ALOHA OAHU!

Gareth Watkins is the Senior Scheduler for Travel Channel, overseeing every day's broadcast. When not working for Travel Channel, he takes every given opportunity to visit the countries he spends his working hours showing to all our viewers. Working at Travel Channel provides him with a list of destinations to visit that is growing faster than he can tick them off.

There are very few holiday destinations left that inspire awe in your friends when you tell them where you're visiting, places that still conjure cinematic and romantic images just with the sound of their name. In the modern world where holidays of all types are offered, from backpacking to beach bumming, the luxury holiday is still something we all aspire to. And it was with this thought swimming around my mind that I headed off to the most remote luxury holiday destination on earth: Hawaii.

Born of the Pacific Ocean. Fired, literally, from the belly of the planet. The volcanic archipelago of Hawaii consists of over 120 islands, with only eight actually inhabited. The vast majority of Hawaii's population, native and tourist, is on Oahu where the legendary Waikiki beach skirts the edges of Honolulu. It's also where Hawaii's main international airport is located and where I began my exploration of the Aloha State.

A couple of miles east of Honolulu, the twin dead volcanoes of Diamond Head and Koko Head stand on guard around a long shallow bay. At the feet of Diamond Head is Honolulu's Beverly Hills; the expensive residential area of Kahala. It is on the outskirts of this opulent district that the Kahala Mandarin Oriental is located. The Kahala is an unashamedly exclusive hotel that attracts privacy-seeking celebrities from Hollywood. This was where I was going to be enjoying the luxury lifestyle for the next week.

The Kahala Mandarin Oriental doesn't set a foot wrong when it comes to providing guests with the lifestyle they expect. There are four top quality restaurants, two well stocked and well serviced bars, perfectly appointed rooms with views of either the waters of the Pacific Ocean or the dominating volcanic mountain that overlooks Honolulu. The beach is as close as you can get in the States to private, and to cap it all, the hotel has its own dolphin lagoon. No, seriously. So from the grand entrance to the golden beach at the rear, the Kahala MO is the epitome of a luxury hotel.

We rented a Jeep Wrangler, took the top down and headed out. Circuiting the island is an easy task. There's little that's confusing, which means both passenger and driver can enjoy the ever-changing environment. Leaving Honolulu behind reveals the postcard images of Hawaii that we have all seen. There are the small towns that slot themselves into the irregular landscape sculpted by millennia of volcanic activity and tropical weather. You'll find private oases with sandy shores and walls built of craters. Whereas on Waikiki the focus is Honolulu, as you continue your tour round Oahu you begin to discover Hawaii.

Hawaii is sometimes referred to as the "endangered species capital of the world", which would explain why I didn't recognise most of the creatures we saw. A brief stopover during our tour of the island found us on the shorefront looking out towards an island known locally as the Chinaman's Hat. Sat at a picnic table we were surrounded by a flock of skinny white birds with brilliant shocks of red plumage striped across their skulls. I still have no idea what they were but I have an alarming number of photos of them. Probably their striking beauty impressed me. The photos represent what risks being lost from Hawaii and, in many cases, from the world.

We reached the north shore in the early evening. There were still a few dedicated surfers eking out the benefits of the final ripples on the waves. Unfortunately, watching surfing from the beachfront is not like it is in the movies. In movies, the surfer glides over the mercury water before rushing past your ears. From where we were standing they looked like shrimp wrapped in rubber bouncing over ever decreasing blue bumps.

The setting however, was too perfect to waste, so we headed over to a restaurant that had been recommended to us. Jameson's is an understated seafood eatery overlooking Waialua Bay. From our table on the front deck we enjoyed people and cars promenading while the sun began its evening light show. As it dropped behind the Ko'olau Range a spectrum of blues and oranges spilled down the sky silhouetting the palms that lined the horizon. With great food, the lapping waves, and the evening aroma gently blowing in over the arid fields, it's not difficult to understand why people are prepared to drive across Oahu to escape the tourist-littered Waikiki front.

After the relaxing driving and dining of the previous day, it was with trepidation that I made my way to the far end of Honolulu to meet my SCUBA instructors. I'd only ever previously worn diving equipment once, and that was in the safety of a tank. So I was not only nervous about the diving itself, but about spending the next four hours with considerably more accomplished and experienced divers. I also didn't want to be the group's handicap.

