Cock-a-doodle-doo Kauai

We hadn’t been to Kauai in about 10 years. And since we like to island hop, we found ourselves on the “Garden Island” of Kauai. We got to Kauai with no plans. That’s so out of character for us, but we thought this time we’ll just figure it out as we go. Our first day in Kauai, we decided to take it easy and hang around the resort. Took a walk along the beach and lazed by the pool. Managed to walk to the nearby Mexican restaurant for dinner.

We had arranged a sunset dinner boat tour of the Napali Coast with Blue Dolphin Charters. We had some time in the morning, so we headed out to do a little exploring. Put in another one of our Shaka Guided audio tours and off we went. We saw a bit of the southern coast. Saw the Spouting Horn, Shipwreck Beach and Poipu Beach.

It was then time to meet our boat at Port Allen. It was a beautiful day with sunny skies. This northwest part of the island gets pummeled by storms in the winter months and the area is known for its big swells. We got lucky the day we went. One of the crew members told us that on a scale of 1-10 the waves that day were .5 There were still periods where we felt like we were rocking and rolling. Can’t even imagine what a rough day would feel like. It was a great trip to see the beautiful Napali coast. We also came across a few humpback whales. A group of spinner dolphins on the hunt. And to cap off the day, a beautiful sunset.

The next morning, we headed out to do a little exploring. This tour took us on around the northeast side of the island. We thought the last time we were on Kauai that we had explored the north shore fairly well, but it didn’t seem to be the case. Our Shaka guided tour took us to a number of beaches that we don’t remember at all. We started by looking at Anahola. This is a mountain range that has an interesting cutout in it. From certain angles it resembles King Kong. (The photo below doesn’t show that view.) Then it was a visit to Moloa’a Beach. This is the beach where the pilot and first episode of Gilligan’s Island were filmed. Kahili beach was also beautiful, but the ocean waves were rough when we were there.

We took in a beautiful view of the Kilauea Lighthouse. No longer in service, but you can take a tour of it. Reservations are needed for the lighthouse tour, so, we just enjoyed the view. Although illegal in Hawaii, it is said that some people will do a little nude sunbathing on Kauapea Beach (also known as Secret Beach). Secret Beach requires a little hiking to get to. We hiked down the .75 mile trail to the beach without a complaint from Will. Well, unfortunately for Will there were no nudists about, but we did sit and enjoy some of the local surfers.

We then came along to the cute little town of Hanalei. they have a number of shops and restaurants. So, it was nice to walk around and grab something to eat. We drove over to the Hanalei Pier. This is a great beach for kids or if you just want to hang out and grab a little beach time. We also saw a group of people taking a surfing lesson here as well.

What’s up with all the chickens. On Kauai they are literally EVERYWHERE. Scientists have done studies. It seems that Hurricane Iwa in the 80’s and Hurricane Iniki in the 90’s are mostly to blame. The hurricanes came through and damaged a majority of the island including the commercial chicken coops. So, the birds got out found a little “jungle love” with the Jungle Chicken brought from Polynesia hundreds of years ago. Add to that, the chickens are federally protected and have no natural predators on the island. Heck, these guys even hang out at the “Chicken in a Barrel” restaurants. Such Cannibals!! So, as the saying goes, why did the chicken cross the road? Because he owns it.

The next day was supposed to be favorable weather wise. So, we decided to do a little snorkeling at another beach we had checked out the day before. Anini Beach is a great place to snorkel as it has a reef that provides a lot of protection from the waves and a home to hundreds of fish. We went out and I was able to see a number of fish and at one point, I looked over to see a sea turtle swimming by. Yep, I was swimming with Crush. I didn’t take my camera with me for the next couple times we went out, but it was a great morning of snorkeling. We swam with a sting ray and saw many more sea turtles after finally finding the area of the reef where the turtles like to eat and sleep.

Swimming with Crush

Snorkeling at Anini Beach

The turtles wore us out. So, we left the beach in search of waterfalls. Two of the waterfalls were visible from the road. The last one required a 2-mile round trip hike to the Ho’opi’i Falls. It was a nice hike through a forested area down to the falls.

Just in made that evening in time for some shave ice. This is the smallest size we could get on Kauai.

For our final full day on the island, we decided to drive to Waimea Canyon. We did see Waimea Canyon on our last trip there, but this time we spent more time there and did a short hike as well. The drive takes you through Waimea Canyon State Park and the Koke’e State Park. By the time we got towards the end of the road at Koke’e Park the clouds had come in blocking our view of the Napali Coast.