Steffi & Gerry: Trip around the World
Travel Blog of our Honeymoon around the World
Second island hopping: from Kauai to The Island of Hawaii (better known as Big Island) via Honolulu, Oahu.
Unfortunately, a flight from (finally) sunny weather into the rain. It wasn’t that bad, we quickly visited the Rainbow Falls which are close to Hilo, but at our time of visit in the late afternoon no rainbow could be seen at the falls.
First day without rain on Hawaii! Having already completed our bucket list for Kauai, we didn’t expect much of this day. But it turned out really well. We googled “Kauai easy hikes” and stumbled across Maha’ulepu Heritage Coastal Trail, close to Shipwreck Beach.
It was a nice coastal walk with remarkable coastal sceneries and a cave to visit (Makauwahi Cave).
On our way back we have been rewarded with whale sightings on the horizon.
And we finally went into the sea and had some fun with the breaking waves. 🙂
Kauai is a beautiful island, but large part of it is de-facto inaccessible. For once we ignored the ecological conscience and booked a scenic flight with a helicopter. There are many companies, but Jack Harter adds a special thrill: doors-off flights with a Hughes 500.
We didn’t have cloudless sky (hardly ever occurs on Kauai) but still good flight conditions. First highlight was the flight over Manawaiopuna Falls, better known as “Jurassic Falls” (helicopter landing sequence in the first Jurassic Park movie). The pilot even played the movie theme – marvelous!
Soon, we reached the Waimea Canyon (see earlier blog entry), now from above and much closer to some great sceneries.
We again crossed one of the wettest places on earth (once more hidden in dark clouds), but soon the sky opened: we have reached the Napali coast. Postcard scenery again!
Fortunately, that was not yet the end, also the flight over the Hanalei Valley was breathtaking. And for once the clouds somehow fit into the scenery; dozens of waterfalls within a rainforest-like landscape, coming out of misty mountains… a perfect fit for any fantasy movie.
Indeed, the list of movie sequences shot on Kauai is long! Just to name a few:
Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark
Jurassic Park (1, 2, 3), Jurassic World
King Kong
Six Days Seven Nights
Tropic Thunder
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
The Descendants
A terrible parking lot but a nice view on the Wailua Falls got our day started.
In the afternoon we joined a boat tour to the Wailua Fern Grotto, incl. Hawaiian music and dancers.
The plan was to explore the northern coast of Kauai, especially doing a hike on the Napali coast. But we got to know that the Kalalau Trail was closed since January due to flood damages:
Nevertheless, we drove northwards and got to the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge – which was also closed, but at least had an overlook on the lighthouse and an albatross colony.
Our tour came to an end at Hanalei: road closed. So instead of visiting the Maniniholo Dry Cave, Waikanalo- & Waikapalae Wet Caves or Tunnel Beach we browsed through souvenir shops and relaxed with coffee and banana bread in Hanalei. Besides, many Hawaiian beaches aren’t THAT inviting, anyway.
Time to explore the Garden Island. First stop was at the Spouting Horn, a blow-hole which erupts sea water like a geyser.
Then we drove into the Waimea Canyon, also known as “Grand Canyon of the Pacific”, and there is really something about it.
Sadly, we had to skip our hiking plans, as it started to rain and the trail was very muddy. We drove deeper into the canyon, but the weather got worse – no wonder, as we got close to one of the wettest places on earth: Mt Waialeale, which means “overflowing water”.
But, where’s rain, there’s also a chance for rainbows. And indeed, on our way back we got a few good rainbow-in-the-canyon pictures.
A short flight took us to the “Garden Isle” Kauai. The weather changed almost every 15 minutes, but we managed to escape the short showers and enjoyed a late lunch with cold drinks on Coconut Beach at pleasant conditions.
