First I want to begin this blog telling you that the airport you just landed in is called La-hooey (Lihue). So don't call it Lie -who..lol..anyway...
Aloha from my family's first island stop- Kauai
The morning sunset from the patio of our condo was a great sight!
( http://www.vrbo.com/333625) Our condo was awesome.
Located in Ka'paa midway up Kauai's east coast, the condo was $195/night plus $150 cleaning fee. 2 bedroom 2 bath washer/dryer all appliances -everything but food! So much cheaper than hotel, and there were even boogie boards, beach chairs, and coolers! I loved the BBQ grill with a view!
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Our first full day we drove about 10 minutes to Wailua Falls http://www.gohawaii.com/en/kauai/regions-neighborhoods/lihue/wailua-falls/
The falls are of Fantasy Island fame. (de plane boss, de plane). We were disappointed that this was just a "look at" falls and not a hike around falls. There were tons of people driving up, looking over, getting the pic and leaving, but my family had another idea... there is a fence surrounding the parking lot- look closely at the trampled grass on the opposite side of the fence....it is a makeshift trail head!
What is totally cool about this trail is that there is a swimming hole with a rope swing, an old bridge trestle and beautiful streaming that lead to the edge of the TOP of the falls- which of course your adult children will try to scare you by getting too close to the edge!
Then just follow one of the many trails DOWN the hill (through the trees-see left pic). This leads to the TOP of the waterfall.
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| old bridge trestle |
Our next stop that day took us further south to the Poipu area. First we stopped at
Spouting Horn. It was just okay..perhaps we needed to be there during a different tide time. http://www.gohawaii.com/en/kauai/regions-neighborhoods/south-shore/spouting-horn/
Next we did a geocache that was in the area!
https://www.geocaching.com/play
It is always fun to find hidden treasure- we do this in all our travels! See the stone faces on the wall- they are a clue!
Before we got wet for the day- and before it got too warm we wanted to do a hike. We did the Makauwahi Cave Reserve hike. http://www.cavereserve.org/ We were lucky that the cave happened to be open because it has limited hours- W,F Sa, 10-2 and Su-9-2. It was so much more than a sinkhole. And the research going on currently is fascinating. Be aware that you must fit throught the sinkhole door to get into the cave! See pics below.
This is the trailhead- http://www.kauaiexplorer.com/hiking_kauai/mahaulepu_trail.php
We began our journey near the CJM stables. We had a regular car and the road got "rutty" so we parked where a few others cars were.
<tight squeeze to get into the sinkhole
<the sinkhole is beautiful- cave is behind palm trees
inside the cave is cool too-many discoveries>
After this hike and another geocache near the sinkhole/cave we headed over to Poipu beach with our snorkel gear we rented at Snorkel Bob's http://snorkelbob.com/ My son wears a size 15 shoe- and Snorkel Bob could accommodate him- also they have a late night drop box for your gear so you can keep it until the last minute, and not have to return it during business hours. You can also return your gear to any Snorkel Bob's on any island. Anyway that was my Snorkel Bob commercial- back to snorkeling at Poipu Beach.
Poipu Beach , (http://www.kauai.com/poipu-beach) was pretty crowded- but it was a great place for a picnic lunch. With free parking, bathrooms and showers, it was easy to change from our hiking clothes to our swim suits. The place has tons of chickens and roosters- beware they like to hang out IN the trash cans- so when you go to put your trash in a can, they fly out at you!
The water conditions in January get pretty rough- many beaches were closed due to rip tides and high surf- Poipu Beach was our closest option for snorkeling- it turned out to be a nice place with plenty of fish, a turtle or two and one resting seal.
<stay to the left at Poipu Beach for easy in and out access
There were other smaller places near Poipu beach to snorkel- so keep your eyes open for them.
beautiful Poipu scenery!About a month before we left for Hawaii, I mentioned to my family that we should do an ocean kayak outing. We love kayaking- our best trip to date was a 6 hour kayak trip to The Apostle Islands in Lake Superior. I found this tour that combined whale watching with Kayaking. https://kayakkauai.com/... I am so glad we did this trip. See my trip advisor review: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g60616-d673966-r249000072-Kayak_Kaua_i-Kapaa_Kauai_Hawaii.html#REVIEWS
This was so much fun...if you enjoy outdoors, exercise and whales! It was 7 hours and 10 miles of paddling- thank goodness we had gentle ocean conditions which made the paddling and the whale watching easier. (Lunch was served at mile 9.) We saw lots of whales- tails, spouts, fins, and I was so glad they were NOT too close. Though another group of kayakers we lunched with had a whale come up right behind their kayak- 5 feet away- TOO CLOSE for me!
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| My daughter and husband kayaked together. |
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This is my son and Amos- one of the two excellent guides (and Jessie) we had that day. Amos and my son kayaked together. I kayaked with another mom. She was great company and a great paddler. **This company will not rent out single kayaks for ocean trips. The 10 mile journey ends on Glass Beach- a beach with an interesting history. http://www.to-hawaii.com/kauai/beaches/glassbeach.php My son found several great pieces of large sea glass- even a dark blue one- but we went back again a few days later and though there were millions of pieces of glass- all were super small- I guess it is the luck of the tides and how many pickers have descended on the beach that day.
