Amy & Martin's Trip to Kauai
Check out the slide show
Day 1
We flew from Oahu to Lihue, Kauai the day after Martin's paddling season finale in the Molokai Ho'e Race. Check out Martin's Road to Molokai for all the details about getting to and finishing this race.
As soon as we arrived, we picked up our rental car, a Chevy Tracker. We drove south to Poip'u, and lounged on the beach, enjoying the sun. A huge sea turtle was swimming just off the beach in the shallow waters with a few snorkelers. We decided we needed snorling gear, and headed off to Snorkel Bob's to rent equipment.
We drove to old Koloa town, the site of Hawai'i's oldest sugar mill. A monument to the workers stands in front of a brick furnace, the remains of the mill. Along the way, we stopped at a little fruit stand to buy star fruit and papayas. The old Hawaiian women told us all about the giant avocados that grow in Hawai'i while another woman was chopping the top off coconuts with a machette in the background.
We stopped at Salt Pond Park to check out the campsites there. It turns out this beach is right next to a factory and a small airport, and besides the beach itself, the campsite was not very enchanting. We ate our papayas and a little lunch and then kept moving west along the highway.
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In Hanapepe we stopped to check out old Hanapepe town and the Hanapepe
hanging bridge. This bridge was destroyed in the last hurricane, but has
been restored since. On the other side, we found a path that led back along
one of the creeks that feed into the river and farmlands watered by rerouted
streams.
We stopped in Waimea to check out Lucy Wright beach, on the Waimea River. It was a very small campground, just a patch of grass, next to a beautiful long bech. We walked along the beach to the pier and decided we needed dinner in order to make a decision on the campsite. Down the road we found the Shrimp Shack, and while waiting for our food, the guy there tipped us off that the beach just down the road is a local's camping hangout. We picked up our garlic shrimp & coconut shrimp and headed down the highway to Kakahi beach. Kakahi beach is a long stretch of beautiful beach, facing west for spectacular sunsets. We found a spot to eat and watched the sun go down at the end of our first day in Kauai. After crusing the beach a little, Martin found a perfect spot right on the beach in a patch of trees to camp. After setting up the tent, we laid back and marvelled at the stars - there is hardly any light pollution in Kauai to drown them out. That night, a big black crab crawled up the beach to our tent and was click-clacking at our tent door - creepy!  Kakahi Beach at sunrise |  Hanapepe bridge |
The next day, we woke to an awesome sunrise and a rising tide. After packing up the tent, we headed back to Waimea for coffee and supplies. Unfortunately, the only coffee shop in Waimea is closed on Tuesdays, so we headed back towards Hanapepe in search of breakfast. We found a local's well-known diner, the Grinds Cafe, right off the highway. We sat out on the covered patio and were treated to light rain and a double rainbow over the field in front of us. The food was almost as good as the scenery.
view from the Grinds Cafe patio
After finishing a long breakfast, Hawaiian style, we headed west again to check out Polihale beach. This beach is at the end of the road on the west side of the island, and ends up aginst the backside of the Na Pali coast cliffs. The last 5 miles of the road are dirt and little bumpy, and we found the beach mostly deserted. A few campers were set up at the far end. We walked all the way to the base of the cliffs and thought about our upcoming hike on the Kalalau trail.
Polihale beach is a state park, so we had to head back to Lihue to get a camping permit. We picked up ur permit for the Kalalau trail while we were there and headed back to Polihale to find our camping spot. We arrived just before the sun set, and found an awesome spot under the trees along the back edge of the beach. We had our own ridge of sand to sit and watch the sunset over Nihau, a small island just off the west coast of Kauai. I kept thinking as we looked west that the next closest land in this direction was Japan.
We cooked up a can of beans that I didn't want to carry in my pack anymore, and ate them up with cheese and bread. We fell asleep to the sound of the huge waves crashing on the beach.
Polihale Beach, facing west to Ni'ihau
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We woke up early and cooked up a breakfast of oatmeal and fresh Hawaiian
bananas. After packing up, we headed back out the dirt road and up to Kokee
state park, which overlooks Waimea Canyon in one direction and Kalalau
valley in the other.
The drive up to Kokee goes along one edge of the canyon. We stopped at several scenic overlooks to take it in as we climbed in elevation. Across the canyon you can see Hanapepe valley and the wide ridge that connects the two. A few farms can be seen near the mouth of the canyon valley, where the first Kauaians settled on the island, and from up here, you can see why. On the east side of the valley is the Hanapepe river and the lush Hanapepe valley, and on the west side the coast on the warm, dry side of the island. The view of Kalalau valley and beach on the northwest side of the island is amazing from Kokee. As we stood and watched the mist flowing out of the valley, a rainbow appeared and the mist cleared, revealing a waterfall on the opposite valley wall. There were alot of chickens roaming around the island, waiting in parking lots for tourists to feed them. On the way down from Kokee, we stopped at the vistor's center to check out the museum. They had timelines & history of the first settlers on Kauai, the introduction of plants and animals, and the weather that at times, has ravaged the island. They have a guide you can borrow for a nature hike up the hill behind the museum that helps you identify some of the more common plants. It was raining on and off while we were up here, and we decided to head down to Poip'u where it's sunny and do some snorkeling. By the time we got there, the tide was going out and the waves were a bit rough, so the water was a little cloudy with sand, but we still saw lots of neat fish. Martin saw a stingray! We stayed until the sun went down, and then went looking for a campsite. We went to the end of the road in Poip'u where there is supposed to be a good beach for unofficial camping, but the gate was closed & locked. By this time, it's dark, and we're tired, and we opt for the Kauai Inn in Lihue, which turned out to be a really cool place even though it's in a weird location. |  Waimea Canyon |
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We woke up well rested, showered, and had a complimentary breakfast of fresh
Hawaiian fruit at the hotel, then headed north up the east coast of the island.
