Here are some more pics from Kauai … Big Island photos coming soon.
More Kauai Photos
Tag: Kauai
The North Shore
Dan and I traveled to the North Shore/Na’Pali Coast today. The trip which ends at Ke’e Beach brings you right to the edge of the Na’Pali coast and that is the end of the road, unless you want to hike for miles and miles through jungle. Not me and more on that later…
We took several detours on the way there, including a visit to The Koa Store. Here were Kauai made products from koa wood — boxes, bowls, clocks, jewelry, etc. We got a very pretty 5×7 picture frame made from koa. Then we had lunch at Brick Oven Pizza. This time we tried the white crust. I prefer it over the wheat crust I think.
Then we took a big detour to a waterfall. This fall was not easily accessible from the road for viewing like all the other ones. We had to hike down an old dirt road to a path (through a forest/jungle) to get there. 
The falls are not typical touristy places like the others because there is no parking and they don’t really show up on any guides. But the road and trail are on public/state land. The hike took only about 15 minutes, but unfortunately, I forgot the bug spray! The stream was flowing quickly, so the falls were very nice. Worth the hike and the bugs because we were the only ones there! 
We traveled on stopping at lookouts on the coastline along the way. We made our way to Kilauea and the Kilauea Lighthouse. The lighthouse area is the northern most point in the state of Hawaii. As you approach the lighthouse, off to your right is a cliff that provides spectacular ocean color, crashing waves, and strong winds. 
It was beautiful that I think we took more pictures of that than the lighthouse! Perched on the cliff were hundreds of white sea birds to add to the effect. We learned at the lighthouse the steel was made in Canton, Ohio. The lighthouse itself is not very big compared to other ones we have been too, which was a bit surprising given the scale of the coastline!
We stopped at a pull over which appeared to just be overlooking a lava outcropping into the ocean, but Dan ventured past the Dangerous – No Beach Access sign to find there was a beach. The outcropping had a few lava pools (one on top that I could see and one beachside). Seemed like a very nice beach. Around here though, the beaches generally are not swimming beaches. You have to be very careful about getting in the water with the currents and the strength of the waves. Considering there was no life guard and our guidebooks indicates the swimming was extremely hazardous at this beach, the state put up the signs.
We finally made it to the end of the road and the view up the Na’Pali coast was very beautiful. Not sure how the pics will turn out becuase the sun was setting and creating a haze over the coastline, but it was still amazing to see the cliffs.
So we have been to all the shores of Kauai and driven as far as you can both North and West.
BBQ
After the long day of sightseeing we ventured back to Kapaa. Seems that is where all the really good food is that doesn’t have an hour wait or require reservations.
We ate dinner at Scotty’s Beachside BBQ. DELICIOUS!! This may be the best bbq we have ever had. It has won several “best of” awards and this time those voters got it spot on! We had the sampler (ribs, pulled pork, beef brisket, and chicken) and had lots of spicy sauce on the side. My favorite was the beef and Dan’s was the sauce!
Gotta try this place if you are ever in Kauai!
Cliffs
I had to have a nap before doing anything else on Wednesday. The early start had caught up with me! After the nap we went to another south shore beach — Shipwreck Beach. It was so named because it used to feature one but it is long gone now.
This beach fronts the Hyatt resort and a golf course but can be accessed by anyone since beaches are public in Hawaii. The scenery was spectacular with high surf and cliffs and lava rocks and palm trees! The sun went behind clouds to set so it was shady and cooler on the beach which was so nice!
Surfers and others boarders were enjoying the waves and we enjoyed watching them ride and crash in them!
The cliffs are called Makawehi Point and there is a path to the top. Popular spot for fishing and jumping off into the ocean. Yes I said jumping. Two young boys did just that while we were there! I was scared for them because the ocean was churning so strongly and the waves were crashing up against the rocks. But they made it not once but 3 times! I was so thankful Ryan and Nathan were not there! 🙂
Waimea Canyon and Points West
We both got up early on Wednesday to head west to the Waimea Canyon for sunrise. The trip was worth it because we got to see lots of sights without any crowds. Waimea is where Captain Cook first set foot on the island. The canyon is 10 miles long, 1 mile wide and over 3,600 feet deep. Our GPS checked in around 3,900 feet.
The canyon was spectacular with its red dirt and green forests. There were many lookouts from which to get a look at its beauty. The first one we stopped at, however, had so many bees you could just here them humming so loudly. Not see them but hear them! We moved on.
Good thing too because there were better lookouts as we climbed the canyon!
There is an 800+ foot waterfall in the canyon. I can’t get enough of the waterfalls! But the view from the very top of the canyon was amazing. Ocean to one side and deep canyon to the other.
Because we got such an early start, there were no crowds for several hours. You could hear the birds and even water rushing from so far away. But on the way back down there were so many more people and they were not taking in nature so much as just gawking at it and yelling about it!
We had lunch in Waimea at Wrangler’s. It had a western flair and was all open-air dining. Bless the hostess for putting me under a ceiling fan! The food was good. They have the smallest salad bar but it was cold and fresh.
After lunch we traveled to the end of the road on the west shore. In Kauai, roads just end and you can’t go any further. Generally you have a view waiting for you. Here we didn’t chance the rental on the 4 miles of dirt road that continued on though!
We waited in line for shave ice at Jo Jo’s Clubhouse – known to be the best on the west shore. Their mac nut ice cream was excellent but I still think Fish Hut wins as the best ice.
Lu’au
On Tuesday we went to a lu’au — Kalamaku at Kilohana. It is held on the site of an old plantation. April – we were greeted by shirtless Hawaiian guys! Wished you were there with us! 🙂
I received a reed head band by our greeters and a flower lei. Dan got a shell lei. We strolled the grounds and visited vendor booths — Kauai/Hawaiian crafts. I sipped a mai tai (which was very tasty) while we sat under a very large mango tree. Then I had another mai tai….
The show was excellent from beginning to end. It began very traditional (grass skirts, etc.) then became more modern telling the story of how the Polynesians came to Hawaii. Then there was fire dancing thrown in, which was impressive and cool to watch in the dark!
The food was really good. Kalua pork is delicious but poi is not. They had small samples of it to try instead of serve yourself quantities. It did not have much flavor, but was gritty and not tasty. Dan had the coconut mashed sweet potatoes which were good but very sweet.
We danced on stage with other wedding and anniversary couples to the Hawaiian wedding song. Beside of us was this sweet, older couple. I heard someone ask them how many years and he replied, “None. It’s our honeymoon!” They had to be at least 75!
We are trying to decide if we want to attend a lu’au on the Big Island because this one was so fun!
Waterfalls post Update!
I added some pictures to Tonia’s post on waterfalls. Take a look.
Blue Hawaiian – Kauai
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Beaches
I slept in a bit this morning….so it was 5:30 instead of 4:00! We went to Poipu beach for a few hours. I got a little red even with mass quantities of sunscreen. It was nice to lay on the beach and read and nap and people watch and nap. 🙂
At the beach, several sea turtles came up to the shore. One was huge! Must have been at least 3 feet long and wide. I got a got look at him in the clear water.
After some lunch and shave ice (more like sno cone) we ventured off to a lesser known beach. Amazing scenery. I didn’t know pine trees grew by the sea! We took a hike up a cliff and there was another spout-hole inland. No water but it did hiss and we noticed the sand in front of it bubbled. Cool!
Now we are in our Hawaiian best and heading to the lu’au. More on that tomorrow!
another beautiful beach
Drove a couple miles on dirt road to get to this one, but it is well worth it.
