Several surf schools dotted along the coastline offer group and one-to-one lessons. The annual Local Motion ‘Surf into Summer’ contest for amateur surfers, held each June at Ala Moana Bowls, sees competitors range between seven to 70 -years old.
Maui is also dotted with stunning beaches and plenty of surf breaks suitable for beginners. Here you could begin gently with stand-up paddle boarding at Ka’anapali Beach, once named America’s best beach.
From December to April, visitors may spot majestic humpback whales offshore or (honu) Hawaiian green sea turtles basking on the sand.
Enormous swells at Honolua Bay and Ho’okipa Beach near Lower Pa’ia attract fearless surfers, who are towed into the soaring breakers by jet-skis.
For something a little calmer, three miles off Maui’s southwestern coast sits crescent-shaped Molokini island, home to a coral reef with over 250 varieties of tropical fish and a favourite for snorkelling and diving.
Back on solid ground, visitors can immerse themselves in other-worldly landscapes. The Haleakala Crater is a geological wonder with rolling hills, wide open plains and multi-hued cinder cones.
Equally, the island of Kaua’i, known as the Garden Isle, has no shortage of untamed, dramatic scenery: step into the prehistoric footsteps of dinosaurs on the island that featured in the movie, Jurassic Park.
Dense rainforests with rich biodiversity, dramatic cliff faces, and cascading waterfalls were the perfect backdrop for imagining a primeval world – especially along the Napili Coast, a 17-mile expanse of jagged, green-draped cliffs on the island’s north shore.
On the south shore, PK’s beach is a popular spot for lessons while Shipwreck Beach (Kaiolohia) lives up to its name with the rusting hulk of a 1940’s tanker resting just offshore on the coral reef.
More natural drama awaits on the rugged Island of Hawai’i (Big Island) where Kilauea, Hawai’i’s most active volcano, has had several recent eruptions with lava from the Halema’uma’u Crater shooting 100ft into the air. The spectacular eruptions are contained within Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park and safely viewed from the Crater Rim Trail.
The island is also known as Hawai’i’s “Island of Adventure”. Budding surfers can enjoy a lesson at Kahalu’u Beach Park, Kona before hitting the waves of this popular spot.
