Kauai and the Incredible Na Pali Coast

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!

Woohooooo!

Nick taking the leap and jumping off at South Point - the southern most point of the US...I said he was crazy and swore I wouldn't do it....ha!!!


so a few minutes later, I decided what the hell and agreed to jump with Isabel! It took me a while I must admit. And I almost had heart failure and decided not to do it...but I coudn't have Nick doing something I coudn't do, so I took a deep breathe and off I went! I must be crazy....I don't even like deep water!!!! We don't do bad for a couple of middle aged folks do we? (yep, my students think I'm old...but they think Nick looks younger than me!!!)

Maui....

After our trip to Kauai, we had picked up a taste for traveling (again!) and decided to also check out Maui. The plan when we came was to see all the major islands, so now we just need to get over to the Big Island to see the erupting volcanoes...

Maui was absolutely gorgeous. Nick's vote so far goes for Kauai because it is so lovely, quiet, and peaceful. But for me, there was something about Maui that I just loved. I can't even put my finger on it and decide what exactly it was, but I was overawed with the variety of the landscape: the atmospheric mists of the Iao Valley (http://www.hawaiiweb.com/maui/html/sites/iao_valley_state_park.html) the lunarscapes on top of Heleakela (http://www.nps.gov/hale/), the quaintness of LaHaina and that incredible banyan tree (http://www.visitlahaina.com/) ,the surfing beaches of Paia and the GREAT lunch we had there, watching the whales in the distance as they blew and breached all over the place with Lanai as a lovely backdrop...and we didn't even get to the Hana road which is supposed to be stunning...guess we had to leave something for next time! Safe to say, I loved Maui.


We arrived late on the Friday evening and checked into a rather drab and dreary hotel. We had known it wouldn't be great when we booked it, but as we didn't check in until 9.30 and we were leaving again around 4.30 to see sunrise on the top of Haleakela, we figure it wasn't worth driving over to LaHaina or paying a fortune for a hotel...we should maybe have opted for the hostel though! Early the next morning we set off as planned and were surprised with a beautiful setting moon over the ocean...

The drive to the top of Haleakela wasn't too bad though the darkness of the night didn't help on the winding, climbing road now the moon had set. The road climbs from sea level in Kahului to 10,023 at the summit of the volcano: in just over thirty miles...Incredible...from sea level to more than the elevation of Crested Butte in just over 30 miles...Talk about vertigo! At the top, we joined hoards of others also intent on seeing the start of a new day from a high point in the middle of the ocean. It actually turned out to be a little cloudy, so we didn't see the sun until it cleared the ocean level clouds, but my what a view...and the colours were gorgeous...everything was bathed in pinks and subdued shades of red and orange. Beautiful.






As soon as the sun cleared the horizon, the majority of people left (seriously, IMMEDIATELY!) and so we were pretty much left alone to linger and enjoy the colour sweeping over the landscape. We had brought our boots and headed out on one of the shorter hikes in the Park. The hike didn't take long, just 3 hours or so, and we were surprised how quickly we were actually able to climb back up out of the crater. Obviously living in Crested Butte expanded our lung capacity, because the altitude hardly bothered us! The views were great - the landscape was like the moon and there was very little growing other than some of the signature silver swords that only grow in this area. You could see the ocean on every side too which was pretty cool - and the Big Island with it's twin volcanoes off in the distance...shame it wasn't a really clear day - you would have been able to see forever!

















From Haleakela we headed down and got lost in the winding valleys at the foot of the volcano. The villages were lovely. Small, intimate, relaxed and sleepy...everything we ever thought Hawaii would be...and a world away from Honolulu! After watching the surfers hitting the waves near Paia, we had a fortifying lunch in a great restaurant and then headed for the Iao Valley. The Valley has been called the Hawaiian version of the Valley of the Kings in Egypt as many of the royals were buried here...it was also the site of a huge battle in 1790. When we arrived, the Valley was shrouded in mist which added to the atmosphere. Unfortunately that also makes it hard to get good photos! Hopefully we will get back in the summertime and arrive early so we can get some hiking in...











