Kauai: day six, day seven (the end!)

Once we had made a stop at the Spouting Horn marketplace for souvenirs, we spent the rest of our last full day on the island exploring more of the north shore. We drove all the way to the end of the road and parked at Ke'e beach. Then we hiked back down the highway a bit to check out a few of the wet caves we had passed. Actually, we were in search of the "Blue Room"- a cool cave BIL Cory had read about. We ( and by "we" I mean Cori ) kept dodging up little trails off the side of the road to find it. Then we saw a few kids come walking out of the jungle and we asked them where they had been. Sure enough! The had just come from the cave we were looking for. It was weird to us that the little hike isn't marked by anything. There is a bunch of deteriorating asphalt along the walk up to the mouth of the cave, so it used to be a more maintained visitor stop. We were glad to have found it.

The Blue Room gets it's name from the eery blue color that shines from the water at certain times of the day. Also, there are several lava tubes and arches that serve as water passage ways which lead to different caverns. There was a local family there who told us the best time to come for the blue light is between 10-11AM. It was closer to 2 in the afternoon when we got there, and it was overcast and drizzling. But the cave still had an other-worldly aqua glow.

Looking up and out of the cave from the pool inside

Taken along our roadside hike

We hiked back up to the car and changed into our swim stuffs to further examine Ke'e beach. There is a trailhead right at the parking lot. We traveled up this trail for about a mile (possibly less) to get a good vantage of this famous beach. The path was lined with thousands of stones. We were grateful - we'd been hiking in the mud all week!

When we came back down, we got our snorkel stuff and headed into the water. It was about 4PM at this point and the swimming/sunning crowd was dispersing. This was the fourth beach we had snorkeled. We loved how different each location was. Snorkeling at Ke'e was made really interesting by how deep the coral reef is here. You swim along sandy channels with walls of tall, sheer reef on either side. There was a rip tide here that made me a bit anxious. But it was here that Cori and I spotted an octopus. Oh, did I mention the SHARK that Cori swam over at Tunnels beach? *shutter* Or how we could hear the dolphins singing when we were snorkeling off the Napali Coast? I think the four of us agreed that swimming with the sea turtles was about as cool as it got. We saw them at all four locations.

On our way back around the north shore, we stopped in Hanalie to take some pictures of the taro fields.

And we dined on yumminess at Bubba's, burger shack of the famous.
Our last stop had us driving through neighborhoods in Princeville. We were following directions from an online article about how to get to a place called Queen's Bath. There is a little patch of grass on a residential loop that provides parking for the short trail. At low tide, there are several pools that are made in the lava rocks along this beach, thus giving it the name. It was high tide when we arrived, and most of the pools were under the waves. But the cloudy sky teamed up with the setting sun and the ocean to give us a breathtaking show. We stayed until dusk and then made a hasty, poorly-lit retreat to the car.

"Come away, come away..."

******************

Our last day there was a Sunday. We attended Church with the Kalaheo ward. A piece of paper with Hawaiian lyrics was passed out with our program. The intermediate hymn that Sunday was Secret Prayer, and we sang the verses in English and the chorus in Hawaiian. We thought it was so great. How good is your Hawaiian? Here is what we were given for the chorus:

Me Ka pu le ha a haa,

A ma-na o-i-o-paa

E lo-aa na po-mai-kai

Ko ka lani poe mai-kai

After church, we jammed back to the hotel to get ourselves changed and checked out. Then we headed up Waimea Canyon for one last try at getting any kind of a good view. As I look back over our pictures, I realize they really don't do justice to how cloudy and overcast the island was for about 95% of our stay. The cloud cover finally started breaking up on Sunday, so we thought we had a chance. We got a bit of a view from the first lookout we tried. But the mist quickly rolled in and the lookout higher up was a bust. Guess we have to go back sometime soon...

We took the long way out of the canyon and stopped by the Kauai Coffee Company fields. I had never seen a coffee bean tree/shrub before. The beans looked and smelled nothing like coffee. But we found some dried beans on the ground that bore greater resemblance to the finished, roasted product. Not that we care much about coffee. At all. It was right there, so we explored.

On the way back into Poipu, we stopped at the Koloa Mills shopping center for some shave ice. Cori is pictured here with his tiger's blood/pineapple combo. All Charlie Sheen references aside, the tiger's blood was my favorite flavor.

We had left our bags at the front desk of our hotel after checkout that morning and we had about 45 minutes to kill before our dinner reservation, so we headed back to the Wiohai to chill. It was nice to see the hotel grounds with blue skies and direct sunlight. We pulled up some lounge chairs by the shore, put up our feet, and watched the surfers do their thing until it was time to go. At one point we found ourselves asking why we hadn't done that more during the week. It was intensely relaxing.

Then we headed to Duke's (found at the Kauai Marriott) for some pre-flight eats. On the menu: herb and macadamia nut encrusted Opa, Duke's baked Swordfish, huli chicken, and Duke's famous hula pie (macadamia nut ice cream on a chocolate cookie crumb crust with chocolate sauce and whipped cream). We shared it all, family style. It was a fun restaurant to eat at- located in a little lagoon and right on the beach. And the food was top notch.

