Kaua'i is a slice of paradise like no other. It is the oldest of the Hawai'ian islands and rose out of the Pacific as a basaltic volcano approximately 4.9 million years ago. The Hawai'ian islands are progressively younger to the East, as the Pacific plate has moved over the geologic hot spot.
DAN AND KATE MAKE LANDFALL IN KAUA'I SEPT '09
We arrived at the Lihu'e airport and picked up our rental car, a Jeep Wrangler. The only color available in soft top (which allows you to put the top down), was yellow. The rig had only 7k miles, but the check engine light went on after about 30 miles and the steering linkage rattled. We rattled our way through Kaua'i looking like tourists on a mission.
Upon the advice of the nice guys at Alamo car rentals, we stopped in Kapa'a for groceries. The Safeway in Kapa'a has great fresh fish and fruit and is quite a bit less expensive than North Shore grocery stores. Kapa'a has a nice beach, but is more hustle-and-bustle than the rest of the island.
HANALEI BAY RESORT
Kate's grandmother had given us an amazing anniversary gift, a week at the Hanalei Bay Resort, located in Princeville. Recent TripAdvisor reviews for the resort were not very promising. However, we were greeted by a clean, comfortable room, amazing views, pleasant grounds and very helpful and outgoing staff.
Our room:
The view from our room:
HAWAI'IAN DINING
We took full advantage of the kitchen in our condo. During the entire stay, we only ate out once. For breakfast each morning we cooked up eggs with a side of fresh mango, banana and papaya. For lunch, we'd snack on cheese, salami, crackers and fruit. For dinner, we'd have fresh fish with a salad.
Fresh ahi poki and ahi rolls:
Fresh mahi-mahi:
Before sunset, we'd enjoy a frozen cocktail, chips and guacamole. (Dan's Wanalei Punch: a few cups of ice, 12 oz guava nectar, mango nectar, orange juice mix, 6 oz coconut rum, 6 oz black rum. blend well)
The best looking (and tasting) avacado I've ever seen. (Dan's guacamole: one large avocado smashed with fork, 1/4 lime squeezed, pinch salt, 3 cloves garlic finely minced, 20 - 30 chopped cilantro leaves, tablespoon sour cream)
The fish market in Hanalei Bay has amazing fresh fish and sushi rolls. The market opens before noon and the best rolls and fish are available early, after that all that's left is the fish the locals didn't want. If you get there late, never fear, the seafood chowder is top-notch and always available.
On our last day on the island, we stopped by the Dolphin to pick up some sushi rolls for a lunch on Waipa Beach, on the western shore of Hanalei Bay.
One snow crab and ahi roll and one soft shelled crab roll on mini beach table:
NA PALI COAST HIKING
On our first full day in Kaua'i, we parked at Ke'e beach and hiked two miles on the Na Pali coast trail to Hanakapi'ai beach and two miles along the Hanakapi'ai stream to a large waterfall. The eight mile round trip hike felt long under the hot tropical sun and both of us were glad to have sturdy hiking boots for the steep, rocky and muddy trail.
A cool breeze was very welcome along the cliffs of the Na Pali Coast:
Large tropical tree along the way:
A curious snail:
Hanakapi'ai Stream:
...after a long hike, Hanakapi'ai Falls came into view:
We had been warned about rock fall here and sure enough and cascade of rocks plunged into the pool shortly after we arrived. The falls was about 1000 feet above sea level and the temperature had cooled off. We opted to skip a sketchy rock-fall swim at the falls and instead swim downstream closer to the ocean.
Hanakapi'ai Stream meets the Pacific at Hanakapi'ai Beach, where the surf is rough, but a large tidal pool offers nice swimming.
The return trip along the Na Pali coast trail had us thirsting for cold beverages after we exhausted our 3 liters of water. The views continued to be amazing:
Unfortunately, upon our return to the car, we found the glove box torn out and a few items stolen. Thankfully, our lost items didn't include anything irreplaceable or necessary for the trip. Thankfully, our cell phones were included in the lost items. This gave us an excuse to upgrade our 3-year old and obsolete phones (which made Kate particularly happy) and afforded us 24-hours off the grid.
The police station dusted for prints and took a police report and we learned exactly what the guidebook meant about "Ke'e beach is known for break-ins." In speaking with some hitchhikers we picked up along the way, west of Hanalei has a good bit of thievery due to a homeless population and drug problems.
Unfortunately, we also lost a collection of CD's we had chosen specifically for the trip. Instead of Talking Heads, Jimmy Buffet and other favorites, we found new favorites on 98.9 Island Radio.
SNORKELING
We stopped leaving anything of value in the car or on the beach as a result of our experience at Ke'e Beach. This meant leaving the camera back at the condo more often than we'd have liked to and we didn't bring back photos of our snorkel adventures at Queens Bath and Tunnels Beach.
Queens Bath is rather popular and, during calm surf, offers nice swimming and a chance to swim with the fish caught in the "bath." Near the bath there is excellent cliff jumping and lots of turtles.