After the incredible Iao Valley, we headed over to our hotel in LaHaina. It was pretty pricey so we were hoping for something nice: and
fortunately we weren't disappointed...although we had to make our own coffee in the morning and they did run out :( ...!









Anyway both LaHaina and the hotel were great and we spent a lovely early evening relaxing on the lanai and then spotting fish in the crystal clear ocean waters from the balcony seat in the restaurant were we ate dinner. The next day we slept in after our early morning start the day before and relaxed on the lanai before
heading out to take photos of the incredible banyan tree in down town LaHaina. from there were went snorkeling and then sat in the shade on the beach for a while and just soaked it all up while watching the whales. What a great weekend!

Can't wait to go back and see more!

Beautiful Kauai, The Garden Isle

We spent a weekend on Kauai earlier this year. It is such a beautiful place, it took our breath away. And after Honolulu, the peace and quiet was very welcome! We stayed in Kapa'a on the east side of the island and had a perfect view of the sunrise each morning. The hotel was right on the boardwalk and the gardens overlooked the ocean. Beautiful. Check it out on: http://www.kauaidiscovery.com/



On the Saturday we decided to hike a portion of the Na Pali coast. The hike winds along the cliffs on the north west side of the island and the full hike stretches around 11 miles. To do the full stretch you really need to plan an overnight trip, but as we have no gear with us, we decided to aim for a shortened version. We ended up completing around 9 miles or so. Two or three miles along the coast, a back track, and then a further two miles up to the Falls at Hanakapi'ai. The falls were lovely but the water was way too cold to go in! At least for us!

The hike along the cliff side was gorgeous. The mountains just fall down into the ocean and the colours are incredible. The sound of the surf booming followed us the whole way down the trail - I wouldn't want to miss my footing and fall into it at any point. The warning signs on the beaches made it clear that it's not a particularly safe place for swimming!!!




Another view down the cliffs as we were walking down the trail














The flowers and trees were amazing. These trees (mangoes?) grew all around the bay near the falls, as did huge bamboo thickets, and these beautiful pink flowers were everywhere. The ivy was huge - I used to have one of these ivy plants in Colorado, but these guys were absolute monsters! Look at the size of the leaves compared to Nick's hand...now I can see why they filmed Jurassic Park there!!!









The video is Hanakap'ai Falls, about four miles into the trail.


After getting completely covered in Kauai red mud we stopped off at Hanalei Bay for a stroll along the beach. The bay is ideally situated with the Na'Pali Coast giving it an amazing backdrop. The beach was sandy, the water was clear, and the bay sloped slowly out towards the open ocean. What a lovely peaceful spot for a long weekend! Perfect! Can't wait to come back!
The hiking had been pretty tough so we decided not to stop for a refreshing beer, and to head back for a nap instead!

After another lovely sunrise, we headed out for the other side of the island. Waimea Canyon rises from ocean level to over 3,500 feet above sea level. It is 10 miles long and over a mile wide and you almost miss the turning when you drive along that side of the island as it's just an unassuming turn off that looks like it's going into a residential area! The canyon is so red and green that it's hard to capture it on "film". One of the best parts of the Canyon is at the top where you can hike along towards the Alakai Swamp and see some of the views over the Na'Pali coast. We never got this far along during the coastal hike (it would have meant an overnight back pack, or certainly not the casual, "wow, look at that let's get a photo" type hike we had!) but the views are bird's eye up here.











After the canyon we explored further round the south west side of the island, but the road quickly runs out and rains and slides had closed down the State Park. We did see the Brick oven pizza out there too, but I was too slow to get a photo for the folks back in CB. We also missed the landing site and statue of Capt James Cook (yes, from Whitby, near Hull!) who came ashore here in January 1778. He was reportedly the first westerner to ever set foot on the islands, and he changed history for them in many ways...I don't think he is too revered in this area...

