Back on the Mainland

We got back from Kaua'i on Monday after a full day/night of traveling. Our Na Pali Coast kayak trip was spectacular. We had great guides and beautiful views the whole way. Our trip began at 6am sharp. We had to meet the group at the shop to sign the release forms, payment and to get all our belongings in dry-bags for the journey, take seasickness medication, as well as hand over our dry clothes and towel for after the kayak. Then we set off to Ha'ena Beach Park to unload the trailer, get some safety and paddling instructions and to launch. We were fortunate to have such calm seas for our trip and despite our fears, Mike and I didn't argue once. We actually made a great paddling team.

We entered 3 or 4 sea caves, a couple with swimming breaks. We were fortunate to see several sea turtles and even a family pod of Spinner Dolphins, complete with babies! The shoreline took our breaths away and it just kept getting better and better as we went along. We would both turn and look back and be overwhelmed by its beauty. The trip was a total of 17miles of paddling and we went 12 miles before lunch and we couldn't wait for the break. The food was good and the naps refreshing. Our break was 1.5 hrs long before we set off again for the remaining 5 miles to Polihale Beach. The last leg was the hardest, mostly because we were in direct sun the whole way and because we were staring at the beach for 4 miles without it looking any closer. After more turtle sightings we made it ashore, lugged our kayaks up the beach to the trailer and took a well deserved shower. Fresh water never felt so good and then to be DRY! We had been soaked through from the waist down pretty much the whole way (you couldn't stop some swells from crashing into the boat)

We were grateful for polarized sunglasses as they kept the glare off the water and allowed us to actually see the depths below for this same reason. We were also grateful for the wonderful sunscreen we had (zinc oxide). At the end we had a sunburn contest and Mike had pink tops of his feet, the tops of my legs were a little pink and the guy who won looked like a cooked lobster. He'd already taken advil because of pain and I imagine the rest of his time in Kaua'i was not very pleasant. I think Mike and I are probably the only people who go to Hawaii, swim, snorkel, stay out in the sun and don't get burned our much darker than we were when we started.

When we loaded up and started off, I realized why we'd taken the seasickness medication. It wasn't for the kayaking it was for the car ride back. On the map you'll see a brown road that says 'rough road' they're not kidding. People were pulled over with flats, busted axles, you name it. It took 2 hrs to get back to the shop in Hanalei because the highway only goes 3/4 of the way around the island. The Na Pali Coast is a protected national park so there is absolutely no road access, which means we had to drive all the way around the island. We came ashore around 5:30pm, hit the road around 6pm and arrived in Hanalei at just after 8pm. During the drive, we were astounded to hear one of our guides calling people for a midnight kayak to Kalalau Beach (the end of the 11mi Na Pali hike) for camping and partying for the full moon. WHAT?? We just kayaked 17mi and you want to add another 6? and partying? A true Hawaiian. We're sure he went and partied. Mike and I, however, got back to the room around 8:30, ate some dinner and were asleep by 9:30pm. Exhausted.


The next morning we were sore, but we decided to go snorkeling for our last day. Having already used 4 underwater cameras we decided not to buy another. MISTAKE. The snorkeling at Tunnels Beach was phenomenal, the best yet and we were swimming with sea turtles, not more than 3 ft away. Nice. The coral and fish were also the best we had seen. Too bad. We don't have any documentation of it, but we swear it happened. We watched another spectacular sunset at Ke'e Beach and then returned to pack.

After watching the sunrise at Anini Beach, we checked out Sunday morning but didn't have a flight until Sun late afternoon. So we went to a local farmer's market (mostly fruit, handmade crafts, and clothes) bought a couple things, had lunch and drove to Wailua Falls. On the way I spotted the only wildlife we hadn't seen on Kaua'i yet. Monk seals! They were beautiful, complete with a rainbow for our fond send off. Then we headed to the airport and bade Kaua'i farewell. Our flights were fine and we even glimpsed the full moon as we flew out of O'ahu. Wow. We couldn't get any pictures but we took some night shots on Kaua'i I thought I'd share.