Thankfully, the instructors were friendly and knew how to allay the fears of a first time open water diver. The instruction wasn't overly technical and they ensured that all the gear was fitted correctly and worked properly. They also made sure we understood the occasionally ad hoc sign language that would be our only means of communication once we were underwater.

As soon as I was down I was mesmerised. The Hawaiian coral may not be up to the oft-filmed spectacle of Australia's Great Barrier Reef, but it still beats anything you'll see off the coast of Britain. The visibility allowed incredible views of the various psychedelic species of fish surrounding us. But these were only distractions while we equalised on our slow decent down the mooring lines. The real attraction of underwater Hawaii is its reefs. Like tropical plants swaying in a warm breeze, the distended arms of the coral

Once the coral lost its hold on us, we began to look about for the wilder ocean animals. We were actually only under for about half an hour, but after the fish and the coral I wasn't really expecting to see anything else of interest. Whether it was good luck or better guidance, however, we stumbled (or whatever the aquatic equivalent is) upon a massive sea turtle. He must have been around a while, as he didn't appear in the slightest surprised or bothered by the appearance of a troupe of wetsuit wearing aliens. Despite the urge to simply follow his path we left him to his own devices after we'd in a few holiday snapshots.

Heading for the boat and still enjoying the sensation of having spotted a turtle, I was suddenly forty feet underwater and in a situation that's given children and grown ups nightmares ever since John Williams' score first played in movie theatres. A twelve-foot reef shark swam past us. Despite my natural instinct to panic, I couldn't help but follow my instructor's lead as he shot off after it, camera clicking wildly. The shark disappeared as swiftly as it had arrived. But it had certainly made my virgin diving experience complete. I'm sure that I bored everyone around me senseless that evening as we enjoyed our dinner and drinks on the veranda at Tiki's Bar and Grill. We sat with the weekend breakers from Hollywood as they enjoyed their American getaway, watching the showboating locals in their sooped-up cars displaying themselves like peacocks, along the Waikiki strip. Their performances strangely reminded me of the hypnotic coral reef.

The next day we were set to enjoy an experience that's regularly listed as one of the Fifty Things To Do Before you Die. Kahala's dolphin lagoon is run as a sanctuary for dolphins in need of medical and emotional aid. All sanctuaries need an income to continue their work of course, and Dolphin Quest is no exception. To ensure its future, this particular care home offers swimming sessions with the patients. Our half hour session with the genuinely gorgeous Noah was everything the polls suggested it would be. Dolphins are not only mesmerising but also worthy of love and reverence. They are clearly immensely powerful and probably lined up to be man's best friend once dogs get bored of the role.

That afternoon I was reminded that while Hawaii may feel a lot like paradise, even paradise has its downside; in this case, consumerism. There's only so long you can escape the fact that you're still in the United States of America, so even out here in the middle of the Pacific Ocean there's shopping. All the international brands are represented, from the bargain to the bourgeois, at the Polynesian-inspired Ala Moana Mall. The theme is present not only in the occasional trinket-selling tourist trap, but is reflected in the relaxed overall geography of the mall. There's no obvious attempt to filter shoppers down pre-set paths, ensuring you pass every shop on the way. You actually have to seek out some stores. But it is very hard to miss the heart of the complex: the vast food court. Like Hawaii itself, this sanctum seems to contain every flavour the seven continents have to offer. Even more impressive, every nation on those seven continents seems to be represented by the customers themselves, all busy refuelling before more frenzied wallet bashing. I have quite simply never seen a more multicultural crowd of people all focused on the same identical objective.

On our final night it only seemed fitting to dine at the much-hyped Asian fusion restaurant 3660 on the Rise. Famous among regular visitors to Oahu as one of the best places to eat in the islands, 3660 is away from the Waikiki strip on the outskirts of Honolulu. You're more likely to find professional locals enjoying the westernised eastern cuisine than partying island visitors. It's not a cheap restaurant, it wasn't a cheap holiday, but as the locals point out, you can't expect to come to paradise without paying the Paradise Tax. 3660 was the stylish cap on our bespoke luxury holiday, and as we enjoyed the exquisite meal we began to plan exactly when we would be returning to paradise. THIS side of the grave, of course.

Gareth travelled on United Airlines to Oahu via LAX and stayed at the Kahala Hotel and Resort. He dived with Reef Trekkers and went through Dolphin Quest to set up his dolphin experience.