Kauai 2010

Jeff and I were treated to an adventurous yet relaxing week on The Garden Island of Kaua'i Hawai'i! It was amazing and we loved every minute of it! Thanks Mom & Dad for making it possible! We kayaked the Hanalei River, touched the back wall of the Wai'ale'ale Crater, 4 wheeled to the top of the Napali coast, snorkeled, boogie boarded, enjoyed delicious island fare.... and much much more..... Scroll down to see our week.

Our first day in Kauai! We checked into The Cliffs at Princeville, walked the length of the beach at Hanalei Bay, then enjoyed some deliciously prepared fish at the Postcards Cafe.
If you come to Kaua'i with adventure on your mind.... you'll need a 4-wheel-drive.

Kauai 2010: Kayaking the Hanalei River

We took a Kayak up the Hanalei River. It was beautiful. We kayaked under a bridge, along side the taro farms and then deep into the thick of the jungle.

Jeff took the steering (and paddling) position in the rear, while I paddled away in the front. We were told we were the most harmonious paddlers on the river! Synchronized paddling at its best! Yeah... we're good. But I think it was actually our adventure hats that made us look so good.

The bananas weren't quite ripe.

On the trip I accidentally dropped my sunglasses into the water. I was sure that they were gonners... but Jeff magically reached his oar down to the bottom of the water, and slid the end of the paddle just behind the lenses. The arms of the glasses wrapped around the backside of the paddle and he carefully carried them right back up and handed them to me. He's amazing! He should take up spear-fishing! And I was so grateful. Then I sat on them about 20 minutes later and broke them to pieces. Oh well.

The river narrowed and became more shallow as we went further. We wanted to navigate it as far as possible, so we got out a few times and pulled the kayak behind us. Eventually we had to call it quits and head back down the river.

It started to rain a little so we hid in this natural shelter. The Jungle was so thick over head, that we stayed completely dry.

It also gave me some time to test my skills. I wanted to see if I could stand up on the kayak. Jeff didn't think I'd be able to do it and stay dry..... but I did.

There was an older couple kayaking on the river, who seemed to be struggling with the "work together as a team" part of tandem kayaking. They were all decked out in safari gear and had the appearance of serious bird watchers. Both the husband and wife had a set of huge binoculars. However, I guess they just had the cool gear and no skills because they paddled right underneath this King Fisher. It was only a couple of feet over their head, but they missed it entirely. Kind-of-funny!

Kaua'i 2010: Wai'ale'ale Crater

The Wai'ale'ale mountain is the "wettest spot on earth", recieving at least 460 inches of rain per year (that's 452 more inches then we get!). The vegetation that results in the crater is amazingly lush. I've never seen anything like the Wai'ale'ale Crater.

We started this hike with no intention of hiking further than the Blue Hole-- a swimming hole fed by three streams that pour in through a georgeous split waterfall. But, when we realized that we were 1/3 of the way to the crater, we couldn't resist continueing up the creek.... even though our guidebook warned against it. "If you insist on (going further) your going beyond adventure and working your way toward crazy since it involves scaling waterfalls". I guess were a little crazy.... but in all fairness, most of the waterfalls could be avoided by just climbing up the loose, and slick wet bluffs to the sides of them.

The route consisted mostly of boulder-hoppping and creek-wading. You can see the entrance to the crater up the creek. It actually heads back as far as you can see, and then turns to the left.

The area was beautiful. We passed this crop of banana trees, and also a bamboo forest. I really wanted to climb up one of the trees and pick a bunch of bananas, but they were all too small and green.

We found some small sections of trail... but they were quite muddy.

The jungle was lush and thick and the trail was often overgrown. Sometimes we even ended up on pig trails... which are not easy to navigate.

The Blue Hole

Snack break...

Here, we were crossing a ridge, just before stepping into the crater. Notice the helicopter... this is a popular spot for hovering!

Looking straight up the lush 3000' crater wall... covered with all kinds of green foilage.

View of the back wall of the crater, often referred to as the "weeping wall". There are tons of waterfalls and it is amazing!

We did it! This is the view from behind one of those many waterfalls on the back wall of the crater. This is one of the most amazing places we have been . . . but I think we already mentioned that a few times already.

Video of the Canyon



Videos of the Waialeale Crater