First we stopped at Wailua Falls, which are awesome, and easy to get to. There was a Hawaiian woman making hand woven baskets in the parking lot. Martin had read about Sleeping Giant, so we found the trail (a horse trail going right through some backyards :) and hiked up to his forehead. There was another steep trail up to his nose, but it was really hot and we had forgotten the mosquito repellent in the car, so we took in the views of Mt. Wai'ale'ale and the farming valley below us.  Food at the Luau |  View from Sleeping Giant We stopped in Kapa'a to check out the local craft fair, where we ended up talking to an old Hawaiian guy about the tiny shells from Nihau used to make intricate necklaces, and booking ourselves a luau that night through a smarmy activities coordinator. We scoped out a campsite at Kealia beach just north of Kapa'a and got dressed for the luau. The luau was so awesome - a pig roasted underground, tons of food that just kept coming, a table full of desserts, and a show of Hawaiian dancers, lounge singers, and fire eaters! We headed back to Kealia beach to set up the tent with our bellies really full and fell asleep listening to the waves crash on the rocks in front of us. |
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We woke up with the sunrise and had the beach to ourselves, as the tide was
too low for any surfing. After packing up, we ate breakfast at a sidewalk
cafe in Kapa'a, and headed north. On the way up, we stopped at a fruit stand
for more star fruit & papayas.
We stopped at the Kilauea lighthouse, which is also a bird sanctuary, and checked out the museum of birds. The views are awesome from this point - you can see all the way to Haena beach and ocean as far as you can see north. Onto Anini beach for some snorkeling. This beach is awesome with it's huge coral reef all along the beach, just a few yards from the shore. There were a few other snorkelers there, and a few sunworshipers. Finally, we were off to Kee beach and the end of the road, to begin our hike into the Na Pali coast on the Kalalau trail. We packed up everything because we read it wasn't safe to leave stuff in your car at this lot, as it is well known that people park here overnight and hike into Na Pali for several days. We started the trail about 2 hours before the sunset. The trail was fairly steep, and carrying all our stuff, it was pretty hot. As least the sun was going down, so it was starting to cool off as we walked. We had to hike over 3 ridges before we reached the Hanakapia'i valley ridge and started the descent. On the second ridge, we crossed a small stream with guavas growing along side. We stopped for a face splash and a fresh guava. As we came around the third ridge, we caught an awesome view of the Na Pali coastline with the mist coming out of each of the valleys and the sun setting. Finally we reached the beach just as the sun set, and watched the huge waves crashing on the edge of the cliffs. We setup camp in a tiny clearing of trees above the rocks, pointed out to us by two black kittens that led us up the rock path. We cooked up a dinner of spaghetti and had papaya for dessert. The kittens hung around while we ate, but didn't seem all that hungry. We figured someone must be feeding them. |
 Na Pali coastline  sunset from the Na Pali trail |
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The next morning we woke with the sunrise and had a breakfast of trail mix.
We discovered there were actually three kittens that all looked alike. Martin
tried to teach them to hunt a toad that we found sleeping in a puddle in a
rock.
We left the tent set up and our stuff inside and started up the two mile trail to the Hanakapia'i falls, which was a good idea, as the trail was a little tricky in a few places and might have been hard with our backpacks. At first the trail was easy, going along the river past bamboo groves and lots of other campsites. We came around a bamboo grove to find a long haired guy with thigh high leather boots and a machette chopping coconuts. After talking with him for a while, we found out he and his partner have been living in the valley for a year with their kid. He gave us one of his coconuts and we continued up the path. We had to cross the river a few times by jumping rocks and climb up rocks in a few places on the trail. At the end of the two mile trail we were rewarded with the 300-foot waterfall. We were going to go swimming, but the water was so cold! It comes directly from Mt. Wai'ale'ale rain. So we sat at the edge of the pool across from the base of the falls and ate a lunch of trail mix and star fruit. We headed back down to our campsite, packed up, and started the hike up the mountain to the trail back to the parking lot. It was hot! Finally, we made it back and found our car undisturbed. We took cold showers and rested for a while before heading back to Kapa'a. We returned the snorkel gear in Kapa'a and checked in at the hostel. Martin spotted the Aloha Diner for dinner and we had a traditional Hawaiian dinner of kalua pork, laulau, and rice. The hostel turned out to be really grungy and our roomie was grinding his teeth all night like fingernails on a chalkboard!! Martin kept waking up and yelling at him. |
We woke up not feeling rested, and ate a breakfast at Kountry Kitchen in Kapa'a before starting the drive back to Lihu'e to catch our plane back to Oahu. We missed our original flight because the check-in line took so long (more than an hour!) but were able to get on another flight. Finally, we made it to Oahu and our flight home.