Kauai
Arrival to the not so big island of Kauai!!!! What this island lacks in size, it definitely makes up in character! We arrived to gusty winds and cloudy skies. I say this as to preface the next thing that’s coming. Unfortunately, although our big jet from the Big Island made it in fine, it was decided that our little plane tour/lesson was probably best left for another day lest we get bounced around and stare into the clouds for two hours. We rescheduled for two days later which turned out to be a much better idea, so we then had two days to explore the island before our sightseeing adventure from the sky. We promptly picked up our little convertible from Enterprise and then went back to the airport to retrieve our bags (in reverse order you see, due to the quick switch over to our next flight, our bags ended up on the next flight over.
Since we knew we may be touring the west side of the island with friends in the coming days, we decided to knock out the north/northeast side of the island from Lihue until the road ends at the Na Pali coast. In case this is your first introduction to the Na Pali coast, this is an area that does not have passable roads through it, much like the Darien Gap in Columbia. It is possible to cross on foot, but not by car, the terrain has provided a formidable opponent to the earthmover. We ventured to the last beach at the end of the road (see attached photos) and got a couple of great shots of this amazing topography. As we made our way back towards Lihue, we stopped at a couple of dry caves along the way. We ventured in for a few photos and continued on to Hanalei Bay. We walked out on the lone fishing pier and saw several people learning to surf on the smaller waves that had been subdued by the shelter from the open ocean. Our next stop was the Kilauea lighthouse where the price of admission was covered by our national park pass. It would have been worth double just to see the waves break on the large pockets they had scooped out of the cliff sides over the previous millennia. This is a great point to bird watch and whale watch. We saw several species of birds there which seemed quite different from anything I’ve seen in Oklahoma. Although I must admit I’m not much of an aviary connoisseur, this was pretty impressive. We also saw whales playing a ways off shore, but no breaches this time. As we continued around the island, we passed many awesome beaches and resorts including Princeville, which we understand is the more “uppity” part of the island (read: golf courses & private runways, which is a bit odd since I don’t know of anything that will land on that small of a runway that will make the pacific crossing, but who knows??).
As we rounded the east side we stopped by our hotel, dropped off our bags and made our way to the Gaylord Plantation to take part in the ultimate Hawaiian touristy party, the luau. We attended the Luau Kalamaku, which we were told is the best luau on the island to go to. The luau takes place in a large open tent like structure and given the rainy weather, it kept everyone dry. I was pretty impressed with the whole show as it seemed as though everyone was genuinely having a good time, including the performers. I always hate going to events where I feel like it’s a bit of a sideshow/exploitation of cultures, but this seemed more like a big party that was enjoyed by all. I can’t say I learned a ton about Hawaiian culture there, but in hindsight, I don’t think this was the point. The luau is really just a big dinner party with a cultural show that contains a bit of Hawaiian history and context. Misty even got up on stage and tried to learn how to do a hula dance of some sort.
Saturday started with our rescheduled plane ride around the island, as we arrived at the airport, we met our pilot, Doug McDuff. Low and behold, Doug was a 1970 graduate of Putnam City High School and entertained us with stories of his football glory days. Real nice guy, good tour guide as well. The skies were still a bit cloudy, but looked reasonable on the northeast side of the island (around the Na Pali coast) where our goal was to be able to see the shoreline of the impassable parts of the island by air. After going through the clouds on the southwest coast of Kauai, we made our way slightly into the Waimea Canyon. We weren’t able to fly too close to the waterfall that is known for it’s appearance in the movie, Jurassic Park, solely because the clouds kept us as bay. Around the west side of the island we passed the Kauai Coffee Plantation (FYI-this plantation grows almost 60% of all coffee sold in the US, who knew?) and continued up the west coast until the Na Pali coast was visible. This was the view we were waiting for and it did not disappoint. Seeing the serrated mountains from the top of the island through the clouds and all the way into the ocean, all untouched by most of civilization was pretty breathtaking. Our journey in the small plane ended as we rounded the last point and made our landing around 2 p.m. local time. We highly recommend anyone who visits Kauai to take a plane ride (not a helicopter tour) to see the entire island. We used Wings over Kauai (I had researched these folks for months before we decided to go with them) and the experience was top notch. Bruce, one of the flight instructors at the school isn’t a big fan of Facebook (self disclosed), so he likely won’t see this, but we wanted others to know the experience was excellent, definitely 5 stars!
Around the south end of the island we decided to make a stop at a couple places to sample the local cuisine for lunch before we went to a few landmarks on that side of the island. We stopped at the Koloa Fish Market for the Hawaii staple, Poke. Let me tell you….this stuff is awesome. It’s basically a sashimi salad. I tried two different varieties, a spicy Poke and a Korean style Poke. The spicy definitely won that battle, but both were amazing. I only wish it were available back at home. Misty wanted to go and try Puka Dog, a strange hot dog place she had scoped out on Facebook. It’s basically a hot dog sized pig in a blanket with special local sweet and savory mustards and sauces. It’s definitely worth the stop as it’s another must eat, but it’s not quite to the level as “I NEED THIS AT HOME” as the Poke is. We forged ahead to Poipu and Shipwreck beaches where there were some spectacular views, partnered with sea turtles and monk seals. The local wildlife conservation groups stand guard for the napping seals on the beach and tether off small sleeping areas so gawkers don’t get too close and bother them. Unbeknownst to me, the specific seals on the Hawaiian islands are a species specific to the island and are endangered. After the wildlife viewing and a bit of hiking to get to the great views, we ventured up to Spouting Horn, and areas where the waves have carved out a small cave with a hole in the top. When the waves crash into the shoreline this unique formation creates what looks like a geyser coming out of the rock. It’s a pretty neat thing to see, I’ll add a few photos here so you can see it as well.
As Misty has noted, she’s been in recovery mode of this crazy sickness she had for several weeks now. Unfortunately, when we visited Mauna Kea on the Big Island, she started to have some sharp back pain (like you get with pneumonia) when we went to higher elevations, likely culprit, pleurisy. So for four days she pushed through the pain and carried on, but no trip would be complete with one last trip to the urgent care to make sure all was well (and to verify I didn’t need to quickly trade her in for a different model to make the rest of this international trip with). She survived, no trade in needed. While she was in the urgent care, I made a short run around town to find a Hawaiian shirt, I noticed that the little convertible we were in may also be in need to some “urgent care” as it was starting to smell a bit like syrup, and I didn’t have any pancakes on hand at the time. I proceeded back to the Enterprise by the airport, also not far away at this point, and dropped the car back off for repairs. Seemed as though a water pump seal had seen better days, but not to worry, they had a little Jeep to give us in exchange. on us so that we could continue our journey the next day.
As the evening set in, we had the chance to meet up with a previous co-worker of MIsty’s at a restaurant in town. Huge shout out to The Oasis on the Beach restaurant, let me tell you, this place has ridiculously tasty food and drinks. First we sampled their house made Mai Tai, which was the best we’ve had yet! We then moved on to a main course of local, freshly caught fish and island-raised steak, both were just amazing. Between the Poke at the fish market and the fish and steak at this upscale eatery, we have definitely been culinarily spoiled by the island of Kauai!!!! We will be coming back to this island, guaranteed! As we settled in for the night, Misty’s friend offered to give us a personal tour (by car) around the west side of the island the next day, taking us to all the greatest spots only known by locals. On that note, off to bed in preparation for another day filled with new sights to see and great experiences to be had!
