I’m back with more of my Hawaii vacation recap. If you missed the first part, on Oahu, click here! The following is on Kauai.
I loved the homey, cottage feel of our hotel, Kauai Beach Resort. Our room overlooked the four pools and waterfall, with the beach just beyond, and featured floor-to-ceiling shutters that allowed us to keep the glass doors open and fall asleep to the sound of the waves. We skipped the resort’s many amenities, such as a spa, gym, and restaurant with live music but frequented the grab-and-go menu at the cafe for pre-adventure fuel of breakfast sandwiches, burritos, and coffee. We spent part of our first day on the beach behind the resort, where fishermen kept their poles in the sand and black crabs camouflaged themselves among the rocks, and at the pool, where I nomnomed on kalua pork sliders poolside. That evening, we headed for the Grand Hyatt for a luau, which was really fun, although we were very far from the stage. I think I had, like, three glasses of pineapple juice. :)
While everyone would wish they could trade places with the retired couple who own this 300-acre Kauai ranch, at least anyone can explore its majestic beauty on horseback. The friendly staff at Silver Falls Ranch offered refreshments as we gathered at the stables on a misty morning, watching peacocks strut about and a cat sleep away the day on the still-warm hood of a car. After a brief tutorial on how to handle the reins (and how to prevent our horses from chowing down on the lush green foliage), we were off, following our cowboy guide through 80 acres of botanical gardens (orchids, palms, hibiscus) and an ancient volcanic caldera, over the Pohakuhonu stream, to the base of the 2,800-foot Makaleha mountain range.
About two hours into the three-hour ride, we stopped for a delicious hot lunch of teriyaki chicken, rice with salty seaweed seasoning, pineapple and macadamia nut-studded salsa, and guava juice—as well as a swim. At the base of the eponymous Silver Falls, adjacent to the picnic site, is a deep natural swimming hole. We weren’t quite prepared for the temperature—the water was easily 60 degrees—and waded in slowly, trying to not lose our footing on the slippery rocks, while our guide showed off climbing a tree and jumping in. Once acclimated, we sat amid the falls, letting the white water spill over our shoulders as we took in the picture-perfect surroundings.
After our horseback ride, we headed for Tunnels Beach, a popular spot for snorkeling and surfing. In fact, this is where pro surfer Bethany Hamilton lost her arm in a shark attack. The water was too rough to really get into that day, so we took in the sights and explored the nearby cave. We went into the “dry tunnel” (we heard there is also a “wet tunnel” nearby), which is pretty big. Paul went to the very back, having to crawl into the tight spaces. I loved how the lush green landscape of Kauaii looked from inside the cave.
After missing out on snorkeling at Tunnels Beach, we devoted the next morning to snorkeling on the south side, at Lawai. We rented gear from Boss Frogs and then jumped right in. In fact, we moved a little too quickly for Paul, who waded in forgetting that his new iPhone 4S was in his pocket (despite our best rice bag efforts, it never came back to life, and he lost all his photos of the trip). This was my first time snorkeling, and despite the awkwardness putting on the flippers and getting into the water, I really enjoyed it. We saw lots of colorful fish, interesting coral, and some cool-looking skinny trumpet fish. I so wish my disposable camera could do it justice: These were among the best of three cameras’ worth of snaps!
Since we were now pros at handling frigid cold water, we headed for Kauai Backcountry Adventures, a company staffed by enthusiastic co-eds that organize a variety of outdoor activities on Kauai, including mountain tubing. After being fitted for helmets with head lamps and super-grip gloves and donning water shoes, we hopped into a Jeep-like off-road vehicle for a very bumpy 20-minute ride through the former Lihue Plantation, stopping for the occasional scenic lookout. Opened in 1849, this was the first sugar plantation in Hawaii, and in the 12 years since it ceased production, the jungle has reclaimed the land. At our “launch site,” we plopped into sturdy inner tubes and began our descent through the Hanama’ulu Ditch—four miles of irrigation canals and tunnels that were dug by hand in 1870. The water originates near the top of Mount Waialeale, one of the wettest spots in the world, and is channeled down through the system by gravity alone.
Guided by the current, our tubes spun and bounced off walls, rocks, brush, and each other. Before any significant drops (a foot or two), our guides would hold us and release one at a time, and whenever the ditch got shallow, one would yell, “Bottoms up!” The word “sorry” was off-limits (the guides were sick of hearing it whenever people bump into each other) and so was complaining about the frigid water (we were to call it “refreshing” or “invigorating!”) Traveling through several tunnels was both eerie and magical—lichen above us sparkling like glitter in the light of our head lamps, echoing voices piercing a very strange silence. For the final tunnel, we switched off our lamps, crashing blindly through the total darkness, thankful for the protective gear. At the end of our journey was the “horse play area,” where we could swim or test our skills at tube surfing, and then we gathered, shivering, for a picnic lunch of sandwiches and Maui-style potato chips.
These are just a few of the incredible sites around Kauai that we took in as we drove from adventure to adventure: Wailua Falls, which apparently was featured in the opening credits of television show Fantasy Island; the stunning, 10-mile Waimea Canyon, known as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific; and picturesque Hanalei Valley, with acres of taro fields in various stages of flooding.
These aren’t really in chronological order, but… We enjoyed some shopping and more shave ice, and visited the Spouting Horn, which is a hole in the lava shelf that sprays water into the air with every wave. Some of my favorite food stops on the island were Puka Dog and Tortilla Republic. At Puka Dog, we enjoyed unusual and crazy good ”Hawaiian-style hot dogs.” A soft bun is impaled on a hot metal rod to toast from the inside out. Then, the hole (the “puka”) is filled with a custom combination of sauces and a grilled Polish sausage. (Mine: garlic lemon sauce and pineapple salsa.) Hip Mexican restaurant Tortilla Republic had a two-hour wait for dinner, but a table opened up in the bar area, which offers a small plates menu. We devoured a trio of salsas, and four different kinds of soft taco plates: carne asada, chicken, fried fish, and grilled mahi-mahi. Everything was fresh and delicious. And, finally, we rang in 2012 on the beach at Poipu, with fireworks in the sky—and on the beach!
My first trip to Hawaii was so, so fun! And I’m so happy to have visited one more state on my list!