We were exhausted after a full day of sun and fun- so we hung around the condo that night.
Day 3
A little sore from yesterday's kayak excursion we packed up the car with snorkel gear, bathing suits and boogie boards and headed to the north of Ka'paa. Our first stop was the Kilauea Lighthouse. http://www.kauai.com/kilauea-lighthouse The entrance fee was $5.00 pp. free parking. Be advised ** it is closed Sunday and Monday and all holidays and doesn't open until 10 am. The views are beautiful. We even had a few whale sightings! Also watch for the huge albatrosses and other birds soaring around and nesting on the cliffs.
We left the lighthouse and continued down the highway to Secret Beach http://www.kauaibeachscoop.com/north-shore/secret-kauapea-beach#scoop! We didn't bother changing into swim suits yet because the surf report said this beach was dangerous- there is even a tally mark sign on the hike down how many people have drowned and how many near drownings- kind of scary..but with that being said- it was beautiful. During the summer this beach has all kinds of safe, deep ,tidal pools for swimming (pool style)- but during the winter the waves will suck you out of the "pools" and carry you away-or smack you back into the rocks.
<The view of the lighthouse is spectacular!
and the pics you can take are amazing!
But be aware the hike down, down, down... is always followed by the uphill cardio workout!
PS- this beach also has the rep as the nude beach on the far east side.
After touring the lighthouse and Secret Beach it was time for lunch. Amos from Kayak Kauai recommended "Trucking Delicious" so we went there.
I can still taste the grilled sandwich I had...cooked to order slab bacon, avocado, tomatoes, two kinds of cheese and other yummy ingredients. see my full review as well as the sandwiches ordered by the rest of my family > http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60612-d7599373-Reviews-Trucking_Delicious-Hanalei_Kauai_Hawaii.html... if you like crispy edged gourmet sandwiches you MUST GO HERE!!!!
After a filling lunch we waited 30 minutes (just kidding) we went boogie boarding in the largest surf I have ever been in. The pics below were taken at Tunnels Beach. Tunnels has showers and restrooms to change into a swimsuit. http://www.kauaibeachscoop.com/north-shore/tunnels-makua-beach#scoop!
When we felt totally wrung out we finished the day with a drive to the end of the road
Ke'e Beach.
http://www.to-hawaii.com/kauai/attractions/balihai.php
Bali Hai is the beginning of the Nepali Coastline.
The end of the road also meant a refreshing coconut for us!We had a glorious day. We stopped at several overlooks on our was back to Ka'paa. Most notably was the Anahola Valley- gorgeous!
There were many other things we could have done that day such as The Wet and The Dry Caves and the famous Kalalau Trail http://www.hawaii-guide.com/kauai/hiking_trails/kalalau-trail . We chose just to really enjoy what we were doing and not try to do everything. If I go back I would like to attempt this hike- at least to the waterfall!
We ended our day at the Hee Fat General Store for their famous Lava Flow Shaved Ice OMG it was so excellent! http://www.yelp.com/biz/hee-fat-general-store-kapaa?start=40
Day 4- Kauai
We are so loving Kauai and today was no different! We hopped in the car in the morning and headed out on an hour drive from Ka'paa to Waimea Canyon- the Grand Canyon of Pacific Ocean. We stopped at various overlooks and took pics. All the guidebooks say to get to the canyon early- and I agree- the clouds began to roll in as we were finishing our hike.
And then we headed to the trail head for an awesome 7 mile round trip hike.
This trail is shaded almost all the way to the point. It is a moderately strenuous hike but it is tempered with a few flat parts that make the switchbacks and uphills tolerable.
At the end of the trail you are rewarded with amazing scenery. We had a picnic lunch with this as our view. It was fantastic.
I had a "hiking angel", a young man, give me this hiking stick about a 1/2 mile into the hike, and boy did this stick come in handy. I left it by the trail head for another hiker to use- I inscribed the stick with my blog info
Day 5- Kauai
We had to be out of our condo by 10 am, but our flight to The Big Island didn't leave until 5 pm...so we had to figure out something to do for a full day. After watching football playoffs, in which my Cowboys lost-sniff, from 8:00am-10 am (gotta love time zones) we left our beautiful condo and drove to a hike called "Sleeping Giant". There are three trailheads for the Sleeping Giant. http://www.kauai.com/nounou-west We took the 4 mile round trip, west trail. HOWEVER...we did not park at the forestry gate- we found that if you drove back into the neighborhood (zig zag around until you find a few cars parked on a cul-de-sac) there was safer parking. (at first we did park near the forestry gate- walked for about 5 minutes and saw where others had parked-then went back and moved our car!)
We are so glad we picked the west route as it went through an amazing forest of mature Norfolk pine trees planted by the CCC.
As you can see this was a tough trail, pretty much straight uphill with tons of tree roots. Going up and coming down were both hard- equally hard was the people who kept telling me the Cowboys had lost their play-off game :-(
When you reach the top of the trail- there is an additional trail that Sid and Sarah chose to take- and of course they felt the need to boulder scramble and get a picture from the very top of the Giant!
Why oh why do they do this to me????
My kids on top of the cliff!!
WE bid a fond farewell to Kauai. It was an amazing island.
Now onto the Big Island!
If you want me to help you plan travel - contact me at jackiebarnes217@hotmail.com
