Kaua'i part I

We continued our tradition to go to the Hawaiian archipelago over Thanksgiving this year and boarded the plane to Kauai on Saturday after Thanksgiving. After an uneventful flight, we arrived in Lihue and went to get our car. Of course we booked the cheapest car available and of course they tried to sell us something more expensive. As we were prepared for this and already decided that we are not getting a convertible (cabrio) it was easy to resist. It got a lot harder for Shinji once we got on the parking lot and the guy told us that we can get a real huge pick up truck for no increase in money at all! However, Shinji’s ecological heart prevailed and we upgraded only to a compact car. 

We were staying in a hotel in Kapa’a, which is on the east side of the island. It’s a little touristy but we were not spending much time there anyway. On the first day we went north to see a lighthouse perched on a cliff with tons of seabirds, including albatross and frigatebirds, as well as Hawai’i’s national animal the Nene (which are, very unspectacularly, geese…). Next we went snorkeling in one of the beautiful little bays that line the coast and spotted our first honu (turtle).  The afternoon was spent shopping surfer t-shirts and board shorts and we ended the evening with a drink and pupus (appetizers) in a fancy hotel overlooking Hanalei bay. The sunset was spectacular but the service one of the worst we ever had. 

Kilauea lighthouse

The second day was dedicated to the Grand Canyon of Hawai’i: Waimea canyon. This canyon is located on the west side of the island and good for hiking. We chose a hike towards the famous Na'pali coast. It was an 11-mile round trip and Selina could feel every bit of it in her legs the next day! But first to the hike: we were hiking down from the mountains towards the coast along some ridges. The view was just spectacular. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t great and we couldn’t see the valleys in their best light. It was worth it nonetheless. Throughout the hike we could hear and see chickens (did I mention that there are chickens everywhere? Literally! And they make a massive uproar in the morning…), lots of helicopters (it is very popular to see the valleys from the air), and we even saw some goats on top of the mountain. On the way back we stopped at the actual canyon, which deserves its comparison to the Grand Canyon.

Na'pali coast

Waimea Canyon