Our last day on Kauai started gusty and rainy. We decide to search out beaches on the north shore. Kalihiwai is a protected inlet and we watch a couple of surfers from the car, waiting for the weather to clear. Anini Beach Park is a long stretch of beach, beautiful but unshielded ftom the wind. We have noticed that Kauai’s beaches have clean sand, with tiny shells and broken coral but no seaweed; tidepools are empty of sealife. The water is cool but not cold and signs warning of strong currents and riptides are everywhere. Ray, wishing he had a rod, stops to watch a fly fisherman fishing for bonefish in the shallow stretch of beach.
We stop in Princeville for Lapperts ice cream where the mango and kona coffee flavors are great. By the time we get back to Kapaa, the skies are blue and sunny. We walk along the Ke Ala Hale Makelae paved path and soak in the last bit of Hawaiian sunshine and ocean air before heading in.
Dinner tonight at Coconut Fish Cafe; its ok but not fabulous. We finish our remaining papayas and pie, preparing for our departure.
Such a windy day today! Our condo gets highway traffic noise by early morning. Kapaa has some severe traffic woes on its single 2 lane road which is backed up for a mile almost all day. Should we kayak on the Wailua River or attempt a hike, we debate. We find trail reviews which talk about 3 Sleeping Giant/Nou Nou access trails – they say the front trail is 3 miles and fairly flat, the east trail is half that distance but moderately difficult, however google maps shows the road is all backed up, the west trail apparently is challenging and slippery if wet. I am reluctant to do the west trail, so we attempt the front one. We encounter thick mud just a few feet in and turn back. Next I am convinced to try the west trail, with trepidation, though it is reassuring when people coming down say it is just fine. We head up, I am anxious on the uphill sections, going up is fine as there are footholds and I have my poles, but I imagine I will need to slide on my butt coming down later. We pass through a forest of trees with rings on their trunks, lining the trail like a road to a distant castle.
The view from the trail looking down on Wailua and Hanalei is majestic even with the misty cloudy skies. Oh no, a huge boulder wall over 3 ft. high must be scaled. I almost turn back, but a couple coming down says it is only 5 min more, don’t stop now… “the boulder is the worst part”. We take their word and I heave myself up this rock and we head up, more slick uphill climbing until we finally arrive at the pavilion. Alas, the bushes are so high you can’t see out, but a litle spur leads to a nice view of Hanalei, the mountains and misting rain in the distance. I chuckle as a young woman asks her friends if they think her grandma could have made it up and someone responds that she would have turned back a long time ago!
The way down is much less treacherous than I had imagined and the tall boulder is easier coming down than going up. We reach the grassy path and I am quite pleased to be still nimble enough to have made it all the way.
Sadly, today we leave Marjories. Breakfast is waffles and crisp bacon; we linger over coffee; the other 2 couples coincidentally are both from California! It is too early to buy pie as they don’t open until 11 and so we pass time wandering the quaint little town of Hanepepe. On the road, it takes less than 30 min to get to Lihue where the traffic comes to a crawl the few miles to Kapaa. We are staying at Plantation Hale, a large complex that is behind the shopping center. It appears the apts are individually owned, rented through air b&b, with a central reservation desk outside. The apt is clean and spacious but smells musty and old, the hallways are like dark tunnels, and we can hear highway noise. It is certainly a far cry from Marjories!
We head to the north shore, stopping at the beach to admire the aquamarine water. We find itty bitty shells which are the size of rice pellets. Up the highway, the forest is lush, vines cover palm trunks and dangle like strands of rope. Kalalea has a lighthouse and we try to find whales. apparently Mark Zuckerberg has purchased close to 800 acres of open space here.
We reach Hanalei, a bustling old beach town. Unfortunately, the road past the town is closed due to flooding and so we cannot access the trails to the Napoli Coast. A side road leads to the beach and we sit and watch the surfers. I am amazed at their ability to balance through the waves! We also watch tourists!
