Kaua'i, Hawai'i Trip

To celebrate Brent's graduation, his new job, our upcoming move, and our 6 year anniversary, Brent and I went to Kaui'i, Hawai'i from May 26th to June 3rd, 2008.

We stayed in a little bed and breakfast/guest house on the north shore of Kaua'i. The house was located only 300 feet from 'Anini Beach. According to our travel guide, The Ultimate Kaua'i Guidebook: 6th edition, 'Anini Beach was formerly known as Wanini Beach but a resident thought it was mispelled and angrily shot the 'W' off with a shotgun, and the name change stuck.

Above is a picture of our view from our bed in the house we rented. It was most glorious to wake up each morning to the sight of such luscious green foliage. The house we rented was absolutely perfect. If you ever go to Kaua'i, you have got to check out www. aninibeachhideaway.com. The location is heaven. The only down side was the omnipresent crowing of the wild roosters. Apparently, the roosters can't be avoided no matter where one stays.

Larsen's Beach aka Nude, Male Lovers Beach

After hanging out at 'Anini Beach on our first day, Brent and I took a small hike down to Larsen's Beach. I fittingly renamed it Nude Male Lovers Beach. Once Brent and I got down to the sand, we were walking along and came upon a very nude male standing with his back (thankfully) to us. Our guidebook warned us that some beaches would have nudes (even though it is illegal in Hawai'i) and we assumed the gentleman would be the only one. However, as we pursued along the sand, we came upon at least four nude, male couples snuggling each other in the sand or frolicking in the water. Brent and I felt very out of place.

When we decided to leave, I found an ironic symbol created neatly in the sand. One of the nude, male couples had carefully created a yin-yang sign out of black and white stones. Apparently, the maker of the artwork doesn't understand the meaning of yin and yang.

Secret Beach and Secret Lava Pools

Brent and I headed out to a location our guidebook highly recommended, Secret Beach- also known as Kauapea Beach. It is located on the North Shore and can be reached in all it's beauty after taking a 10-15 minute hike.

Once we finished our hike down, we noticed that the beach was to the right of us but we veered to the left toward the Secret Lava Pools.

The Lava Pools were AMAZING! And the best part was that we had them all to ourselves for the several hours we spent playing in them.

This picture to the right is at the beginning of the Lava Pools where the sea would crash into a high wall. I got some great pictures, and got very wet!

This picture to the left is also toward the beginning of the Lava Pools. There were several pools to play in, and swim with little aquarium friends. Most of the pools were shallow enough to stand and or sit in. They were like large bathtubs filled with sea water and fishes.

Brent and I played for a hour or two in the perfect spot. It was as large as a good sized swimming pool and it even had a jacuzzi style

pool connected to it. The Jacuzzi sized pool had an outlet connected directly to the sea. So, waves would come crashing in and Brent and I would have to hold on for dear life so we wouldn't get swept into the ocean. It was a lot of fun to hold on to each other and the lava rock when we knew a big wave was ready to come crashing!

Kilauea Lighthouse and Hanalei Lookout

Our bed and breakfast was located between Hanalei and Kilauea. So, Brent and I drove past both areas in our travels. We stopped several times at the Kilauea lighthouse and could also see it from 'Anini Beach (which was practically in our backyard). The bluff on which the lighthouse is located represents the northern most point of the main Hawaiian Islands.

We also stopped to view the Hanalei lookout several times in our travels. The lookout is picturesque. According to our guidebook, this valley (pictured below) is where most of the Taro in Hawai'i is grown. (Taro root is what is used to make poi- a purple paste to flavor one's food).

The Kalalau Trail

Brent and I took our chances and hiked eight miles of the eleven mile (one way) Kalalau Trail off of the Na Pali coast. It was one of the best experiences of my life! The trail head (and the Na Pali coast) begins at the end of Ke'e Beach (which is the farthest one can go north by car). We first hiked the first two miles of the trail that leads to Hanakapi'ai Beach. As seen by our pictures, the view along the way is exceptional.

The picture to the right is probably about 1/8 of a mile into the trail. Behind me is Ke'e Beach.

These pictures of Brent and me show our views of the Na Pali coastline after about half a mile into the trail.

We were already several hundred feet above the sea. It was about this time when Brent pointed out a large object in the ocean. We

figured out that it was a humongous turtle.

We couldn't believe how well we could see the shape of the sea creature. It must have been a huge turtle for us to have been able to see it's shape from so far up!

After the first two miles, we were led to Hanakai'ai Beach. The beach is beautiful but, apparently, very dangerous. A lot of people stopped their hikes and swam in the water. Brent and I were not interested because of all the danger signs and because we knew we had a lot more hiking to do and didn't want to get our

shoes and socks wet!

To prove my point about the danger signs,

I actually remember at about an 1/8 of mile before we got to Hanakapi'ai Beach, Brent and I passed a make-shift sign made out of wood which had tallies that represented all of the people who had died in the beach.

There were at least a hundred tallies on that sign.

Once we were done enjoying the view of the beach, we headed inland on a two mile trail near the stream that flows into Hanakapi'ai Beach and takes it's hikers to Hanakapi'ai Falls. The hike inland was so lush with herbage! There were several moments while hiking that I felt like I was in the middle of the jungle (thankfully, we didn't get too many bug bites).

