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| Rainbow over Poipu Beach |
Kaua'i, The Garden Island, was beautiful. I think of all the Hawaiian islands I have visited, Kauai was my favorite. There was so much to do that we hardly made it to the beach. Here is everything we did:
Also, this post is another long one... sorry... but not sorry.
Beaches
There is SO much to do on Kauai outside and because of that, we didn't make it to the beach very often. Here are the three beaches we did spend time at:
Mahaulepu Beach
This is known as a "locals" beach and is found at the end of a VERY bumpy dirt road; if you don't have a 4-wheel drive vehicle, plan on walking this road. You can find Mahaulepu Beach by driving east on Poipu road and the paved road will end and turn into the dirt road. As you are driving you will come to a sign that says "No Trespassing," and then in a tinier print, "after 6pm." Continue on the "No Trespassing" road but be sure to be back before 6pm because at 6pm they lock the gate to the road. At the end of the road you will come to an area where cars will be parked and you can either park there or continue down a tinier road to park right on the beach. Either parking area works. I liked this beach because it wasn't crowded. Plus, there are tons of fun sand crabs to watch.
This was another great beach and it wasn't too crowded because it was difficult to get to and I think that lessened the traffic there. Drive north on Hwy 55 and then at mile marker 32 the road will end and you will turn left onto Nohili Road, a dirt road, and anytime the road forks, take the right fork until you get to the very end and you will end up at the beach. One fun thing about this beach is it is located in the perfect place on the island to watch the sun set on the horizon of the ocean. The day we went to this beach there was no way we would be staying until the sunset but another night, after we had finished another activity, I said how fun it would be to hurry and drive back to this beach and watch the sun set and my mom got this big smile on her face and said, "Let's do it!" My poor dad had to drive like a maniac on the Indiana-Jones-Ride like dirt road to race the sun before it set. We got there with 10 minutes to spare and we all ran out to the beach to watch the sunset.
Poipu Beach was the beach near our place and so convenient for us to go to when we had an hour or two to spare. There is also some great public beach parking east of The Grand Hyatt, if you are not staying near the beach, that is right on the beach as well. At the very east end of the beach is Ship Wreck Rock and there were people jumping off of it. I decided not to jump because the waves looked too strong and I was worried about swimming back without a buddy. Next time!
Beaches I would like to go to the next time I am in Kauai would include Glass Beach and Tunnels Beach. Here is a cool website I found about all the beaches in Kauai; check it out here.
Waimea Canyon aka the Grand Canyon of the Pacific
This was such a beautiful drive and I would put it as a "must do" if you will be visiting the island. You can just take two hours and drive the canyon road and stop at the 4 major lookouts or if you have more time, go hiking on some of the trails that leave from the lookouts.
Why did the chicken cross the road?
(They were EVERYWHERE)
Helicopter Ride
Everyone we talked to before going to Kauai said we HAD to go on a helicopter ride and I'm glad they did. It was so amazing to see all of the island and all of the beauty it has to offer. It was also neat to be able to see areas where it was impossible to access by foot or car, and to fly right up to the waterfalls. There were a few times where I would see something and think, I want to go there! How do I get to that?!
We booked our tour through Jack Harter Helicopters and I thought they did a great job with customer service, safety and making sure it was a great experience. You can book a tour on a helicopter with doors or no doors. We did ours with no doors and I liked that because you could take great pictures. There was another lady with us on the helicopter who said that she has done a ride with the doors closed and regretted it. Be sure to wear long pants and a sweatshirt; it gets a little chilly. You can either book a 60 minute tour or a 90 minute tour; we did the 60 minute and that was perfect, I don't think I would have wanted to go any longer.
This is the Tunnel of Trees, we drove through
it almost every day, from an areal view.
Kilauea Lighthouse
This stop was fun for the scenery and to see all of the birds across the way at a bird refuge, but if you don't have time to spare, I wouldn't say this is a must stop.
NaPoli Coast Hike
The NaPoli Coast was probably my number one favorite stop and adventure of the trip. This hike is 11 miles one way but there is a beach you can hike to that is only 2 miles (4 miles round trip) away and then you can hike another 2 miles into the island, from the beach, to some waterfalls. We didn't make it to the waterfalls, we left too late in the day, but I loved this hike. Keep in mind that even though it is 4 miles it is quite difficult; lots of rocks and up and down steep hills. I would for sure take some walking sticks, it makes the hike much easier and they will come in handy (muddy or dry). Pack some snacks, lots of water, maybe a Gatorade too, and a sandwich; you're going to need the refueling.
