To make a detour from everyday life take a 6 hour plane ride to the very
western edge of the United States.
Hawaii is a wonderful place for a laissez faire attitude to settle into a
worn, mainland body. Hawaii is exotic enough to make you feel you are far
away from it all, yet has all the conveniences, amenities and ease that is
essential for all lazy travel.
Kaua’i, also known as the Garden Isle, has all these aspects and a taste of
every flavor of the Hawaiian islands, no island hopping needed. One of the
best times to visit is during their winter off-season when the days are a
balmy 82 degrees, it rains for about 10 minutes each morning and evening
and the waters are sporting warm waves.
You will have to deal with the Trade Winds that come down from the
Northeast Pacific, but because of this the beaches will be deserted. You
can run the whole length of a white sand beach and run into more turtles
than tourists.
Starting from the county seat of Lihue on the East end of the island and
heading north will bring you into Wailua and Kapa’a (from the funny
telephone conversation in the movie “Honeymoon in Vegas”). Both small towns are
reminiscent of Santa Cruz, California: a hip, local surfer hangout with
funky artists’ shops and open coffee stalls. The farther north you go, the
less populated the island becomes.
This 533 square mile island houses a population of around 54,000 people,
not including the numerous tourists who hop in from other islands.
The one main highway around the island makes it very easy to find your way
around and in three days you will know the whole island. The roads are
clean and well cared for even though the road signs may throw you off a bit,
but some travelers know that it is best to get lost once in a while.
The northern waters of Kaua’i are known for being rougher in the winter
than other shores of the island, but this is where you will find some of the
most scenic stops, white beaches, wet , green cliffs that plunge into
valleys filled with sugar cane and rainbow villages. The highest point of
the island is the cloud covered Mount Wai’ale’ale. At 5,148 feet it is
the wettest place on earth and receives more than an inch of rain a day.
Looking up into the green slopes of the mountain you can see thin, silver
waterfalls of pure rain water snaking down into the valleys below.
Heading south from Lihue will take you into the resort communities of the
island. Poipu is the largest town. Here is where the party-goer will find
the dance clubs, restaurants and other resort amenities that come to life in
Kaua’i’s tropical night.
Restaurants in Kauai serve the usual American fare with local fruits and
vegetables and an Asian influence thrown in. Be prepared for slower service
that what you may be used to. You shouldn’t be in a hurry anyway.
Poipu is also where most boat tours dock. Each tour is different and
ranges from low basic prices to luxurious accommodations which include
gourmet meals. Each tour boasts a different adventure to be had, but most
of them all sail to the same areas of the island. However, during the
winter and spring off-season most boats will not land on any beaches due to
the surf and the surge that continuously rock and slosh passengers. Get
ready for a fun or nauseating ride, according to your personality.
Our mid-range vessel, a catamaran named the Amalua, took about fourteen
passengers up along the Na Pali coastline which runs along the southern and
western part of the island. Several movies including Jurassic Park, Six
Days and Seven Nights, King Kong and South Pacific have been filmed along
these green and red cliffs that soar out of the blue ocean and are crowned
with clouds and white birds.
resident cetaceans of the area are smaller than your average bottlenose – about half the size of a man-and are called “spinners” for the aerial acrobatics they perform in the waves and boat wakes.
Even a visit from their larger neighbors is possible. During the spring, Humpback whales travel past the Hawaiian islands on their way up to Alaska to feed. Special whalewatching boats can be hired to chase after a spouting blow hole or an elusive fluke. However, the whales will be the ones to choose who they show themselves to. No boat can come within 100 yards of a whale, but the sometimes 40-foot long mammals can come as close to a boat as they want. Our small catamaran was heading back to the Poipu dock when about fifty yards out a large blast of water flew into the sky. All passengers on the boat yelled in unison, “10 o’clock, 10 o’clock! Whale, whale, whale!”
In the next few seconds a male and female humpback arched their namesakes out of the amethyst bay, two white flukes broke the water and rose high into the air and proceeded to dive into the depths away from these awestruck landlubbers who cheered with tears in their eyes.
Before a wonderful picnic lunch served by the captain of the Amalua and our guide, Quentin, all passengers donned snorkel gear and dived into the waters near the Na Pali coastline. Winter and Spring also brings colder waters to the area. Quentin, leaping off the side of the catamaran let out a shriek when he hit the water. To us hardy mainlanders, this is bathwater. Let Quentin swim in Lake Tahoe in summer.
Here a coral reef is home to dozens of tropical fish including the elongated trumpet and flute fish. We were lucky to be able to swim alongside a family of turtles who inched along the shallows and sunbathed on the coral.
From both a boat and on land you can get a good view of Ni’ihau, or The Forbidden Island. A look is all you will be able to get from this island. It is forbidden to tourists. The only people who live on the island are native Hawaiians who live off the land of this remote island which seems to be always enshrouded in mist.
Back on land we head from Poipu to the far western part of the island. The farthest place tourists are allowed to go is Polihale Beach, the longest beach in the Hawaiian Islands. Barking Sands Beach is one of the more accessible areas. The white sand of this very hot beach can be kicked a certain way which sounds like a dog barking. No rocks, coral or seaweed mar the floor of the blue ocean in front of Barking Sands. However during the off-season do not swim here unless you are a good, strong swimmer. The surf, waves and surge are beautiful but dangerous. The area around this 12-mile beach is on the windward side of the island and is dry and dusty. Kauai is famous for the rust colored sand that coats the roadside and the skeletons of trees robbed of water from the green side of the island.
The change in temperature and plant life becomes drastically different when you start moving up into the higher elevations. On the road up to Waimea Canyon and Kalalau the first pine trees are evident and the air becomes a lot cooler. In fact, at the Kalalau lookout it was downright freezing.
Waimea Canyon is a deep red scar running ragged through the green flesh of the western part of the island. At 10-miles wide it is the largest canyon in the Hawaiian Islands and at almost 4,000 feet deep it offers a spectacular view of rivers, waterfalls and narrow valleys certainly never disturbed by humans.
Further up the road is the Kalalau lookout. Here is where you can get a photographer’s dream view of the Na Pali Coastline and the ocean beyond. The lookout area has a nice park and eating area, but pick a day to eat here when there is no wind.
One of the best things about the island, and something that may be taken for granted, is that all beaches and parking around the beaches are free. However, everything else around the island is rather expensive. Shop around for deals on hotel rooms, buy food from the grocery store and outdoor markets. You can pick up exotic fruits and huge vegetables for a fraction of what it would cost on the mainland.
After a week in Kauai, the winds, the waves, the sand and the daily sprinkling of fresh rain will heal a body of mainland malaise. A winter and spring vacation here is better than most places during the summer. Accept open spaces as yours, drop your watch in the ocean, take a breath of the flower-laden breezes, and dip your toes in the rainwater of the garden in the middle of the Pacific.
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