Kauai Vacation

For Barbara's 50th birthday we spent 10 days on the beautiful Garden Island of Kauai. This was our third trip to the Island, and the first time we were there in the summer. We were expecting a lot of sun and surf, but we did have to put up with a little rain as they are having a pretty wet summer.

The other two times we were in Kauai, we stayed in Princeville. This time we rented a great little cottage between Hanalei and Ke'e Beach. The Hale Makai Cottages are three one bedroom and two two bedroom cottages on a beautiful, secluded area only a few steps from the beach. They are a little expensive, but worth it.

The beach was great, it had a reef that made for great swimming and snorkeling. There was also a trade wind breeze that made the hot sun very bearable. We saw a kite boarder and some fisherman out there as well as the folks staying around us, but it was never crowded.

 

After a few days we decided to challenge oursleves a little and hike the Kalalau Trail from Ke'e Beach to the first waterfall along the Nā Pali Coast. The trail is 11 miles; we did the first two miles then broke off and hiked two more miles to the waterfall. The larger trial is ranked one of the 10 most dangerous in the US by Backpacker Magazine and the first two miles are pretty challenging. The beach at the two mile mark is also very dangerous, with a terrible undertow, so don't think about cooling off in the water. Speaking of water, we should have packed a lot more and a few energy bars. We were pretty tired when we got to waterfall, but the water was freezing and very invigorating. It gave us some energy to head back but we ran out of gas and limped in the last of the eight miles.

The highlight of the trip was the helicopter trip we took over the Island. The helicopter did not have doors so we had a great view, but it was pretty scary when it banked to the side I was sitting on. The helicopter ride is pretty expensive, but it is well worth it. It is a great way to get an overview of the Island and see stuff you can't see by car as the road only goes half way around the Island.

I highly recommend visiting Kauai if you are thinking about going to Hawaii. It is still a very laid back place that is not was built up as the other Islands. There are a few big resorts if you are into that, but there are many more great small places and all the beaches are state parks. There are also lots of great restaurants and plenty of amazing activities.

If you want to see more pictures check out my flickr page.