We follow the road up to Hanalei Point, on the ground is a mother hen with her chicks. Below we see taro fields.
I am in an adventurous mood and we find the country road that is below and wander among the taro fields.
The sun is about to set so we take a quick drive through the upscale resort area of Princeville and head back. We search for fresh seafood and come up empty handed; Safeway doesn’t do it justice but will have to do for tonight.
It is sunday and Marjories provides only a continental breakfast basket. The plaintains and papaya with granola is a tropical treat. Today we make a final visit to Waimea Canyon, hoping to hike the Alakai Swamp Trail. Alas, as we drive up the road, it starts to rain and the ground is much wetter than last time. We get to the parking lot but it is so wet, we know there is no point in attempting this trail. After all, this is one of the wettest places on earth!
What to do now? We decide to go back to Kokee SP and try the Black Pipe Trail, backroads Kauai. We walk down the dirt road and into what appears to be a rural residential area. The turn off to the trailhead is unmarked, with crazy muddy ruts. We keep at it and run into a pick up truck with a family- they tell us they are hunting for wild pigs using bow and arrow. The trail is somewhat confusing with many unmarked forks. Thank goodness for gps! It then meanders along the grassy cliffside, too close to the edge for me, the edges eroding and with no railings! I should have heeded the sign that said “hazardous cliff”! Finally, after what feels like an eternity, we reach the main trail and head out, not a minute too soon for me. Enough of muddy hiking! We head down, take one long last look at the canyon overlook; low and behold, a rainbow appears for us.
We make one last visit to the papaya stand; the parents are manning the stand today. No plantains today. We stop at a local market for snacks and prepare for dinner at Keoki’s Paradise, which is a tropical setting with wonderful fresh seafood. We opt for the duo – oma and mani, and decline the hula cake. It is our final night here and we relax.
Alexis and Mark, the owners of the inn, are back from their vacation in Paris, Sedona and Florida. Sarah gets time off. We learn that Marjorie was the original owner of this inn who in the 1990’s built the place to be a b&b. Alexis is a former flight attendant from Highland Park! They tell us that the town is giving b&b’s a hard time, lumping them in with air b&b’s and not letting new ones open. They continue to fight the battle as she would love to open a second place. There is french pastry, coffee cake, mesquite bread and a casserole of eggs and carmelized onions.
Today is our day to explore Poipu and we walk along the small beach, which is starting to fill up with saturday beachgoers carrying chairs and lots of stuff. We decide to visit the 252 acre McBryde Botanical Garden and learn that the Allerton Gardens were the home of Robert Allerton of Monticello IL, memories of childhood and a connection to my Champaign- Urbana past visiting Allerton Gardens. The gardens were rated by Sunset Magazine as one of the best public gardens and we enjoy strolling through palms, spice plants, native plants and orchards.
After snacking on papaya in the car, we drive over to Shipwreck Beach and walk the sandy Mahaulepu Heritage Trail up the rugged cliff overlooking the deep blue ocean. As we wait for our table at Brennecke’s, we watch the sunset; Hawaiian monk seals frolic among the beachgoers.
Dinner is mahi mahi and opah, so delicious! We finish with gelato and smiles at the end of a pleasant day.
Breakfast today is the usual great spread plus baked frittata. We try the fresh açaí juice, thick and sweet, full of antioxidants. Other guests are a couple from Germany and a young couple from Anchorage; she is a development officer but we try to avoid talking shop! Today’s adventure is to find hiking opportunities but first on the agenda is to get pie from the small roadside store, The Right Slice. We buy a small mango lillikoi (passion fruit mousse) and stash it in the trunk for later.
We stop briefly at the red rock hills, hiking a short way to the top of a ledge, which appears to be an old quarry. Not spectacular but the striations in the red dirt are pretty.
