This is our first trip out of British Columbia this year, and first ever to "the Garden Island" of Kauai. We'd heard how laid-back it was, even more than Maui where we've gone for the past six years. On recommendations of friends and a desire to try something new, we gave it a shot. We found a studio condo at the Sandpiper Village in Princeville (North Shore) for a reasonable price. It was newly decorated, and equipped with a king-sized bed, high ceiling, large lanai and a basic kitchen (microwave, coffee maker and toaster) plus a communal barbecue at the pool. However, finding the place in the dark proved tricky. After picking up our rental car and driving the 29 miles from the airport in Lihu'e we missed the sign and ended up in Hanalei. We drove around for an hour before finding it about 1:00 a.m, but there was no parking left in the parking lot. We were exhausted but relieved to be settled in finally. The next morning Jim woke up very early and moved the car into a spot when someone pulled out around 6:00 a.m.
Nov. 28: This was shopping and reconnaissance day. First to Foodland in the Princeville Shopping Center for breakfast basics, then back to Lihu'e to Costco, checking out beaches along the way. At Kealia Beach, north Kapa'a, the surf was tremendous, up to 16 feet. We won't be swimming there. No one was in the water and "No Swimming" signs were posted all along the crescent-shaped beach. The nearest public tennis court is 20 miles away in Kapa'a, but we'll have to wait for drier weather.
Nov. 29: Awoke to bright sunshine! That's more what we came for, so loaded up the car with beach chairs, umbrella, snacks, snorkel gear, books, etc. and found a parking lot near the St. Regis Resort at the end of Ka Haku Road. After starting along a narrow mud path towards the Hideaways Beach, we met a friendly couple at the start of the descent who informed us the way down was treacherous and you had to use rope ladders. He suggested with all we were carrying maybe we'd prefer another beach such as 'Anini. We took the hint. 'Anini is a bit east of us, maybe a ten-minute drive, and you can park right next to the beach, where calm waters are protected by an offshore reef. There are restrooms, showers and picnic tables. Swimming was good; snorkeling not so much as there was very little coral and the water was a bit hazy, but we spent several hours swimming and reading under the shade of a large tree.
Nov. 30: It's back to cloudy weather today, following rain last night. We took a path on the other side of the St. Regis resort that led south to Pu-u Poa Beach, winding through lush tropical growth.
On our return we stopped at Kilauea Lighthouse overlook, Access to the Lighthouse is through the National Wildlife Refuge, and as it was closing shortly, we settled for a view from the lookout. The windswept point and craggy rocks, home to white- and red-tailed tropicbirds, Laysan Albatross and red-footed Boobies was shrouded in light fog and could have been on the east or west coast of North America.
Dec. 1: The North Shore Drive: The road to Hanalei being open, we drove to the western end of the Kuhio Hwy. then made our way back. Ke'e Beach is the most western point, where numerous movie scenes have been filmed. The hill behind the beach, where we later started to climb, was "Bali High" in South Pacific. We started to climb the Kalalau Trail, a two-day, 22 mile hike which we never intended to complete. Most people do a one-day hike to Hanakapi'ai Beach or Falls, but the trail was both steep and muddy and I didn't have proper footwear, so we went only as far as the lookout back to the beach.
Ke'e Beach
Next stop was Ha'ena Beach Park, a long, sandy beach with strong undertow. Several surfers were waiting for bigger waves. While we were there, the monthly tsunami alarm test took place, followed by the first-ever war alarm test, put into action in case North Korea decided to bomb. Across the street, Maniniholo Dry Cave is deep and broad and the walls are kept dank by constant seepage of water. It felt like a spiritual place.
Maniniholo Cave
We eventually made our way to Hanalei ("crescent-shaped") Pavilion Beach Park, and walked the half-mile to the pier at the far end. It was peopled with surfers and a few swimmers.
Dec. 2: The East, South and West Shores
Time to get off the block, out of the building, away for a day! Enough grey skies and drizzle; other parts of the Island looked appealing. The skies brightened as we reached Hanapepe Valley Lookout, west of Lihu'e on the Kaumualii Highway. This peaceful vista was the site in 1924 of the bloodiest, most savage battle ever fought on Kauai, the Hanapepe Massacre, when 16 striking striking cane workers were gunned down and four deputies were stabbed to death. Today we glimpsed red clay cliffs topped with wild sugar cane. Cattle, taro and coffee are the main crops these days.
We strolled through Hanapepe, Kauai's "biggest little town", a historic farming town built by enterprising Asian immigrants. Many spruced-up store-fronts now front art galleries, restaurants, shops and Friday's Art Night. It's been used to film "The Thorn Birds" and several movies.
Our lunch stop was Waimea, (meaning reddish-brown water), which marks the original landing pot of Captain James Cook in 1778. Although we drove to the end of Route 50, we didn't follow the dirt road to Polihale, which is the end of the road.
Jim and James
We found a tennis court in Waimea and a beautiful beach in Po'ipu for a dip and viewing of monk seals resting on shore, roped off from the public.
Dec. 3: North Shore: Queen's Bath, a natural pool formed by a lava rock shelf within walking distance will remain unexplored as we faced another steep, muddy path. Some people, carrying small children, were attempting to reach it in bare feet! They turned back too. People die here every year due to heavy, rogue waves. No sharks I've heard of though.
(not my photo)
Dec. 6: Waimea Canyon ("Grand Canyon of the Pacific"). They say to allow 5-7 hours but unless you do hikes, 3 - 4 is plenty. The canyon is 10 miles long and one mile wide, and 3,600 ft. deep. The drive up is a 4,000 ft. elevation rise. It is drop-dead gorgeous and not to be missed. We didn't tackle any long hikes as they need the better part of a day.
Dec. 8: Okolehau Trail starts at the end of a road near the Hanalei Bridge. The trail is rumored to be named for 'moonshine,' referring to distilled liquor made from the roots of the ti plants. It's a two and a half mile round trip; the first half mile to the power-line vista is a quad burner and the terrain was muddy and slippery (what else would we expect?) We saw a woman doing it with no shoes. "I always hike this in bare feet," she said when we commented on how tough she was. Must be a Hawaiian thing.
From this point, the trail was drier through a forest of guava, silk oak, tree ferns, eucalyptus and koa trees, before ending 1200 feet above Hanalei Bay.
We'd hoped to tire ourselves out so we could sleep on the overnight flight home, but that didn't work. The flight was delayed 3 hours; we left at 2:30 a.m. but still couldn't really sleep. It always feels weird to enter a different climate after a few hours on the plane, even if you know it'll happen. Home to winter, but a lovely respite. Mahalo to all who made our visit a pleasure.