Along the way, Brent and I discovered all kinds of fruits. Unfortunately, most of the fruits were over ripe and had fallen off the trees and were strewn all along our trail. We stepped in all kinds of fruity goop and nasty little bugs.

We were rewarded at the end of the inland trail with the view of Hanakapi'ai

Falls. The falls must have been at least 200 feet tall. The view was incredible.

After replenishing our energy with a PBJ sandwhich and a granola bar, Brent jumped into the pool under the falls. Those who were already in the pool told us that the water was freezing and I was not interested in swimming in 60 degree water.

After much pleading from Brent, and the realization that this was possibly a once in a lifetime opportunity, I changed into my swim suit and jumped into the water. IT WAS SO COLD! The people around us were laughing hysterically because of the funny noises I was making because of how shocking the cold water was to my body. It was pretty hilarious.

Eventually, my body adjusted to the temperature of the water. (Aren't our bodies amazing?) and Brent and I had a great time jumping off rocky platforms and swimming under the falls.

The hike back to the trail head was just as glorious as the hike in. Brent and I were able to get the eight mile hike in (plus the swimming) in under 6 hours. I was quite pleased with our timing, considering I was 5 months pregnant at the time.

We had such a great time and I hope that if we come back to Kaua'i, next time we will do the full twenty two mile hike, including camping overnight.

Wailua River

Several times, Brent and I were able to see the Wailua River (found on the East Shore). The Wailua River is an important part of Kaua'i and there are many interesting stories involving the river. One story I found particularly interesting was that of the Birthstone. Apparently, it was required that all kings of Hawai'i be born at the Birthstone. One of the two stones were used to supported the back of the laboring mother while the other was used to place her legs. Sounds comfortable...

Tunnel of Trees

There were a few times we drove through the Tree Tunnel (found on the South Shore on the way to Po'ipu). The tree tunnel was created in the early 1900's when Walter Duncan McBride finished landscaping his home and found that he had 500 eucalyptus trees remaining. Many of the residents showed up to help plang the trees. Apparently, the trees used to intertwine at the top but no longer do so as a result of hurricane 'Iwa in 1982.

Wailua Falls

One of my favorite places Brent and I visited was Wailua Falls. One can drive right up to the falls. However, Brent and I hiked down a very steep trail that was lined with rope to help prevent falling until we reached the bottom of the falls where a pool

of deliciously cool water invited us to play.

Wailua Falls holds a very interesting history. According to our guidebook, in ancient times men would jump off the top of the falls to prove their manhood. Unfortunately, the test of manhood was usually fatal since the falls are 173 feet tall (taller than Niagra Falls).

Brent and I did see several memorials around the are of the falls of those who had recently been killed by the falls. It seemed that many have thought it would be safe to climb over the fence and stand at the top of the falls. It was sad to see that many people had died by slipping of the ledge of the waterfall.

Sleeping Giant (Nounou Mountain)

Another hike Brent and I did was on the Sleeping Giant, or Nounou Mountain, located on the East Shore.

There are three different ways to get to the top of the mountain and we chose to take the four mile (round trip) version. The trail has a vertical elevation of 1,000 feet and was worth every step we took.

Just less than half way up the mountain, we came across some magnificent trees. According to our guidebook, they are Cook Island pines. These trees were used during the Age of Discovery to make ships' masts because they were so tall and straight.

We found some berries along the way that looked a lot like pomegranates. We met a professional tour guide toward the top of the mountain who was eating the berries by the handful. He told us they were small guavas and completely safe to eat. He told us that he eats them on hikes to keep hydrated. We took his word for it and found that they were deliciously tart! We had a hard time getting ourselves to stop eating them.

The hike to the very top of the mountain was quite steep and (I must admit) a bit scary. It was so worth the hike! We could see about half the island of Kaua'i from our glorious viewpoint. We stood at the top of the mountain with a better understanding as to why Kaua'i is called the Garden Island.

Last Day on Kaua'i- Kilauea Lighthouse, Waimea Canyon

Our last day on Kaua'i, we knew that we wouldn't be able to take a shower before we got on the airplane, so we decided to do activities that did not involve hiking or water.

We visited the Kilauea Lighthouse and learned that when it was built in 1913, it used the largest clamshell lens at that time until the 1970's when the lens was replaced by a beacon.

We also learned about different species of birds, animals, and plant life found only on the island of Kaua'i.

It was also fun to note that we could see our backyard beach ('Anini Beach) from the lighthouse. We were sad to see it from far away knowing that we may not see it again for a long time.

After we enjoyed the views from the lighthouse, we head to the farthest west we could go so we could see the famous Waimea Canyon.

The canyon is reminiscent of the Grand Canyon in Arizona and well worth the long drive to get to the lookout points. According to our guidebook, the canyon is 10 miles long, 1 mile wide, and more than 3,600 feet deep.

Brent and I stopped at the Waimea Canyon lookout and took in the beauty with complete awe. Unfortunately, we did not plan well enough to have a full tank of gas in our rental car and we were not able to drive all the way to Pu'u o Kila Lookout, which is supposed to be one of the best view in the Pacific. I suppose we will just have to come back to Kaua'i very soon!