Last updated Sunday October 07, 2007
Nancy, Chuck and Roy spent 10 days on Kauai, the northwestern most of the major Hawaiian islands. We didn't take that many pictures, not because there weren't things we wanted to remember, but because we spent most of the time on the beach where digital cameras don't belong without a protective housing.
We were greeted by a rain storm on the way from the Lihu'e Airport to our condo in Po'ipu Beach. How else to you keep all that green stuff green? The rain never lasts more than ten minutes and we usually don't even bother getting out of it if we are outside.
With the rain comes rainbows. Here is one of many we saw from the balcony of our condo overlooking Po'ipu Beach
Here is a panorama of the Hanalei Valley on the north shore of Kauai. I think about the most beautiful spot on Earth. The mountains have several waterfalls and the taro fields are so green. Unfortunately the clouds are hiding the taller mountains where the waterfalls are in this shot.
This is a very big photo made up of multiple exposures from the digital camera. You might try the smaller one first and even then you will probably have to scroll back and forth to see it all.
With all the rain Kauai has lots of waterfalls. The one on the left is Wailua Falls, the one on the right is Opaeka'a Falls, both easily viewed from a roadside stop. We took a kayak up the Wailua River to Secret Falls, which isn't much of a secret because there were about two dozen people splashing in the pool at the bottom of the falls or sitting around eating lunch. There are many other waterfalls, but most are on private land or inaccessible up in the steep mountains.
In Costa Rica we walked 2 miles to see a waterfall a quarter the size of this one. In Kauai this one doesn't even rate a name or mention on the map.
We stopped for lunch one day in Waimea on the south shore and while our pizza was baking we walked outside and spied a huge fan palm and some flowers. We saw these same flowers in huge bunches on the hill sides near the top of the Waimea Canyon.
After lunch we toured Waimea, which took about two minutes, and spent some time on the dock where Nancy tried her hand at fishing.
Let's say no one else on the dock caught any more fish than she did.
On the way home from Waimea we stopped at the Russian Fort at the mouth of the Waimea River. It's reduced to a pile of rocks and a lot of weeds It would be a very nice park with a little cleaning up. One thing that we had to clean up was our shoes after walking around in that red dirt. It stains everything.
The next day we made it all the way to Waimea Canyon. Here is a 180 degree panorama of the canyon at one of the best view points. Again, it's a big file so you might try the little one first.
Nancy discusses the fine points of rack strata with Chuck. Kauai is one big old volcano with lots and lots of strata so you could talk until the goats come home. Someone at the view point claimed to have seen a goat down there but no one else could find it.
The Nene Goose is the Hawaii state bird. They were all over the place in Koke'e State Park which surrounds the north end of Waimea Canyon.
Nancy and Roy on the Trail to the Alaka'i Swamp. Nancy loved to go off on the side trails
We could see the Alaka'i Swamp before we descended into it. Along the trail were all sorts of strange plants. Most were just green. Here are some of the colorful flowers we found in the swamp.
When we reached this trail junction in the swap we met a pair of hikers who were discussing which way to go. When they thought they agreed the result (that I wasn't quick enough to photograph) was much like this reenactment.
One night we went to a luau at Smith's. It was overcast and got dark early so we didn't take too many pictures. Here's a peacock, one of many in the garden.
What is a luau without a Kalua Pig cooked in the ground. Here is the Imu ceremony where they play a tune on the conch shell then dig the pig up and haul him away to be served to the crowd.
We finally got to sit down and eat some of the Kalua Pig, along with a huge crowd of other tourists. After dinner we met Mrs. Smith. She's in her 80's and still literally running the show.
Smith's has a wonderful show with a volcano, music and dancing and even a fire eater, but it was too dark to take good pictures and the flash is very distracting.