After exploring, we were very thirsty and headed down the the resort area of Po'ipu to grab a beer and hopefully the last part of the Superbowl. We weren't disappointed on either front and found a great bar to slake our thirst and hunger at Brennecke's. We even managed to win a free drink each with the "wear the cap when they score" game (hence the photo), but had to give our drinks away cos we needed to leave for the airport...bummer! Oh well, guess you can't have your cake and eat it...or win your beer and drink it...one or the other!

Needless to say, it was well worth the visit and we are now hooked on Kauai and can't wait to go back! The plan next time we go is to take a helicopter ride over Waimea Canyon, which is supposed to be breathtaking, and then to take a boat along the Na'Pali coast to capture some of the incredible views of it from the ocean. We'd love to do some river kayaking to...so many things to do, so little time!

Round to the ends of the earth....or at least the end of Oahu

Before Christmas (I know, I'm way behind) we rented a car and took a trip around the island. Our main idea was to get out of town and away from the crowds. We also wanted to hike to the north west point of the island called Ka'ena Point.

There used to be a road that circled the whole island, but this part of it has fallen into disrepair and is no longer accessible by vehicles. Even four wheelers have a hard time getting through some area, and now the final point has been turned into a nature reserve and sanctuary. We started the hike at the Dillingham airfield side.
This photo is as you first set out



From what I can gather, there are two main reasons the area is now a nature reserve and sanctuary. The first is that the dunes, which once covered large parts of the coastal areas in the islands, are now in danger of disappearing because of tourist building and development along the shoreline. The dunes were lovely - and they also protect inland areas from the crashing surf - the waves in this area can hit 50 feet in the winter!

The other is that it a nesting ground for the laysan albatross...and yes I had to stop and recite a little of Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Coleridge when I saw them, though the only part I can remember these days is:

Water, water everywhere
And all the boards did shrink ;
Water, water, every where
Nor any drop to drink.

I think Mr Clatworthy, 3A1 (?) at Alderman Cogan would be proud that I can still remember that much 30 years later!

The albatross have a huge wingspan. According to http://www.nhptv.org/NatureWorks/laysan.htm it is over 6 feet.

They were a beautiful sight soaring through the air, but quite ungainly once they made land. Not surprising really since the website also indicates that the birds only come to land to nest: they usually spend their time at least 30 miles out at sea. So for the first five years or so, the chicks never come to land. We had timed our visit with their nesting period, and it was pretty cool to see them swooping around overhead and squawking to each other from the nests. We even had to duck a couple of times as they seemed to be coming a little too near! Unfortunately this photo doesn't really do them justice, but if you click on it, you may get an idea of how long the wing span is.




This photo is of the nests...again if you click on it, you should be able to see the birds a little more clearly.





The hike was about 6 miles round trip. It was pretty easy going and mainly flat; but the huge pot holes and ruts sometimes gave us problems because they were so big to get around and so muddy! It was great to get out and get wind blown though. Just what we needed. The views from the point were also gorgeous. These are looking to the south. Next time we want to try the hike from that side.






We were also fortunate enough to see some whales blowing off in the distance for the point and are now hooked on trying to spot the every time we go out. It is a pretty amazing sight to see them blow and then flip.














The rest of the day was pretty stormy, though we had a great lunch at Pizza Bob's in Haleiwa as always, and got to see some good sights off the road that we wouldn't have reached if we had been on the bus. The last photos were taken on the windward coast on the way back down to Honolulu. We know know why it is called the "windward" side - it was ferocious!

Kung Hey Fat Choy...

Yes, I know it's a little late, but Kung Hey Fat Choy to everyone.... "Happy New Year" in Cantonese.

It is now the Year of the Ox. According to the trusty local news in Hawai'i, it should be a bullish year as it is the year of the ox under the earth element. The ox is known to be tolerant, able, and patient and can be relied upon to complete the task in hand and to remain loyal. Next year is the year of the tiger, a year of unpredictability, so we should work hard this year and prepare for the next!

Apparently Barack Obama is an Ox, born under the element of metal. Earth Oxes are the most hard working of us all: workaholics who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals. They have the strength of metal. Hopefully that means he will do a good job!

