Hawaii day 6

       We began this day with a swim in the pacific, a short distance from our condo, after having relented and purchasing a cheap underwater camera.  The fish life is amazing, although we did not see any of the sea turtles that populate the local waters.  Several of them were out sunning on the rocks across the little waterway behind our unit.  You might enjoy a couple of the photos from the snorkeling trip:

 Tropical fish in the Pacific aquarium

       We then drove back to Lihue, where Jack Harter Helicopters took us on a one hour aerial tour of the island in a helicopter without doors.

Ready to board a no-door helicopter

       It was an amazing tour, as we flew low over the ridges of Waimea Canyon, hovered over beautiful waterfalls, and swept along the length of the Na Pali Coast.

 Flying toward Waimea Canyon

The canyon itself

 

       The first waterfall was featured in the opening scene of Jurassic Park, as the pilot explained how, although there is no road access to the place, the magic of film making made it appear the characters in a Jeep were near the base of the falls.  By the way, Kauai was the location for scenes in more than 70 movies, including South Pacific, Raiders of the Lost Arc, Donovan’s Reef, King Kong (1976 version),  The Descendants, Pirates of the Caribbean, and even the Elvis movie, Paradise, Hawaiian Style.  See—we are not neglecting the arts in our visit to the islands.

 Jurassic Park waterfall

       Our second waterfall is one that will bring back memories for some—remember Tatoo, shouting, “The plane, the plane”?  Here’s the waterfall from the opening scene of the TV series Fantasy Island:

Fantasy Island waterfall

       This is claimed to be the wettest place on earth, with more waterfalls than you can count.

  

                                  Four waterfalls in one shot!

       As we flew along the Na Pali coast, we nearly melted the camera from pressing the shutter button and making movies.  As with all natural majestic wonders, photos can’t do the place justice.  But here are a couple of our attempts:

 Along the Na Pali Coast

Your own private beach

       After the flight, Tricia had discovered a place with the word national in its title that was actually open, so we embarked on a 2.5 hour walking tour of the Allerton Gardens portion of National Tropical Botanical Gardens just west of Poipu.  This tropical delight is located on lands granted to James Young Kanehoa, the son of an adviser to the great king, Kamehameha I, in 1848.  Kanehoa  and his wife gave the land to his niece, Queen Emma, wife of King Kamehameha IV (more about her tomorrow).  After his death, she planted rose apples, Alexandrian laurel, mangoes, bamboo, pandanus, ferns, and bougainvillea on the valley cliffs, some of which survive here even today.  After passing through several hands, the property was purchased by Robert Allerton in 1938, who immediately began the design of the gardens.  Today there are huge numbers of native and exotic plants and trees covering the property.  It was a most interesting afternoon.

 Flowers in Allerton

        The only proper way to end this wonderful day was with a small cup of caramel cashew turtle cluster.  We wonder how we can ever top the events of today on this trip.

Charlie and Tricia

©2013

Hawaii day 5

       Our fifth day was spent in transit, from Princeville down to Poipu, a small town on the south coast.  As we share with you the photos on the way down, we realize we have been remiss in providing you the information you have been anxiously awaiting.  So, interspersed among the photos, we shall relate to you a few facts about this beautiful state.

Larsen’s Beach

       Hawaii is our newest state in more than one sense, having arisen from the ocean within the last few million years, as volcanoes from the ocean floor built up along the Tropic of Cancer.  In fact, it’s still building up, as the lava continues to flow over the easternmost island (that’s the one with the same name as the state, a weak nod to New York).

 Moloa’a Bay

       It all began about 30 million years ago with a crack in the Pacific tectonic plate, which is moving slowly northwestward at 4 inches or so per year, carrying the previously formed islands with it.  In fact, this string of 132 islands now stretches out over more than 1,500 miles to the northwest.  We did the math:  at 4 inches per year, an island will move 333,333 feet in a million years.  Figure that out in miles, and multiply by, say, 30.  Isn’t this a fascinating exercise?

 Donkey Beach

       And with only about 6,500 square miles of land area, you might guess Hawaii is our smallest state.  Those of you who live in Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Delaware will surely know better, though, unless the relative size of your state was carefully omitted from the geography classes.  You may feel much better about the relative size of your state when you realize that bigger is not necessarily better.  Ponder the size of the U.S. Congress, for example.  Or, for you liberals, Rush Limgaugh.  And for you conservatives, Michael Moore.  See what I mean?

