travel tangent: kaua’i 2014

Another travel and adventure tangent …

Visiting Hawai’i had been a dream when I was a teenager but I had long given up on it by the time I moved to the PNW in 2006.  I soon learned, though, that Seattle vacationers go to Hawai’i like Nova Scotians go to Florida in winter.  But it wasn’t until my father and step-mother (referred to in the rest of this post as D&S) started talking about staying in a house in Kaua’i for the month of February 2014 that MAC and I decided to change it up for our sixth adventure vacation together and go somewhere tropical.  The accommodations were going to be free, after all.

My departure day, Sunday, started out very strange and stressful: there was snow in Seattle!  Not much, but snow is an unusual occurrence in the city and slowed down my rideshare (I was doing a lot of deep breathing in the van).  By the time I got to SEATAC, there was only about a half hour before my flight was scheduled to leave (it was not delayed), there was a huge line up to check bags … and I had a bag to check.  It was thanks to a wandering airline agent who told me to just run for the gate with my suitcase that I got to the gate on time, had my suitcase checked there, and squeaked on to the plane in disbelief.  I had expected to spend the day trying to get on a later flight.

MAC travelled from Atlanta, Georgia (where there was no issue with snow) and arrived shortly after me at Lihue Airport.  I waited outside the tiny airport basking in the tropical warmth and watching the wild chickens (called moa) peck around my feet, experiencing a surreal moment after the snowy start.  MAC had reserved the rental car and it seemed we got the last available vehicle—a couple that arrived after us had also pre-booked but were told there were no more cars available*.  MAC is generally easy-going but I believe that if she had been told after getting off the plane that there was nothing the rental agency could do, like that couple were told, some latent NY attitude would have been released and a car somewhere would have been quickly found for us, even if it was the manager’s personal vehicle.

Anyway, luckily for the rental agency we got the car as planned and were off, with instructions on how to drive south-west to the house we were staying at near Koloa.  This trip, we didn’t have a whole year to catch up on—we’d seen each other just five weeks before when MAC had visited me in Seattle at the end of December (and I’d seen D&S even more recently when they stayed with me for a few days en route to Kaua’i from Nova Scotia).  On the way, we ooh’d and aah’d driving under a long canopy of trees.  In researching this post, I used a satellite map to guess which road it was and saw that, online now, the stretch is known as the Maluhia Road Tree Tunnel.  We drove under those old eucalyptus trees frequently over the next week and found it magical every time. 

And I still remember the delight pulling up to the address.  D&S were staying in this magnificent vacation house for a month due to the generous offer from a former student of Dad’s!  MAC and I set a high bar for vacations on that trip—we stayed in the guest house, separate from the main house where D&S were, and with a pool in between.  Most of our week there, MAC and I enjoyed breakfast with D&S in the outdoor living room (a furnished room without walls and with ceiling fans) before going off for an adventure for most of the day, returning to eat dinner together.

On our first full day there, we stayed close to home and explored the nearby Old Koloa Town and, based on the friendly baristas, determined our daily latte/tea destination for the week (Koloa Mill Ice Cream & Coffee).  Driving south to Poipu, we went to the popular Poipu Beach Park where I had my first glimpse at one of Hawai’i’s giant sea turtles nestled in the sand.  Basically a dinosaur having a nap. 

Kaua’i, nicknamed The Garden Island, is 562.3 square miles and, because it’s quite circular, it’s easy to think of locations simply by the four directions.  Tuesday, we traveled EAST.  We went to the lush river valley of Wailua River State Park where MAC got to photograph two waterfalls—‘Opaeka’a and Wailua—and I got to take pictures of MAC sitting on a fence so she could photograph those falls! 

On Wednesday we had a full day away exploring the NORTH of the island, starting with the 199-acre Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge on dramatic cliffs at the northern-most point of Kaua’i.  There is the historic Daniel K. Inouye Kilauea Lighthouse built in 1913 that served both marine (commercial shipping with Asia) and then aviation navigation until the 1970’s.  Resident Red-footed Boobies covered the steep bluffs.  The refuge also preserves migratory seabird nesting colonies and endangered and threatened species that include Hawai’i’s state bird, the nene (Hawaiian goose).

In Princeville, we parked in a residential area and hiked to a tide pool called Queen’s Bath.  We enjoyed the view but didn’t go in.  The large sign warning about frequent drownings there was a bit off-putting.  It was a short hike but steep and muddy—on our return, we warned some people starting out that they might want to rethink their flip flops. 

