We were lucky enough to go back to Kauai in the summer. The school I work at needed an extra pair of hands to drive and help out and Nick volunteered for the job...so he got paid, and I paid to go...and we had a blast. We were so excited to be going back to Kauai, and even more so with the prospect of a catamaran cruise along the Na Pali coast and snorkeling in a sheltered cove. Sign us up!!!We arrived late on Friday night and settled in at the hostel. Up early on Saturday and off on the cruise. We went with Captain Andy's and they were great. Breakfast was provided since we left so early. We got going and the sea was pretty smooth. It takes a while to get around to the coast, but we had plenty of things to keep us occupied on the way - talking to students and watching for dolphins and turtles. The dolphins followed the boat for a ways and gave us some pretty good displays - it's just hard catching them on film!!!
This is the start of the coast line. It suddenly starts to rise from the ocean and the views become spectacular. The cliffs soar up to 4,000 feet above the ocean. From the top of Waimea Canyon, which is reached from the south shore, you can see straight down one of the valleys to the water. Unfortunately, this time it was too misty for that, but we had been able to see the view last time we were here..and what a view!
The cruise talk was pretty informative - it even mentioned the salt marks on the cliffs which show the regular wave heights that hit the coast during winter storms - waves are often over 60 feet high - thankfully we were there on a lovely summer's day!
Looks like the perfect camp spot to me!
What a sight to wake up to...
Unfortunately, the coast after the first beach and waterfall area is off limits to everyone except permit holders. Additionally, camping is limited to a handful of spots among the trial. Still, you can hike around 8 miles all told, which on this trail takes a while and is no mean feat!
As always, these photos do not do justice to the spectacular colours and sights of the coast line
Some more video of those non jumping dolphins and the Na Pali coast...the video seems to capture it a little more vividly.
Nick and I after snorkeling on the way back. We saw thousands of
fish (I think the food they threw in helped!), swam along with a couple of turtles and saw seals on the beach. Pretty cool. After snorkeling was lunch - a great buffet with sandwiches, salad, dessert, and plenty of beer and wine. What a great day. I would recommend it to everyone - we had a blast...wouldn't want to be out there with 60 foot waves though, that's for sure!
So we were able to tick off one of out "must do" items for Kauai...now we need to go back and take that helicopter tour...hopefully we'll be able to do it soon...it must be incredible!
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