Tunnels offers a beautiful view of the Na Pali coast, OK swimming and beautiful snorkeling. We visited the beach twice for snorkeling; once the ocean was calm enough to snorkel, the second day there was a 3 - 4 foot swell and snorkeling looked sketchy. Snorkeling at Tunnels is beautiful: although the rock reef is sparsely covered with corral, many, many different brightly colored fish and eels cruise around through the cracks and tunnels of the corral.
WAILUA FALLS
After choosing not to swim at Hanakpi'ai falls and knowing that swimming beneath a waterfall is a definitive Hawai'ian experience, we went in search of accessible waterfalls. Our first attempt was at Opaekaa Falls, but we were turned back due to numerous warnings about the dangerous hike to the bottom of the falls. Instead, we headed to Wailua Falls, which has a steep, but manageable hike down to its base. Pool at the base of the falls is deep, cool and perfect for swimming.
See if you can spot Dan in the pool at the base of the falls:
Hike back up from the base of the falls:
WAIMEA CANYON
For our third wedding anniversary, we drove from the North Shore down to Waimea Canyon on the South Shore of Kaua'i. The South Shore of Kaua'i is much drier than the north and also is a bit rougher around the edges. We started our tour of Waimea Canyon where the Waimea River empties into the Pacific Ocean. Most of the beaches on Kaua'i are white sand, but at the mouth of Waimea, the beach is dark and olivine rich.
We ventured off the beaten path at the top of Waimea Canyon on a dirt road which lead to a maze of small, rough roads. One trail followed the trace of an irrigation ditch along the rim of the Canyon. From this trail, a very narrow spine lead out into the Canyon (N 22.1183, W -159.62348):
Can you spot the vertical fault?
From the top of Waimea Canyon at about 4000 feet above sea level, you can see down to the Na Pali coast:
The southwest coast of Kaua'i only receives a few inches a year of rainfall, but has very fertile soil which has eroded out of Waimea Canyon. The mountain top of Kaua'i receives over 450 inches of rain a year and is the wettest spot on earth. As a result, irrigation projects are everywhere along Waimea Canyon, like this reservoir:
JUST CRUIZIN' AROUND
We logged many miles on our rental jeep, checking out various beaches, roads to nowhere and scenic overlooks. We found a penguin on the roadside on the second day of our trip. Wondering what a penguin was doing in the northern hemisphere, much less in Kaua'i, he became our travel mascot:
The Hule'ai Valley is located near Lihue. We didn't have a chance to do more than drive by the valley, but it absolutely rings with bird songs, contains a wildlife refuge and would probably be a nice place for a gentle river kayak trip.
The Hanalei River Valley is very pretty and is filled with Taro farms:
Outside Poa Poo, there is a large private land lease which is open sunrise to sunset. It's a maze of "cane roads," with some very pretty and remote beaches. We only had a little while to explore, but found Maha'ulepu beautiful:
A tree tunnel near Koloa:
There's a scenic lighthouse near Kilauea. They want $5 per person to actually visit the lighthouse...we opted to snap a shot and get back on the road. Judging by the number of cars in the lighthouse parking lot, lighthouse ownership can be a very lucrative enterprise.
SPOUTING HORN
On the South Shore, there's a hole in the rocks that spouts ocean water when large waves come in. It's sort of a tourist trap, but the souvenir stands near the spouting horn do have great prices on knick-nacks compared to the rest of the island.
BEACH TIME!
We had planned to do some snorkeling and beach relaxing on our last full day on the island. The sun was shining brightly, but the ocean swell was a bit too big for snorkeling. Instead, Dan rented a surf board and we headed to the Pavilion at Hanalei Bay for some fine swimming and a little surfing:
Kate at the beach in her Farrah Fawcett sunglasses:
A perfect day on the busiest beach in Hanalei:
Surfing at Hanalei is much tougher than my previous surfing experiences in Mexico. First, I've always surfed point breaks in Mexico, which are very predictable. Hanalei's break is a beach break and it could be tough to know where the break would start and which waves would close-out. Here I am getting spanked by a small wave:
In the morning on the day we were to leave, I woke up before sunrise and did a little dawn surf session. It was on and off rain while surfing, but I had the beach to myself. After a few nice rides, the sun peaked through. Back at the condo, Kate took this picture of the rainbow I was surfing under:
SUNSETS
Every evening in Kaua'i we sat down and watched the sunset. A few nights we walked down the jungle path from the Hanalei Bay Resort to Puu Poa beach for sunset:
Although small and surrounded by shallow reef, Puu Poa offered a quiet and peaceful spot to sit down, enjoy a cold beer or glass of champagne and watch the sun dip down past the Na Pali coast:
The Hanalei Bay Resort offered a golf cart shuttle service which (with some coaxing) would shuttle us back to our room after sunset. The shuttle stop was quite a party:
KAUA'I MEMORIES:
Fresh fruit every day.
Purple flowers that taste like shiitake mushrooms.
Amazing, empty beaches at every turn.
Rain that doesn't really get you wet, but suddenly leaves you soaked.
A warm beer in paradise is better than a cold beer just about anywhere else.
One lane bridge etiquette.
Shave ice.
Mike the awesome shuttle driver.
Waterfalls, waterfalls and more waterfalls.
A surfboard in or on every car or truck.
Helpful hitchhikers.
