Pictures: Lyle Such
Camera: Canon 5d Mkiii
The first stop in our week long trip around Kauai was Pali Ke Kua Beach in Princeville. After valet parking at the St. Regis, we descended the steep and treacherous dirt path and found this amazing stretch of isolated beach. The water temperature was perfect, and the waves were nice and calm. The entire beach is backed by cliffs and dense forest, which made it feel like we were on a deserted island away from civilization.
Anahola Beach
The reason we traveled to Kauai was because of a winning bid on a house called Na Paina at a PHA charity event. We didn't expect such an amazing place. The view from our balcony was a perfect Hawaiian scene. Palm trees, perfect blue skies and an amazing uncrowded beach. Exploring up and down the coast we discovered tide pools, a nice quiet lagoon, and endless beach with only a few locals scattered amongst the waves. This might be the best spot on the island to stay!
Wailua Falls
Wailua Falls is a 173 foot waterfall near Lihue. Apparently it was used for the opening credits of Fantasy Island, but most of us in the group didn't recognize it, and had never actually seen the show.
We were looking forward to a hike down to the falls and a swim in the cool deep pools beneath. As we drove into the parking lot, however, we were faced with a chain link fence and warnings to not venture down the trail. It was a disappointment knowing that a few years ago it was perfectly legal and open to explore the falls.
Hule ia Stream
Today's adventure brought us to the Hule ia Stream. After pairing up and watching a brief instructional course on operating a kayak, we were off and paddling. We worked our way up stream past distant cliffs covered in vibrant green foliage and got a brief glimpse of the man-made Menehune fish pond. Our guide talked about the invasive mangrove plants that covered the riverbanks, and explained that even though the river flows into the Nawilili Bay, there are no longer any Nawilili trees left.
We encountered a series of brief downpours, but it was a welcome relief from the hot sun beating down on our backs. Every 30 minutes or so we stopped to take a break and let the stragglers catch up. During those breaks our guide taught us about the history and geography that surrounded the river.
After about 90 minutes of paddling, we reached the end of the kayaking part of our journey. We exited the river and hiked a short distance through the jungle.
Bamboo Falls
The rappel that we had prepared for was down the face of Bamboo Falls, a 30 foot, extremely slippery waterfall. Everyone had their own technique, trying to master that “Hard L” form we were taught.
Hawaiian Dundee Falls
After we were finished rappelling, we hiked up a muddy trail to the second waterfall, which they call Hawaiian Dundee Falls. Rising twice the height of Bamboo Falls, we looked up and wished we could have rappelled down this one as well.
Instead, we swam around, took some pictures, and climbed up to the rocky alcove behind the falls to get an up close view.
During this hike, we first encountered what would turn out to be Nini’s favorite Hawaiian plant, the Laua'e Fern.
Hawaiian Dundee Falls was the iconic Hawaiian waterfall that we were all hoping to see. After the disapointment of not being able to access Wailua Falls, we were thrilled to get this close and really enjoy a true waterfall.
Menehune Fish Pond and the Huleia Valley.
Queen's Bath
We started the next morning with a trip over to Queen’s Bath, a natural tide pool on the rocky shores of Princeville.
Nini and Steve had some fun jumping from the cliffs into the deeper parts of the pool. Then we decided to go exploring, which led us to a second more secluded pool that feeds in to another ocean outlet. We tried a little bit of snorkeling, and saw a variety of fish.
With the help of a girl who seemed bored with her boyfriend, we managed to take some great photos in the turbulent waves that spill over to form the pools. The view up and down the coastline was amazing, but we really had to focus on not being swept away by one of the more violent waves that came crashing in around us.
On the hike out of Queen’s Bath, we came across a small series of waterfalls that were too good to pass up. After time spent in the salty ocean water, this was the perfect spot to stop and clean off in the refreshing cool water provided by the falls.
On the way up we started to see the large amount of people that were headed down to the bath. Parking has become a nightmare in a lot of popular spots in Kauai, and we learned that to really experience anything without the crowds, you have to get up and arrive early in the morning. It looked like we got out of there just in time to avoid all those people.
If there’s anywhere in the world you should take a helicopter tour, Kauai is the place. We decided to take the doors-off tour, and it really paid off. The views were amazing, and without the doors you can look around at unobstructed views with no glare from the windows.
Our flight started on the southwest coast of Kauai. From the Lihue airport we flew west over Nawiliwili Bay and the Huleia Stream, then past Poipu and the famous tree tunnel which we would explore later in the trip. The south side of the island has a much more open landscape, covered in every shade of green you can imagine. As we passed over the first set of mountains, the weather began to grow colder and the air more turbulent. Soon we would be in Waimea Canyon.
The first highlight of our helicopter tour was Manawaiopuna Falls in the Hanapepe Valley. It is a 360 foot privately owned waterfall, and the only way to see it is by helicopter.
The Hanapepe Valley and Manawaiopuna Falls were used in Jurassic Park, most noticeably during the introduction scene to the island.
We circled the falls a couple of times, and then moved on as the storm clouds began rolling in.
