A vacation in Hawaii, are you serious??!!!! It was hard to believe at first, but eventually we were all packed and set to go.
Hawaii consists of 6 major islands - Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, Maui, and the Big Island. After weighing all the pros and cons of each of these islands my partner and I had finalized Kauai.
Kauai, popularly known as the Garden Isle is the oldest of among Hawaiian islands. Nearly 90% of the land is inaccessible by road, thus its the ultimate paradise for the tropical adventurer. Hiking, biking and kayaking are the common ways to discover this island's hidden corners. It has been the location of various Hollywood movies including Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones' Raiders of the lost ark, Pirates of the Caribbean: on Stranger Tides, Dragonfly and the current TV series Lost.
On landing the first day in Kauai, I was totally taken aback by the beautiful weather, and turquoise water bodies around us. By now, with all my research on this island, I was excited to witness the extraordinary natural heritage that defines this verdant island.
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| A View from the Waimea Canyon Drive |
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Waimea Canyon
Known as the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific," the drive alone is worth the trip as there are many scenic overlooks, pullouts, and hiking trails. Along the road you will find red soil with water cascading over them, and ferns that grow out of the cracks. Farther up you wind through forests and beautiful trees.
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| Bottom of the Waimea Canyon |
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This island gets clouded easily, blocking some views of these gorgeous Canyons, but we got lucky on our trip, as there weren't too many clouds hanging around there.
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| The Waimea Canyons |
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With various options available for hiking we choose to do the Canyon Trial- Waipoo falls. It is a moderate hike of four miles that we covered in around three hours. A scenic trail spurs off the Cliff Trail to follow the north rim of Waimea Canyon. Hiking through the forest, I could hear birds chirping. Soon after I was able to get the closest view of the Canyon which was simply breath-taking, where erosion has created spectacular vistas and steep dropoffs. Steps graded in the red dirt help hikers keep their footing.
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| View from the hike- Going further one can slip off into the Canyons |
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As I got closer to the small waterfall, set in a thicket of wild ginger and tropical greenery, I was able to hear the cascade. It was plunging directly below me, and the combination of lush overgrowth and treacherously crumbling cliffs made it far too dangerous to attempt a downward gaze. We took a short break at the waterfall.
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| Waipoo Falls | | | |
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With no human in sight and the sound of gushing water sent a chill down my spine. I shrugged off the feeling as this was just the beginning of the many thrills to come. We headed back fearing it would get dark soon. The roads are generally narrow here with a single car lane on each side. The car rental company provided us with a big car making traveling on these roads equally adventurous. As we got close to our hotel, I saw the most splendid view of the brightest rainbow ever. Soon realized it was a complete arch, and we were driving under it. Felt like a surprise gift, ..........just few seconds later and I was shocked once again!!! this time a lighter second rainbow stood close to the bright one almost like a shadow. It was bizzare, I wasnt able to register the live beauty of these rainbows.... almost unnatural the brightness of these rainbows amazed me.
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| Driving beneath the Rainbow |
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| This Photo doesn't justify the Beauty of the Live Rainbows | |
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And with the delight of seeing these rainbows, we headed towards the beach. The ocean water looked tempting on the beach, but we decided to skip entering it and ended the day.
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| Beach by the Hotel on the South Shore |
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| An Evening Moon Lite on the Beach |
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Next day, we had a reservation with "Wings over Kauai"- a small 6 seater flight ride voted #1 on TripAdvisor for things to do in Kauai. On reaching there, we were given a choice that due to bad weather, we can postpone the flight ride till tomorrow but we decided to stick with our plan for the day and hoped for the best. As the flight took off, I started getting nervous due to my fear of heights. I had earlier been on a similar sea plane from Vancouver and it was shaky ride (didn't want to experience the same). I starting listening to the pilot's voice through the headphones telling us intriguing stories about the island. He was an exceptionally good pilot, as even through those passing clouds our journey was smooth. A constant interaction with the pilot made the ride more fun.
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| The Lovely Ocean Blue (Nature's Blue Palette) |
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| Ocean below me |
We headed towards the Na Pali coast. This fifteen-mile stretch of rugged coastline on the northwest shore of Kauai literally means "the Cliffs." Inaccessible due to its characteristic sheer cliffs that drop straight down, thousands of feet into the ocean. Flying by this coastline is a great way to experience the Na Pali's myriad of natural wonders. One can also hike it (voted extremely dangerous as a lot of hikers have lost lives either by falling off or by drowning on these beaches).
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| The Beginning of Na Pali Coast |
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| Close-up of the Na pali Coast |
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| The Dangerous Beach at the Na Pali coast |
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| What did it take to make you? |
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| Na Pali coast with its two beaches | | | |
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| Coral Reefs |
We did hike part of this Na Pali coast and I have shared that in the next blog. Soon I was able to see huge coral reefs under. Tunnel's beach is an excellent place for snorkeling with a variety of aquatic life found there. Sailing through this coastline is also an available option. During the months of summer, one can find spinner dolphins swimming along side.
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| Lush Landscape |
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| One of the Many Waterfalls |
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| Nature's Design |
The flight took us all around the island with each 15 min entering a new zone and covering the entire island. At half the price of an helicopter ride, this is a far better option as there are only window seats available. This was a lifetime experience and I was glad we decided to do the flight ride.
Read more about my Kauai experience in the next blog!