‘Opaekea’a Falls

       Hawaii is also the most southern of the states, and would also be the westernmost if it were not for a few islands near Russia that a guy named Seward bought 150 years or so ago.  And it is one of the newest land masses from one more perspective.

Wailua Falls

   You see, until 1800 years ago, or maybe less, all these islands were devoid of humans—among the last possible places on earth to be inhabited.  The unbelievably talented Polynesian sailors were the first to arrive, at times variously estimated between 300 A.D. and 800 A.D.  The first came from the Marquesas Islands, and they were followed 500 years later by the canoes from Tahiti.  Less than 500 years after that, a fellow named James Cook sailed into Waimea Bay on this very island, and the place has never been the same.  More on that in a day or two.

 Kealia Beach

 Ho'opi'i Falls

       Upon our late afternoon arrival in Poipu, we chose a tapas place to eat our first meal on the south shore.  As we walked from our car in the small shopping center, Tricia was the first to notice, just across the driveway from our restaurant, a Lappert’s Ice Cream store.  We have discovered an ice cream chain!  Needless to say, we ended a busy day in this new discovery.  Tricia had a cup of salted caramel roasted banana, and I had a cup of chocolate macadamia nut fudge.  They were both out of this world.  Who knows what we will discover tomorrow?

Charlie and Tricia

©2013

Hawaii day 4

       We temporarily suspended our hunt for culture this morning in favor of a hike along the Kalalau Trail.  It’s an 11-mile hike along the fabulous Na Pali coast, and is the most famous walk in the entire state.  Crossing streams beaches, waterfalls, and mountains, it is a somewhat difficult hike, according to the guide books.  And since the trail head is at Ke’e beach, we left early to bag one of the last legal parking spaces available.

         Immediately upon entering the trail, we discovered the meaning of “somewhat difficult”.

       Kalalau Trail on a good day

       The Kalalau Trail, we may honestly report, is not for the faint of heart.  The first two miles, which we had decided to tackle, is an endurance test of steeply rising and descending sections of alternating rock and clay, all of which is very slippery when wet.  And have we mentioned the frequency of rain on the north coast?  There are intermittent showers, lasting as much as five minutes and as little as 30 seconds or so.  The rains are very reliable—at least, in the sense that you can be sure you will be showered more than once if you venture outside.

 Stream crossing on the Kalalau Trail

       So we struggled (OK, one of us struggled) up and down this difficult trail, quickly appreciating the sign at trail head advising hikers to allow 1.5 to 2 hours for the first two miles of trail.  Within the first five minutes the struggling one had donned a knee brace on his left leg and we were both slipping and sliding up the path.  We had purchased cheap umbrellas, which kept us relatively dry during the brief periods of precipitation, and were rewarded with magnificent views of the coast as we trekked through a lush forest with every kind of plant and tree imaginable.  There was good reason for choosing this area to film Jurassic Park.  Finally we reached our destination, another golden sandy beach, after stopping to read a sign advising that 82 people have lost their lives in the surf here.  We decided not to tempt fate on this day.

Hanakapiai Beach from above

       We explored the caves along the beach, relaxed along the river flowing into the sea, gobbled down all the trail mix, and drank up much of our water as we soaked in the scenery.  Needless to say, we did not continue the next few miles down the trail to visit the waterfall and other beaches . . .

Hanakapiai Beach from below

Sweaty beauty in  cave at Hanakapiai Beach

       On the return trip, we spotted our friend Ke’e beach from above, and thought you might want to check out the wonderful reef that joins the beach.

 Ke’e Beach from above

       Back at the condo after lunch one of us took one of those brief naps that went on into the afternoon; I have no idea what the other person did; but the thick layers of clay and mud that covered our shoes and clothes had soon disappeared mysteriously.  We both agreed that an afternoon rest was much to be preferred to further adventure.

       Later we had an interesting dinner in a nearby village under a tent, at tables set up for 8-10 people, with much conversation among the fellow travelers.  The meal was prepared by a professional chef, operating out of a special food truck, serving a limit of 30 people on only two nights each week.  It was really a special evening.  And the chocolate dessert gave us good reason to skip Lappert’s Ice Cream on the way home.  Tomorrow is transit day, and I’m sure gonna miss that place.

Charlie and Tricia

©2013