Occasionally Adventurous: Day Twenty-one: Waimea Canyon and the Na Pali Coast

Yesterday was so full of beauty that I took 368 photos and shot two videos. We left early for the south shore, where we drove up Rte. 550 to the spot where it joins the Waimea Canyon Road. The canyon and valleys leading up to it are gorgeous. Kauai is the oldest of the Hawaiian islands with no volcanic activity. The mountains are covered in mineral rich red soil and lush greenery. There isn't a bad view anywhere you look up here. We drove to the end, stopping at every turnout to take photos and just breathe in the clear air and look at the scenery. We saw several helicopters and one small plane in the brief time we were out of the car. At the end of the road, there is a protected overlook, and the start of a 17 mile trail that follows the ridgeline and overlooks the west (Na Pali) coast of the island. The only ways to get to the Na Pali shoreline are by kayak or boat. More on that a little later. Our time at the overlook delighted us with the varying weather conditions. We got peekaboo views of the coast through fast moving clouds. Sometimes we were standing in a cloud and couldn't tell there was anything out there. Other times it cleared up enough for a good view.

On the way down, we stopped at the only restaurant on the road, inside Kokee state park. Lunch was convenient if forgettable, but the lawn and pine tree vista was nice and reminded us of some spots in the Colorado Rockies. The Kokee Lodge Museum shares the grounds. It has lots of bird exhibits, some souvenirs, and a place to make tour reservations and rent cabins in the park. The mountains of West Kauai are so dangerous to hike and even camp in that everyone who wants to walk past the overlooks and a couple of shorter marked trails must register with the rangers.

After lunch we drove back down to the coast on the other road, Highway 552, which has some views of lesser valleys and some farmland. The lower elevations away from the shoreline resorts are paniolo country, with lots of cattle and horses in wide grassy fields. Grassy here is different from our Michigan experience of grassy. We could walk into some fields and be lost in ten seconds flat. Grassy roadsides sometimes meant that we had to get out of the car and find a low spot to see past the roadside.

We drove through the historic town of Hanapepe, which reportedly has over 40 buildings on the National Registry of Historic Places. It has an active community of artists and a few galleries, most of which were closed. There wasn't much happening here on a Monday afternoon, and we found it to be unappealing and run down. Everywhere we go we see signs of the poor economy of the last two years. Motels half built and roped off, empty storefronts, and poorly maintained buildings, especially away from the main resorts. The tiny church of St. Sylvester in Kilauea, where we attended mass last Sunday, supports over 400 people from it's food bank. A sure indication that here, as everywhere else, working people are hurting and many are unemployed.

Our last stop of the day was Port Allen, where we had reserved a dinner sunset cruise. The boat pulled out around three and cruised slowly up the Na Pali coast to the spot at the north end where the road (highway 56) ends just west of Haena, at a beach park. There are forty "cathedrals" along this coastline - tall spires of rock covered in greenery. There are also a few small sand beaches with little coves which can handle kayak and raft landings. We were amazed to hear from the guide that there are two native Hawaiian villages near the beaches, with 500 and 1500 hundred residents. Backed by the mountains, they are inaccessible from land, so necessary goods arrive by boat.

On the way out we saw a small school of spinner dolphins and were excited because they usually only visit boats in the morning. On the way back, just as the sun was low enough in the sky to produce color, a huge school of spinners arrived near the rear of the boat. Our captain slowed down and reversed, and we followed them for about ten minutes, watching the show as they leaped, turned and flipped for us. Fortunately, I had just come down to use the facilites, and arrived on the main deck in time to have a good view of everything. I shot 7 minutes of video (love the 32G memory card in the camera!). It's in the Picasa web album. If you decide to take a look, skip to the middle for the best shots. I'll edit it when I get home and learn how! Another camera note: On this sometimes bumpy cruise, near the end as I was shooting the dolphins, the problem with the lens disappeared. No more dark corners on the video, or on the last shots of the day, of the sunset and the full moon. I'm hoping the problem is really gone, at least for now. I guess I'll still have to look into it when I get home. Seems like a bumpy ride shouldn't rearrange the lens, especially when the camera is in hand, as it was last night, or in it's case in a car driving tamely on a well-paved road.

We had an uneventful drive back north, and got to Princeville in time to visit Lappert's for ice cream. It took over an hour to upload the photos (the long video was the main time hog), and we slept like children.

These photos are out of order. Waimea Valley is first, followed by Na Pali Coast, sunset, then full moon. Can't make them appear in the right order, but you get the idea! And if you can, schedule your trip to Kauai now. It's an amazing place!