Waimea Canyon
Flying over Waimea Canyon was another unforgettable experience. At 10 miles long and at times up to 3,000 feet deep, Waimea lived up to it’s “Grand Canyon of the Pacific” nickname. The colors ranged from deep reds and earthy browns to vibrant greens and yellows.
Nā Pali Coast
The Nā Pali Coast is a 16 mile stretch of rugged cliffs and peaks which you can only access by foot, boat or helicopter. As we emerged from the clouds and rain of Waimea Canyon, the coastline stretched out before us and it felt like we were in a scene stright out of Jurassic Park.
Our first double rainbow.
Some of the cliffs reach up to 4,000 feet.
As we rounded the northeast corner of Kauai and left the Nā Pali Coast behind us, we flew over Princeville, Hanalei Bay, Tunnels Beach, and many of the populated areas that we would get to know over the course of our vacation. The perspective from the air gave us a new understanding of how the reefs and beaches were layed out across the northern coast, and we had a peak at some of the richest properties on the island.
The most spectacular sight in our tour was easily the flight into Mount Waialeale. The shield volcano is 5,140 feet tall, and is one of the wettest spots on earth.
Tunnels Beach
We visited Tunnels Beach twice during our stay on Hawaii. It has nice calm waves, an easily explorable reef, and plenty of fish to spot while snorkeling.
Hawaiian Whitespotted Puffer
The Needlefish was one of the stranger creatures we encountered. It was calm and seemed to be curious about us humans.
A scenic overlook on the way to Princeville. We had to stop for the rainbow.
Limahuli Garden
After snorkeling at Tunnels Beach, we stopped to visit the Limahuli Garden, a small section of a 1,000 acre nature preserve set aside to protect the plants and culture original to Hawaii. We took a self-guided tour which meandered through the foothills and around this perfectly manicured mini-paradise.
The Nawiliwili tree we’d heard so much about.
The peak’s claim to being one of the wettest spots on earth seemed pretty accurate, visibility at the top was almost zero.
We met up with Steve's high school friend Rick and his family for a wet and wild jungle adventure. With no regards to the horrid road conditions, Rick lead the charge, careening his Jeep through huge puddles and ditches, up rocks and around tight, twisty turns. Steve and Lucas, trapped passengers, held their breaths and prayed for deliverance.
We held on tight as we bumped along in our own Jeep trying to keep up, but fear for our lives compelled us to put on the brakes every so often. At one point, we completely lost sight of Rick's Jeep. Rick had to actually turn around to look for us. We weren't too far behind, but the thought of being lost in the jungle was worrisome.
The posts indicate the location of the gates to Jurassic Park.
With flimsy convenient store inner-tubes, we gave caution to the wind and followed Rick's lead once again. This time floating down the rapids strewn with giant boulders and sharp rocks into an old, narrow irrigation canal, which leads to a small waterfall. We had to jump off the tubes before the falls and trudge through sinking mud before climbing back onto the bank just to do it all over again.
For Rick's family, surviving this dark tunnel seems like a rite of passage. For a long stretch in the middle, it is pitch-dark. We couldn't even see our own hands in front of us. Some of the younger kids were too afraid to even try.
It didn't take many trips down the rapids before one of the inner-tubes was pierced. We patched it up as best we could with the little repair kit that was included. It didn't last long. On our next journey down the canal, Thu's tube was whistling. By the time we reached the infamous dark tunnel, it was so deflated that Thu had to attach herself to Lyle's tube to stay afloat.
The dark tunnel opened into a deep pool where twin waterfalls converge. We wandered up-stream along one river and found an incredible wall of giant ferns and a rock in the shape of an alien head.
A rope swing dangled tantalizingly off a branch on the other side of the pool. We couldn't resist. Nini finally got what she was hoping for! Splash! We all took our turn then headed for the hike back up to the Jeep.
The last stream we floated down was very shallow and rocky. It was a core work-out the whole way down because we had to try be as flat as possible, distributing our weight as much as possible.
The shallow stream emptied into a deep pool. A large tree firmly stood at the bank with two rope-swings hanging from its branch. Showing off our swinging techniques and splashing into that pool was the perfect way to end our fantastic jungle adventure. Thank you, Rick and family.
Hanalei Bay
This tree tunnel was on our way to Poipu. We drove through it five times hoping to get some good footage with the most amount of sunlight and the least amount of traffic before us. We risked our lives on countless attempts, running into the middle of the road, posing for a picture and running back out before becoming roadkill.
Polihale Beach
On our last night, we drove to the end of the road on the southwest side of the island, which placed us on Polihale Beach right before the Napali Coast begins.
We took advantage of this one-last-chance for a sunset swim in paradise before heading back to reality. Glad we did it.
With much confusion, we managed to pull the top off the Jeep in the dark for our final drive back to the hotel. Overhead, the stars began to twinkle a few at first. In no time at all, swirls of sparkling light smiled on us from above. We pulled off to the side of the dirt road to star-gaze, sitting in silence and staring into the vast unknown, thankful for this peaceful moment in time.
Lyle was thankful for another chance to use his tripod and experiment with nighttime photography. What an amazing starry night picture!
