Barack Obama fan Keisha Douglas couldn't believe her eyes when she bumped into the President-elect of the United States during a family holiday in Hawaii.

Obama, who was on vacation with his wife and two daughters, turned up at the Sea Life Park in Honolulu on Boxing Day and sat down near Ms Douglas and her family.

"Never in our wildest dreams could we have imagined seeing him. It was our first sightseeing tour and when we got to the park my purse was checked and we were patted down, but I had no clue. We just thought 'wow, Honolulu's so safe'," explained Ms Douglas, who teaches at the Berkeley Institute and is president of the Bermuda Union of Teachers.

Once they sat down at the dolphin show she, her daughter Zya Fraser, seven, mom Miranda Ming, sister Kali Douglas and niece Amber Douglas, 15, couldn't work out why everyone was standing up and staring at something behind them.

"There was a volcanic mountain behind us and we thought they were taking pictures of the scenery. Then I looked to my right and I said 'Barack Obama!' He was three persons away from us. The security were all in Hawaiian shirts looking like regular people and he was sitting with his daughter on his lap looking at the dolphin show," said Ms Douglas.

"It was the highlight of our time in Hawaii. Everyone said 'I voted for you' and he just smiled and grinned and was so cool."