Kipu Ranch
If Kipu Ranch can not tie for first, as my favorite adventure of the trip, it came in a VERY close second. Kipu Ranch was owned by the last Queen of Hawaii and then sold to the Rice family with the agreement it would not be developed and commercialized. The ranch was first a sugar cane plantation and then later became a cattle ranch. Today it is still a cattle ranch but they also offer tours of the ranch. We did the BBQ/ATV Tour.
The tour consists of driving around the 3,000 acre ranch and taking a break halfway through to eat a BIG lunch/dinner. It was such a beautiful ranch and so fun to see some of the places where movies were filmed; Jurassic Park, Raiders of the Lost Arc (Indiana Jones), one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies... to name a few. I loved that this land was not commercialized and glad that there can be such a large space of Hawaiian land to see.
Tips:
You will get super dusty and the dirt has some red in it, so if you wear light colors, you will be staining your clothes. They will give you a bandanna to wrap around your face, so no need to worry about breathing the dust.
Wear a swim suit! Something that is not advertised about the tour is a stop at a rope swing into the river. It is the same location as the rope swing in Raider of the Lost Arc at the beginning of the movie when Indie is running away from the natives. (I'm thinking they have replaced the rope swing since the movie was made because that was back in the 80s). I LOVED the rope swing and didn't stop with just one swing into the river.
Don't forget your driver's licence, which totally makes sense but of course I forgot mine. The funny thing was, the lady looked at me and said, "Did you bring your driver's licence because you just don't look old enough to drive." Hahahaha, I should have told her that I have had my license for 11 years. The tour was in those four seater ATVs so I just rode along with my parents.
Along the tour, our tour guide would stop and grab fruit from the ranch for us to try.
This looked like a little white grape inside this hard shell and it tasted like a grapefruit.
The rope swing!
The first time I went off the swing my mom said, "Oh, I was having so much fun watching you I didn't take any pictures. Do it again!"
The tour also went to the top of the mountain that surrounds the ranch. Above is us at the top of the mountain looking down to the beach on the other side. Below is looking down into the valley.
Wailua Falls
These falls are famous for many reason, one of which is they are the waterfalls from Fantasy Island.
On the Island is a full functioning monastery you can visit. They have a dress code but also have sarongs available to help you follow the dress code. Such a beautiful stop. We didn't take a tour but just walking around was enough for me.
Hawaiian Village
We visited the Kamokila Hawaiian Village one afternoon. We were told this was a great place to rent kayaks and go up the river to some waterfalls but didn't make it here until the day we were flying out and so we weren't really thinking swimsuits. Seeing the river though, I can't wait to go back and kayak. We were going to just walk around the village but we got pulled into a tour. The tour was... well... she meant well. I probably could have learned everything I was interested in on the fact sheet they gave us and gone without all of the ladies plugs to buy her CDs or go to her luau shows.
Food
Since we stayed in a condo we made most of our meals but we did grab two meals from two great places:
Bubba Burgers: Kind of a hipster/sarcastic atmosphere. There was a wall full of bumper stickers; my favorite was, "Spandex is a privileged, not a right." This is not a sit down restaurant but there are plenty of places to sit and eat. There are three locations on the island.
Hamura's Saimin: This was a "locals" place recommended to us by a neighbor who had found it when visiting Kauai last year. I really liked it. It was just a fun and different atmosphere; I felt like I had left the US and was getting a true authentic meal. The restaurant has these short counters that you sit at, you seat yourself, and then a waitress comes and takes your order. Now if all of the spots are taken you just have to stand until another party finishes and take their place. Also, be ready to order and order fast; if you didn't order fast you won't get to finish your order. I got the Saimin and then some BBQ beef. I think next time I would get the Special Saimin because it came with extra things in it like a dumpling and hard boiled egg and things. I'm not much of a Lemon Meringue Pie person but they have a Lemon Pie dessert that all the locals said you had to get and my mom got it and LOVED it.
Island Personality
Just some cool roots of a tree.
Met this little guy when I stopped to get a shaved ice once day.
We loved it every time we saw the bus stops and an assortment of chairs or benches had been left there to make the waiting time more comfortable.
This was a sugar cane factory near our hotel.
Tunnel of Trees
In the Hawaiian culture it is considered a "royal" place when trees line both sides of a road or path.
This was just a pasture we passed and I loved the look and had to take a picture.
We worked really hard to take a selfie with the waterfalls behind us. Sadly, this was our best.
P.S. If you are ever having a bad day; just remember that someone (or something) else is having a worse day.
Mahalo!
