This trip was a very last minute plan, Nathan had actually taken the time off of work to go to a car drifting event in southern California, but the event filled up just before he finished building his car. He decided that if he couldn't go drifting he wanted to go somewhere on vacation so I started looking at prices online. We had been talking about possibly going to Kauai in the fall, but Nate has been so busy with cars I figured it wouldn't actually happen. But as is turned out we were able to get a pretty good last minute deal, booking our trip only one week in advance.
Monday
We left October 14th. After arriving at the airport and checking our bag we headed through security, of course we happened to get into the slowest of the lines but luckily we had plenty of time so it didn't matter. After grabbing our stuff on the other side we headed to some seats to put our shoes back on and put things away, I noticed a folded up dollar on the floor. I picked it up and asked Nathan if that meant I would get 100 times of good luck, since a penny is worth a whole day of good luck ... I guess we'll have to see.
Because we booked our flight so last minute, there where no seats available to choose, so we had to get assigned seats at our gate. When the gate agent arrived we went up to get our seats and they put us next to each other all ready. As we boarded the airplane to leave we realize that not only do we get to sit next to each other, but we also go economy comfort seats, which means more leg room!
Because of the last minute booking, our only flight option was to fly through LAX with a 3 hour layover. After landing in LAX we still needed a seat assignment for the next flight, so we had to go through the process all over again, and luckily the results were the same, and we were able to sit next to each other again.
Our flight was pretty smooth, as we start descending and the city lights came into view we are told that we should be on the ground in about 10 minutes and to prepare for landing. As we were getting close to touching down, all of the sudden the plane goes full throttle, nose up towards the sky and it gets really turbulent, to the point that both Nathan and I feel nauseous ... after several minutes of climbing our captain came over the intercom and apologized if anyone got worried. He said that a storm cell had popped up over the airport and we had such a fast tail wind that we wouldn't have been able to stop on the short runway, so they aborted the landing and were circling around to land on a longer runway.
It was pouring rain when we landed, and getting our rental car took forever, but luckily our hotel was only about 10 minutes from the airport. We stayed at the Kauai Beach Resort in Lihue, our room wasn't anything special, but the bed was nice and comfortable, and we were both fast asleep after a long day of traveling.
Tuesday
Since we arrived in the dark, and it was raining pretty hard, we really had no idea what the island looked like, but first things first we went for some breakfast at the restaurant downstairs. Next we wanted to walk down and check out the beach. We soon discovered that there really wasn't much of a beach, not one you could really lay out on or anything, very steep and narrow, with waves crashing up it a good ways.
We did take a stroll along the beach, and we discovered some sand crabs that were so quick, they looked like they were floating over the sand.
We decided to drive along the south side of the island, and up into Waimea Canyon which has been nicknamed the Grand Canyon of the Pacific.
After a quick stop at Subway we headed up into the Canyon. There were many different viewpoints to stop at, and it really was amazing and beautiful.
One thing to note about Kauai is all the chickens/roosters running free. In the 1970's there was a hurricane the came through and many chickens were freed. They have no natural predator on the island, so their numbers just keep increasing. They are known as the un-endangered species of Kauai.
Up on top of the mountain we found a little picnic spot to eat our lunch. Some clouds started rolling in and soon it started raining, so we decided to head back down the mountain.
We stopped several times once out of the rain clouds to admire the red dirt. After getting back on the road after one of these stops I noticed I had a bee on my leg. I freaked out a little bit a tried to push it off my leg with my camera, slamming my camera into the dash, luckily I had my hood on my camera so the lens didn't hit the dash and nothing was damaged. Also lucky the bee didn't get mad or sting me and Nate pulled over and I was able to get out and the bee flew away.
We drove to the end of the highway as far as we could go, and then turned around. Once back in the town of Waimea we stopped at a black sand beach, which had a really photogenic pier. We even saw a lady catch a fish while we were there.
Next we went to Spouting Horn, which is a lava tube along the ocean, when the water comes in it from the bottom, it shoots up probably 20-30' in the air.
One downside to our hotel location is that it's on the South East side of Kauai, So there were no sunsets to enjoy.
Wednesday
Today we drove up to the North side of the island. There were several places that I had found online that I wanted to check out . We decided that we would just drive North on the highway until it ended, so no need for a map.
The first viewpoint we stopped at looked out overlooked taro fields, a river, and the mountains. Next we stopped and hiked down a steep dirt hill to some lava cliffs (in flip flops I might add) the waves were crashing so hard, you wouldn't want to fall in, or it would be death for sure.
After lunch at a Mediterranean restaurant, we stopped at tunnels beach. I had thought this might be a place we would come snorkeling, but the waves were crashing way to hard, and I didn't figure we would want to drive over an hour from our hotel just to find bad snorkeling weather.
We were able to watch a few surfers though as we walked along the beach. I think if you snorkel there are supposed to be some tunnels you can check out somewhere, which I thought Nate would enjoy, but I guess we'll never know. There was a dry tunnel though across the road from the beach, although it was more like a cave then a tunnel I think.
The end of the road was not much further on, and there were so many cars that there was no hope of parking to take a quick peek at the beach. The end of the road is the start of an 8 mile (one way) hike that goes along the Na pali Coast. We thought about doing the hike, but after talking to people decided against it. The trail is only a few feet wide at times with a drop off the other side, and it can get really slick.
On our way back towards the hotel we stopped in Princeville at a shopping center. We decided to get a shave ice, but had to wait for it to be made. Some older guys were sitting next to us and we started talking, they gave us some tips about places that they thought were really cool including The Queens Bath, Spouting Horn, some Botanical Gardens and Glass Beach.