I am a Horse. I get on well with Tigers, Rams, Roosters and Dogs. I am, however bored by the Ox, who appears to the Horse as a stick-in- the- mud! I was also born under the element of fire and found the following piece from the http://chinatownhi.com interesting:

The Horse likes to have the support and encouragement of others despite the fact he/she can't stand petty rules and regulations. If he/she feels you are behind him in his endeavor then you can point the way and criticize all you like, but if he/she feels you are not trying to support him/her then he will become defiant. He/she can be a tireless worker and enjoys a challenge. Success is very important to the Horse. It can become the foremost item in his/her life and can be an obsession. Sorry to say, the business executive who works till he/she drops is most probably a Horse. Should the Horse fail at his/her work, unlike the Dragon who will bounce back, the Horse will recover slowly, if at all. Remember, to the Horse, success means everything and to fail is a humiliation. The Horse is conservative with his/her money and manages it well. He/she enjoys traveling and loves exotic places. During some stage of his/her life, he/she may live abroad in order to have a different life experience. He/she will be at ease with this as the Horse is an adaptable being who enjoys having variety in his/her life. He/she may even try several different careers on for size before he/she selects one that offers him/her the challenge and variety he/she requires. He/she will excel in any job which calls upon him/her to interact with people. He/she will like school only if it is challenging and ever changing. Routine and boredom will cause him/her to make drastic changes in his/her life.

I also thought the tiger description was Nick to a T: he is a Water-Tiger

The Tiger adores a challenge and competition. He/She is prepared to take risks in business as well as his/her love life if something catches his/her imagination. He/She will risk everything for what attracts his/her fancy. He/She will not be bound by convention or the dictates of others. It is not surprising to see the Tiger cast off his job , position or marriage in order to go off and do what he/she wants to do. The Tiger has a restless nature and will experience freedom at all costs. Once the Tiger has acquired this new life, new romance, new thing that was so tantalizing to him/her, he/she will soon tire of it and cast it away. It is imperative for the Tiger to continue having the feeling that he/she is free to do as he/she wishes. He/she loves challenges and sometimes the "getting" of the thing he/she has gone after is the best part of the experience for him/her. The chase is the "thing". Once the thing has been "gotten" the allure is no longer there. The Tiger is so impulsive that he/she himself/herself regrets his/her own impulsiveness, but he/she cannot help himself/herself. He/she is quick to act on those yearnings which engulf him/her. It is difficult for the restless Tiger to enjoy a great deal of success because he/she never sticks to anything long enough to accomplish the goal in which he/she sets for himself.

Because of constant change in his/her life it is a good thing that he/she is adaptable. He/she has an adventurous spirit and doesn't want to settle in one place for any length of time. In the early stages of life, The Tiger most likely will change career paths several times, his/her jobs, his/her residences and his/her romances. The Tiger is surprisingly honest and forthcoming in his/her dealings with the people in his/her life. He/she will not sneak out of a job or relationship. He/she will confront the people to be told and tell them he/she is moving on. He/she sees nothing wrong with this behavior and thus is not ashamed of living his/her life according to his/her own wishes. Courage comes into play again as the Tiger faces life head on. He/she hates any sort of hypocrisy or falsehood and doesn't see why people have to lie to each other. He/she can be rebellious especially against any form of petty authority. The Tiger never avoids his God-given right to stand up for himself/herself and express his/her opinions. If someone must be confronted, the Tiger doesn't shirk his duty from lack of courage. This tendency can make him/her a natural leader and his/her adaptability could make him/her a natural for the armed services if he/she could avoid feelings of rebelliousness for authority. Very few are to found in the military due to the failure of the Tiger to obey orders.

The Tiger is independent and rarely asks help from others. He/she does not like to give others credit for his/her accomplishments and doesn't suffer from false humbleness. He/she is too honest for that. He/she is generous and a little too much of a spendthrift. (a little, I say?!)

And here is our compatibility rating:
Horse & Tiger The optimistic personalities of the Horse and the Tiger make them a good pair. They each need independence and understand that need in the other. As lovers they will flourish. Their overall compatibility rating is 90%.