During dinner, we mused about living on Kauai. Would it be so bad to buy a cheap little house, flip burgers or drive tour boats for a living, and enjoy simple island life for the rest of our lives? Or just for a few years, even? I think I could do it. I think I could LOVE it. I think Cori might have made the commitment then and there if our babies had been with us. But once the hula pie was gone (a feat which took all of 3.5 minutes) we surrendered to our normal lives and rushed the waiter on our check. Then it was straight to the airport for our red-eyes back to the mainland.

My favorite part of the whole trip was being there with Cori on our anniversary. I am so grateful that this wonderful man of mine likes to travel as much as I do and that we got to see and experience all these amazing things hand in hand. It was a perfect gift!

Kauai: day five (almost done)

My sister, Sara, got her undergraduate degree from BYU Hawaii. Her best friend from that experience happens to be a native of Kauai. It was through this connection that we were able to get booked on a catamaran tour of the Napali Coast for a very pocket-friendly sum. We were so appreciative-this tour was one of our favorite outings. We set sail bright and early with Captain Andy's on the Spirit of Kauai out of Port Allen. The ride out was unusually smooth, so we were told. We even had some blue sky and sunshine.

As we came around the west side of the island, we got to sail for a bit with a pod of spinner dolphins. They came right up along the catamaran. We also saw a bunch of sea turtles. The captain was sure to get some Bob Marley going through the speakers - he claims that the wildlife loves it... (We are not so sure)

The Napali Coastline is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen in person. Emerald mountains. White sandy beaches. Jewel-toned waters. Palm trees. Waterfalls. It is no wonder so many movies have been filmed here. It is the stuff of dreams!

It was a six hour tour (we avoided all three hour tours, for the obvious reasons). They served us breakfast as we headed out. After we had sailed the coastline, Captain Kirk turned us back and we docked at some mooring in a little cove for lunch and snorkeling.




We saw caves and lava tubes (above left) and just enjoyed being on the catamaran so much. They even ran up the sails for a little while. The ride back was really choppy. The four of us lined up, tummy down, on one of the trampolines, clutched to the front of the boat for part of the return trip. I laughed (and maybe screamed a little) like a 5-year-old child for a solid half hour. Every time the nose of the catamaran would crest a wave our bodies would lift off the trampoline. We were thrashed by the ocean more than once. Totally worth it.

That night we went to a luau at Smith's Tropical Paradise found at the Wailua Marina. First we took the driven tour of their gardens. The peacocks were in rare form- springtime and all. Then there was a little ceremony to unearth the kalua pork. And then it was chow time. I was a piggie as is evidenced by this next photo. I may have completely cleaned both plates.
There was music and some dancing during dinner, and then a fun show afterwords. It was a perfect ending to one of my favorite days.

Kauai: day four

Kipu Falls was a destination that had been recommended by several friends.

We were especially interested in the rope swing into the pool.

The trail head was seriously an unmarked path off the side of the road.

It was rainy and a bit muddy, again.

By this point, we were pretty used to it!

We couldn't get over the vegetation.

Grass as high as an elephant's eye.

Once at the falls, we explored around but didn't go swimming.

There was crazy debris in the pool, and we didn't wan't to temp fate with too much lepto exposure.

And we had spent the last few days being wet all day long...

The rope swing sure looked like fun though.

Then we drove up to the outlook over Wailua falls. All the waterfalls were understandably crazy during our week there. Usually, this water fall is forked. We got to see it as a giant gusher. There is a hike that goes down to the base of the falls. There was a local guy weaving baskets at the outlook who was telling us about it. At his recommendation, we didn't venture down the muddy slippy trail.
Instead we headed back to our place for a nap and then more snorkeling and swimming. Cori and I rented boogie boards too, though there wasn't much surf that afternoon. It was fun hanging out with Cory and Brittany. We made yummy food every night. They indulged me in watching American Idol. We worked a puzzle.

Kauai: day three

The next day we headed out bright and early to kayak up the Wailua River to see the Fern Grotto and Wailele Mea Huna, or "The Secret Falls" which we learned are not so secret. We rented gear from the little shack on the north side of the mouth of the river. The guy at the rental place showed us around their painted map, told us we'd have a muddy hike and to "watch out for the lepto, yah." Leptospirosis is a bacterial infection that can be contracted from exposure to contaminated water. Just a little hazard of swimming around in any of the fresh water on the island. Especially after big rains that wash contaminants down from the pasture lands. No biggie. (I still have my fingers crossed. Symptoms take up to 28 days to present...) We took a pass on the little village heritage museum half way up the river and headed straight for the waterfall hike trail head. It was a lovely paddle trip. The sky was grey with clouds. But it didn't rain, and we stayed cool and unsunburnt as we made our way.

