because it's fun.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Kaua'i - Day 5

Day 5 was our big touristy day. We had booked an adventure with Princeville Ranch Adveutures for hiking, kayaking and zip-lining on their private property. Our tour guides Tiff and Sam were awesome as was the setting:

Kayaking their private river was awesome, all the trees and lush vegetation made for an awesome stroll "up river".

After kayaking we did some zip-lining which was awesome. The unfortunate part is how quickly flying across tree tops can go!

After our adventure we headed back to the hotel to relax for our evening Luau with Smith Family.

Here is the awesome kalua (pig) after it was uncovered from its imu (oven):

The food at the buffet was delicious:

Kaua'i - Day 4

After two days of hiking we were pretty much set on having day 4 be a fairly easy day.

We started the day out at the Glass Beach. Essentially it is a beach littered with sea glass located in the middle of an industrial area in Ele'ele. The glass found on the beach evidently came from broken bottles and auto glass dumped by Swiss Cheese Shoreline on the western end of Kauai. It made for a great morning digging through the beach to find some sweet sea glass treasure to bring home:

After the beach we headed up to Koke'e State park area again to see the Kalalau look out. Since the previous day had been so foggy we didn't get a chance to see the breathtaking look out. It was certainly worth the second drive on the hair raising road for the opportunity of a glance at the Napali coast:

After the look out we did something I never would have imagined. We stopped at (gasp) a coffee plantation. Kauai coffee is pretty popular in the area (obviously) and since Brian's mom loves coffee we thought we stop for a quick tour and to pick her up some coffee directly from the source. Here is a picture of coffee beans still growing:

Fun lunch we tried another local favorite, 'plated lunches'. This one we got from Mark's Place, I've already eaten the salad but what remained was Katsu Chicken, Teriyaki Beef, Beef stew and rice. The container was loaded full of food and it was all delicious.

Then we went to spouting horn. This natural wonder occurs when water rushes under a lava shelf and bursts through a small opening at the surface each time spraying water into the air. In addition to the spraying water there is a low growling sound which occurs with the rushing water.

Kaua'i - Day 3

Day 3 like most days started out pretty slow. We enjoyed muffins on our hotel balcony followed by a swim in the pool. Once we were set for adventure we signed ourselves up for zip lining on day 5. After that we headed to the North shore for the Kalalau Trail which is an 11 mile trail, which we only did the first 2 miles. We hiked from Ke'e Beach to Hanakapi'ia beach. The hike was by far one of the hardest hikes I have ever done. It was rocky, slippery, wet, up/down and also along a cliff most of the way then at the end you had to pass through a stream which had the potential to sweep you off into the ocean to your death... Despite all those negatives it was an amazing hike filled with water filled shoes and breathtaking views.

This is us literally on the trail, notice the stream...

One of the many amazing views along the trial:

Us at Hanakapi'ai beach just after going through the scariest stream up to our waists. I was so nervous and shaky that I absolutely forgot to take a picture of how strong the current was.

An amazing parking job we saw at Ke'e Beach. You have to love how people treat rentals:

On our way back to the hotel we stopped at the Hanalei Overlook, the view was amazing:

Kaua'i - Day 2

Day 2 in Kauai started out pretty slow, we began the day by heading over to the St. Regis hotel to check out the beach to get some sand in our toes and our feet wet. It was a beautiful morning and we spent some time just watching surfers ride the North Shore waves.

After relaxing by the beach we headed to the South Shore, we stopped at Wailua Falls along the way. It was a beautiful drive up to the top of the falls and was one of the bigger falls we have ever seen. It said in our tour book that the official government height of the falls is 80 feet, but the authors note that it looked considerably taller, so they decided to measure it and found that it is 173 feet - as tall as Niagara Falls (although far less water flows over)!

After the falls we headed up to see Waimea Canyon and Koke'e State Park. Waimea Canyon is often referred to as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. The canyon stretches 14 miles long, one mile wide and more than 3,600 feet deep.

While in Koke'e State park we stopped for lunch and Brian tried out a local favorite called the Loco Moco. Which is essentially white rice, topped with a hamburger patty, topped with a fried egg, and then finally topped with brown gravy. He says it was delicious...

After lunch we decided to do the Awa'awapuhi trail which promised to provide us with breath taking views of the Napali coast. Unfortunately once we a couple miles into the hike fog rolled in, so all we were able to see was the trail and the clouds...

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Kaua'i - Day 1

Our first official day in Hawaii was spent primarily at the Allerton Garden - National Tropical Botanical Garden.

Since this was our first day on the island after a long day off travel we decided to take it easy. The Allerton Garden promised to be a place filled with unique plants and a beautiful setting.

Our tour guide Martin was a hilarious guide who allowed us many opportunities along the tour to taste many of the fruits growing within the garden. They were all delicious!

After our tour of Allerton we set out to find Puka Dogs. We had heard about these prior to heading to Hawaii from our good friend Matt. So based off his recommendations we had to try one. Overall the most interesting hot dogs we will ever eat. They have a different bun shape than a normal hot dog but the uniqueness of them comes with their garlic sauce and their fruit relish.