We decided to check out The Queens Bath, since it was nearby. We found parking and started hiking into the woods. the trail was pretty easy at first, but then it got steep, wet, and muddy. If it would have been up to me, we probably would have turned around, but Nate wanted to continue and made sure to help me along the way so I didn't slip on the wet lava rocks.
The Queens Bath is a tide pool surrounded by lava rocks that protect it from the sea. The water will crash on the rocks and flow into the bath making it "safe" to swim in the water most of the year. I thought the waves were a little crazy for me, but Nate thought it would have been fun.
Not to far away was the Kilauea lighthouse, which was actually closed due to the government shutdown, but we were still able to get pictures of the lighthouse from a viewpoint, which was all I really cared to do anyhow.
Thursday
We decided to check out the Botanical gardens in Koloa. There were two options when we got there $70 if we wanted a guided tour and $30 if we wanted a self guided tour. We decided on the self guided tour but we didn't realize at the time there they are two different gardens. We went to the McBryde Gardens for the self guided tour, on the way our guide gave us the history of the gardens and some information about some of the plants and trees as we passed.
The 252 acre McBryde Garden used to be a sugar cane plantation owned by the McBryde family. It is also a research and preservation facility to protect the native Hawaiian plants.
It took Nate and I around 2 hours to walk through and see the four different areas of plants; Native to Hawaii, Canoe plants (brought from other islands), foreign plants, and lastly plants that Hawaiians used for food, medicine, spices, ect.
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| Cocoa pod |
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| Coffee |
On our way back to our hotel we had a bit of an excitement when a wild pig wandered onto the road in front of us. Luckily Nate is a good driver and was able to dodge the pig and get out of the way of the oncoming car!
Friday
Today we went on a snorkel trip that included a cruise along the Na pali coastline. Due to my coupon savy-ness we were able to get a free T-shirt with the booking of our trip. After getting on the boat our captain told us that we would be snorkeling only about 20 minutes after leaving the harbor because there were supposed to be waves from the North along the Na pali coast that would make for poor visibility, and bad snorkeling there. I had been a little worried about getting sea sick, as I have gotten some mild sea sickness before, but for over half of our trip the ocean was almost like glass so no sickness. On our trip we also got to see several different pods of dolphins and even flying fish!
Flying fish
The Na pali Coastline is really beautiful, and well worth the trip. The jagged coastline and tall spires are truly breath taking. We were told that 100 years ago there used to be tons of waterfalls there as well until people diverted the water inland to give fresh water to towns and for watering the sugar can plantations.
Saturday
Today we checked out a couple of waterfalls. First we went to the Opaeka'a Falls, which you could see from a viewpoint from the road. I later read that you can take a kayak tour up the river that leads to the bottom of the falls, but we just viewed it from the road. We then went to check out the Wailua Falls which you also have to view from a lookout, but you are much closer.
Opaeka'a Falls
Wailua Falls
Sunday
In the morning we went snorkeling at two different beaches. First we went to Poipu beach, which has a sandbar that goes out to some lava rock and creates two protected bays. We found way more fish on the west side of the sandbar though. The water is only 5-10' deep in most places and the fish will come within inches of you if you just float in the water.
Next we went to Lydgate Beach which is enclosed with rocks to make a protected swimming area, but there are holes in the rock wall to allow fish to swim in and out of it. I didn't go in the water as my legs were tired from the earlier swimming, I just enjoyed the beach while Nate snorkeled.
After going back to the hotel to shower and clean up we headed north to a mini golf place in Princeville. They have 18 holes of mini golf that go through a garden, which was really cool. The best part was that I beat Nate! Only by a few shots though.
Monday
We got up early today to watch the sunrise since we couldn't see any sunsets, then we went snorkeling again. We were going to try a different beach that is known for having turtles, but the waves where to big, so we went back to Poipu beach as it was only a few minutes away and we knew it was protected.
In the evening we went to Smiths Luau, which was so highly recommended by people we met that we decided we had to check it out.
The Luau is set on a 30 acre botanical garden park, and after entering they take you on a 10-15 minute tram ride and give you history of the island and the gardens. Besides plants there are also the usual chickens roaming around along with ducks, peacocks, goats, and cows.
The food was the same you find at most luau's, and I've been to enough of them now that I know what I like. The pork was really good as usual, and I skip the poi. We were able to try star fruit and dragon fruit for the first time. Star fruit reminded me of a cross between a pear and apple, and the dragon fruit is similar but more mild than kiwi. They also had rice pudding which they had cooked in a large pot in the imu, it was made with coconut milk and was very good!
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| This luau has some music while you eat, but the main show isn't until after everyone is done eating. |
For the show they have a separate stage area that even has a volcano. The show was good, and they had dances from many places too like Kauai, Maui, Japan, China, Philippines, Tahiti, and Samoa.
Defiantly would recommend this Luau to anyone going to Kauai, even if you have been to luau's before.
Tuesday
Breakfast and then packing to go, we had to check out of our hotel by noon, and it took about that long to pack and get ready to go.
Today we went to check out glass beach. Back in the mid 1900's people used to toss their garbage into the water here, using it somewhat as a dump. In the late 1960's it was closed down and several cleanup projects have taken place to remove all the garbage from the area, but the glass that has been broken on the lava rocks remains, being weathered smooth over time.
This beach has black sand at one end, and under the glass
Our flight home didn't leave until 9 PM, as it was a red eye flight, and when we checked in we found we would get to sit next to each other on both our flights home, and upon boarding the plane we found we also got exit row seating which meant lots of leg room for our longest leg of our trip.
Arriving home to sunshine in WA was a nice way to ease us back home. We had an enjoyable trip, now back to normal.
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