The hike was a jungle adventure. The vegetation is quite dense. The day before we were traveling on it, much of the hiking trail had been under the swollen and flooded river. So we had to navigate quite a lot of mud, numerous large puddles, and giant tangles of branches and felled trees.

At a few points along the way, it is necessary to cross the river or one of its tributaries. A lead rope is provided across the deepest crossing. The water level was still a little high.

Cori at another crossing.

The falls were quite exciting. There was a strong, misty wind coming off the base. By the time we arrived we were already drenched in river water, so we didn't feel too antsy about wading through the pool to explore and take some pictures. Above is Cory and Britt at the base of the falls.

We hiked back to the kayaks and paddled them around to the dock at the Fern Grotto. This is where the big tour boats bring large groups of guests to see the sacred grotto grounds. We had the great fortune of having the place completely to ourselves. We found a precarious place to tie the kayaks up, grabbed our picnic lunch and enjoyed some sunshine at the deck in front of the grotto. There is a little nature walk that has been landscaped with all kinds of tropical plants that we explored. AND there were bathrooms. Before leaving, Cori and Cory paid some homage to a Traveler's Palm (above, lower right), an act which is supposed to bring good fortune. We were just praying for good weather. Then it was a short 20 minute paddle back to the rental shack, and we were on our way back to Poipu.

When we got back, we pretty much just grabbed our snorkel gear and headed to the beach. I brought the camera along and took some shots before getting in the ocean. The skies were still grey and rainy (noticing the pattern yet?), but the snorkeling was great. Here are some sights from Poipu beach:

The C's heading in

I've never had a desire to try surfing ( I LOVE boogie boarding), but I would really like to try a paddle board sometime

In the distance, the cliffs of Shipwreck Beach

Naturally, a rooster on the beach

Taken from the hot tub, our last stop for the night

Kauai: Kilauea Lighthouse and Wildlife Preserve

In between our morning tour and our late afternoon snorkel, we made a stop at the Kilauea Lighthouse and Wildlife Preserve. Sadly, the lighthouse was under scaffolding for some repairs, but it was still worth the stop. We had to eat our picnic lunch in the car- no food allowed in the preserve. The little cove is a haven-home for thousands of tropical birds. It was the only place we visited where we didn't see chickens or roosters. We asked a conservationist about it and she nonchalantly said that they "practice predator control" within the preserve boundaries. Brother-in-law Cory was ready for some serious dog and knife hunting after this announcement. (Apparently, this form of hunting is popular on the island. We saw hunter check-in stands on a few of our drives.)

Anyway, it was here that we spotted the illusive Nene Goose (the state bird), some Wedge-tailed Shearwaters, and thousands of Boobies. Red-footed Booby birds to be more precise. They have binoculars at the lighthouse for visitors to borrow. The sky clouded over shortly after our arrival and dumped a deluge of water. It wasn't looking to let up when a kind volunteer offered us a ride from the point back to our car in her little golf cart. We were completely drenched, but again, it was worth the little stop.

Kauai: day two

The sun (kinda) came out for a little while the next morning and Cori and I jumped on a helicopter tour. It was a splurge for sure. When it was done, we felt it was worth every single penny. We even pledged to ourselves that if we should have the opportunity to get to Kauai again we will take the doors-off heli tour (it is a bit pricier). 80% of the island in inaccessible by car. There are vistas by car, boat, and hiking trail, but the easiest way to see most of the island's wild and steep beauty is by air.

We went with Island Helicopter Tours. The pilot of the tour we took has been flying helicopters since the Vietnam War, and was really good. At one point in the tour, he brought us up through a deep U that had been carved into a saddle of a steep ridge. Over the intercom, he started laughing and said, "Damn, I'm so good." The whole experience was impressive. Those choppers are so agile. He took us into canyons, through rain clouds, and up and down waterfalls. And there were LOTS of waterfalls- a little silver lining to all the bad weather. Over our headphones, we listened to music that had been handpicked for each landmark as well as narration from the pilot about the social and geological history of the island. He shared Hawaiian chants about the sea and the mountains. He even knew how to position us to find the rainbows. Talking about it afterwords, Cori and I both confessed to tearing up a few times. Yeah, it was that good. I've posted some of our favorite pictures, which of course can't do justice to what we saw. There was glare from the windows in a lot of the photos (They ask everyone to wear dark clothes to minimize the effect...), but we still got some good ones.

That is Manawaiopuna Falls (or Jurassic Park Falls as they call it now for the landmark's cameo in the movie of the same title) in the lower left.

Scenes from the Napali Coast, and us afterwords with the pilot.

Waimea Canyon, a bit more visible this time.

Our original plans for the afternoon were to kayak up the Wailua River to the Fern Grotto. But they weren't allowing kayakers on the river that day, and the dock at the Grotto was under 5 feet of water and debris. But they had the bridges open along the north shore again, so we ventured up to Tunnels Beach. More rain was rolling in and the crowds were low. We found parking without a problem. Even with stormy skies and the falling rain, the water was pretty clear and we had a great afternoon snorkeling.