Then we drove as far NORTH-WEST as we could go to Ha’ena State Park and the isolated Ke’e Beach.  Ke’e is the beginning of the Kalalau Trail into Na Pali Coast State Wilderness Park but we weren’t prepared for a long backcountry excursion on our tropical vacation.  We stuck to the beaches: sharing Ke’e with the wild chickens and young surfers and then walking to nearby Ha’ena Beach.  Driving in and out of the park, we had to take the car through water on the road that was cascading down the nearby cliffs.  In the evening, we went to see the Spouting Horn, a blowhole in the lava shelf near Poipu, at sunset.  MAC, the photographer, thinks about these things.  On my trips with MAC, sunsets have been definitely easier to manage than sunrises (in Acadia National Park in 2019, we got up at some ridiculous hour to drive up Cadillac Mountain in the dark).

The next day, we stayed in the SOUTH, had lunch at the popular Brennecke’s Beach Broiler, a big establishment overlooking Brennecke’s Beach which is popular for boogie boarding and body surfing.  Then we took the rental car on a long dirt road to a trailhead to walk the Maha’ulepu Heritage Trail and explore the coast and beaches you can’t get to by car.  This is the last stretch of undeveloped coastline on the south shore (may it remain so!).  We walked past sand dunes and a variety of beaches, including Shipwrecks Beach and Maha’ulepu Beach.  On the rocks at one of the beaches, I saw black rock crabs—which creeped me out because they made me think of large spiders.  Yes, it makes sense they’d evolved to be camouflaged against the black lava rock but these sure weren’t the crabs I was used to seeing since childhood along the Atlantic Ocean. 

Friday was an exciting day—we took a helicopter ride over the Na Pali Coast Wilderness. I sat between the pilot and MAC (I’ve been familiar with the middle seat since childhood) so MAC and camera were unencumbered. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, looking down at the dramatic Waimea Canyon, waterfalls, and the remote misty cliffs of the Na Pali Coast. 

On Saturday, our last full day there, we went WEST—the only remaining direction we hadn’t explored by car.  We stopped to view the impressive Waimea Canyon that we had flown over the day before.  The canyon is about 10 miles (16km) long and up to 3000 feet deep. Then we took the rental car on another long bumpy dirt road to Polihale State Park where we walked towards the cliffs of the Na Pali Coast with the beach mostly to ourselves.

From Ke’e Beach in the NORTH that we had visited on Wednesday to Polihale Beach in the WEST is the Na Pali Coast Wilderness where there are no roads.  To give perspective, to go between the two points you have to travel EAST but the distance is only an 80 mile (125km) drive.  Keep in mind though that the speed limit in Hawai’i is low—25 to 50mph (40 to 80kph)—and with only two lane roads, driving anywhere takes longer than you’d think!

At work, my manager had recommended a taco place on the west side of Kaua’i.  He couldn’t remember the name but he was sure I’d know it when I saw it near the bend in the road.  I thought, huh?  But, sure enough, I knew it when I saw it: Paco’s Tacos in Hanapepe where you order through a walk-up window and eat outside at picnic tables.  And yes, the tacos and guac were delicious.  Throughout the week, we had gone swimming at Poipu Beach and one day had the joy of having a giant sea turtle swimming close by.  On Saturday, we returned for a final swim at Poipu and MAC snorkeled near these ancient creatures.  That evening, we had a wonderful dinner out with D&S at Merrimans, a fancy restaurant in Poipu, where I had a taro dish—a purple root vegetable also known as kalo in Hawai’i.

During the week, mornings had been an enjoyable, slow, social time in the outdoor living room, all four of us reading the internets on our tablets with coffee/tea and breakfast.  I enjoyed seeing my dad in a tropical setting, not typical for him (or me), and away from a harsh Nova Scotia winter.  MAC and I got in the pool daily and had walks around the fancy neighboUrhood, particularly admiring close up the huge yellow and blue Bird of Paradise flowers.  There was a great food market in Poipu and we ate most dinners at the house, MAC enjoying the step-mom’s cooking!  We snacked on rich local macadamia nuts throughout the week and, for lunch, we ate A LOT OF TACOS!  We viewed some beautiful sunsets from the house and the weather was generally good, I remember just one time of heavy rain and high winds. 

MAC did most of the planning before and during this trip—I was just happy to relax away from the stress of work. It was only a few months later that I had my idea for simpler living semi-retirement and started this blog so I think I was feeling worn out by this time. Looking back at this tropical vacation now during the pandemic and from Nova Scotia, I’m glad I took the opportunity to go to Hawai’i during my stay on the west coast.  Of course, as you might be able to tell by the photos, my favorite beaches there were the remote ones with few other people.  Wild chickens welcome. 

*When MAC returned the car, she witnessed three couples being told there were no vehicles to fulfill their reservations. MAC was incredulous when the agent offered her a discount coupon to use for a future booking.

References and related links:

• PNW: Pacific Northwest.
• MAC: mon amie Caroline.
• Kaua’i State Parks (Department of Land and Natural Resources)
• Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge (US Fish and Wildlife Service)
• travel tangent: wa’s national parks (post #165)