Today, we are in search of dry trails. and we think the dirt road at the Kokee SP sign might have possibilities. Kokee SP is a 4,345 wilderness park, 3,600 ft in elevation. We walk the down and realize this is the correct trailhead for the Canyon Trail and where we should have started yesterday; it joins the one we tried to hike yesterday but has no stream crossing. With only a few muddy spots, the hike is in ohia and koa forest then runs along the upper edge of the canyon ending at the overlook above Waimea Falls.
We see lots of helicopters in the canyon area and consider whether we should be daring and do this as well. The hike is refreshing and we reward ourselves by digging into the very delicious pie in Kokee campground and proudly eat half the pie and also manage to leave a feast of crumbs for the chickens. Did I mention wild chickens and roosters are everywhere? There is no place that you don’t hear roosters crowing dawn to dusk!
I photograph the falls in the late afternoon light as we head down the canyon road.
We can’t pass by the papaya stand without stopping. This time, a different young man, a cousin of the last, tells me he is from Tientsin and has been in the US for 8 months. We speak in Mandarin and I learn that the orchard is owned by 3 families from China! People told them Kauai would be a good place to invest so they started this huge orchard and sell locally and to produce companies. He said the papayas are not shipped to China or the mainland. The trees are a year old and he says some papayas are picked green, others ripe, depending what customers want. The ones at the stand look like rejects but are wonderfully fresh and sweet. I buy 6; he gives me a bunch of plantains and shows me huge avocados the size of big grapefruits; I have never seen avocadoes so big. These have replaced the huge coconuts of yesterday. What a delightful conversation we have.
In an exploring mood, we drive along the west coast where the land is agricultural before reaching a mesa to the east. The former sugar haul road becomes unpaved as it leads to Polihale SP. We don’t attempt the potholed road. Back to the coast, we watch the sunset and decide we like the chicken cooked in a barrel so much, we repeat the same meal, only they’ve raised their prices by $1 a dish!!
Marjories Inn lives up to its word – breakfast is served on the lanai with a gorgeous view of the valley. Sarah our host has prepared a spread of sweetbreads, fresh baked bread and jams, fruit and granola. Today’s special entree is eggs benedict with artichoke and spinach hollandaise sauce with crisp bread. It is an incredible meal and we leave well fed and Sarah has armed us with many hiking tips.
We drive toward Waimea, making note to stop at The Right Slice for pie in the near future. The west side of Kauai island has a dramatic and colorful landscape. The weather is hot and dry, the area rural where sugar plantations used to exist. The towns have a slow and easy feel. Hanapepe, once a community for taro farmers, still has salt ponds that have been harvested since ancient times. Waimea is where Capt. Cook first landed.
The gradual ascent along Waimea canyon the Grand Canyon of the Pacific, has many turn outs and the views are spectacular! Across the 2 mile wide, 10 mile long canyon, the walls are striated red, below is the snaking Waimea river, rocky promontories peaks rise from the edge and to the north, a lovely ribbon waterfall.
Sara had instructed us to head to the top Kalalau lookout At 4200 ft. first as the clouds tend to roll in at mid day. Our lingering at each lookout point, Puu ka Pele and Puu hinahina as well as turnouts, gets us up there too late and it is misty and totally socked in. Since it has been raining for 3 weeks, the 1 mile Pihea trail to the Alakai swamp trail is pretty muddy. We see people slipping and sliding, their legs covered in red mud, and decide to forego this adventure. We drive back down and attempt the Cliff Trail but walk less than half a mile before reaching a stream which we are reluctant to cross so we turn back.
By this time, the sky has miraculously turned blue and we decide to head back up the canyon road. Low and behold, the view at the Kalalau Lookout is spectacular. We see the Napoli coast, down at the mouth of the canyon and out to Nii h’au island, which we later learn is inhabited by about 200 native Hawaiian fishermen.
We debate about staying for sunset but decide to head down before it gets too dark. At the end of the road, outside Kekaha, we find a papaya stand, manned by an asian boy who tells me their orchards are across the road.
I buy 4 big papayas and head down to the beach for sunset, ending the day at Chicken in a Barrel!
