We drove up Waimea Canyon and took pictures at different lookout points. We found this cool little waterfall. The red "rock" is actually really red hardened sand.
Waimea Canyon looks like the Grand Canyon, but with more greenery.
Stunning!
All of these lookouts were very high. Even the clouds seemed beneath us.
After driving back down the canyon we went and got Hawaiian Shave Ice. The macadamia nut ice cream is a must! Jo Jo's was really good. I highly recommend it.
The beaches here are phenomenal. You still need to be careful because the waves are really strong. If you go to a place with a reef, then the water is usually calmer. We did a lot of snorkeling. We went to a beach called Hideaways and it was really cool because you have to take a short but really steep hike down to get to it. In a way that was nice because the beach was secluded and not heavily crowded.
We went to another place called Queen's bath, which was basically an area of cliffs made from black lava rock. It was insane! I had never seen something like that before. I felt like I was walking among gigantic pieces of charcoal. We also saw five sea turtles!
One of the best activities we did was take a boat tour along the Na Pali Coast. The only way to see this coast is either by boat, helicopter, or you embark on an intense backpacking trip for which you need to get permits early in advance. The boat tour was four hours. Caleb and I sat in the very front row. I felt like I was on a roller coaster but it was totally worth it! I absolutely loved it! During the tour we got to go inside sea caves, snorkel, and we also saw spinner dolphins and sea turtles.
If you're someplace scenic, you absolutely have to see a sunset at some point. We went to Hanalei Bay and walked on the pier right at sunset. It was gorgeous. Caleb would probably call it sexy.
Yup. One Sexy Sunset.
Another great adventure we did was hike the Kalalau Trail. It was only 8 miles, but it took us 7 hours to complete! The terrain was...not ideal. We walked in wet gushy yucky mud. It also rained periodically throughout the day, so the mud stayed gushy and yucky, BUT it was totally worth it. We hiked to the Hanakapi'ai Falls, a 300 foot waterfall, according to wikipedia. It was breathtaking. The hike itself was beautiful, even with the annoying mud. It is a strenuous one so make sure you're in shape if you want to get to the waterfall. We had to cross streams that came up to your thigh. I was a little nervous on some of them, but they weren't as bad as I thought and was quite refreshed after wading in the water.
THE waterfall. Hanakapi'ai Falls.
Caleb calls this his Wolverine picture. He's pretty proud of it, but if I would have asked to post this he would have said no. So I didn't ask. And not many people read this blog so I think he's safe. This is about the shape you need to be in for the hike.
On Sunday after going to church (yes there's a Mormon church on this island!) we did some sightseeing of other waterfalls and also took a walk along the lithified cliffs in Po'ipu. The view there was incredible. The cliffs, the ocean, and a famous golf resort in the the background made it a picture perfect place.
Having fun taking a selfie.
Picture Perfect.
Very Cute Couple!
We had so much fun with Caleb's parents! We are most grateful to them for taking us on this trip! It was the perfect balance of relaxation, adventure, and rejuvenation. I'm afraid if I go to the other Hawaiian islands I'll be disappointed. Kauai is hard to beat.
Aloha!
<3 Jessie
1 comment:
I would not be in shape for this hike. Great post and it looks like you had loads of fun!
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