Kaua'i South

     After a week up on the northern half of Kaua'i we drove to our condo on the south shore at an area called Poipu.  It contains a number of resorts and other tourist accommodations.  We were at Kuhio Shores, a very nice condo building right along the ocean.  We saw whales spouting just offshore from the reef.  Here's a view from our lanai:

     The south shore is sunnier than the north, though still having enough rain for greenery to thrive.  It has many beaches to visit.  First we went to Salt Pond beach, up toward the western shore.  Nice, some snorkeling OK, not very crowded.  Here's a photo:

     Then we drove out to a long and almost empty beach called Maha'ulepu.  One reason for the lack of people was the road to get there, full of potholes and ruts, which our trusty little rental car made at a speed no more than a couple miles per hour.  This photo may help, but doesn't adequately show how awful was this road, nor how long:

     The beach itself was long, beautiful, with areas under the trees where you could sit in shade if you so wished.  The surf was strong but areas exist which permitted some swimming.  All in all, idyllic:

     Then we spent a day visiting Waimea Canyon.  This is a large area on the western side of Kaua'i formed by runoff from the incessant rain in the mountains. Kaua'i has the wettest spot on earth, measured by annual rainfall of 460 inches, right at the mountain and swamp in the middle of the island. The canyon resulted.  You can drive up along it to near the very top.  It is said that Mark Twain described this as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. But since Mark never was on Kaua'i, that story doesn't quite agree with facts.  Nonetheless, it is a description which while grandiose is quite accurate.   Here are photos:

      This canyon is more than a half mile across and several miles long.  It rises almost 4,000 feet above sea level, so the temperatures here are about 20 degrees lower than the road along the ocean.  We hiked a couple short trails and one that was longer, the Pihea Trail up to the rim of the Kalalau Valley.  That trail started relatively easy though muddy as the weather was constantly misty and overcast.  But after awhile it included several sections where you had to ascend (and later descend) by grabbing slippery wet tree roots or rocks as it became near vertical.  The trail eventually morphed into a crossing of the Alaka'i Swamp, the area up atop the mountains where all that rain collects and is not traversable except upon the single boardwalk for the trail.  We didn't go there, this was enough.  Here are photos:

Kalalau Valley from the trail.  See below.

Trail, the easy muddy part.

Trail, a harder muddy part.

Weird rocks along the way.

The Kalalau Valley may sound familiar to readers who followed the previous post in my blog.  This is the final destination for the Kalalau Trail if one were to walk its entire 11 mile length into Napali.  We had walked only the first couple miles, which didn't require a permit and overnight camping.  The seashore you see in the photo is where that trail ends.  This is where a fellow in the 1800's went to hide out when the government tried to send him to the leper colony on Molokai island.  He fought off a detachment of soldiers sent to arrest him, so they gave up and let him live here until his death years later.  A bunch of hippies also roosted out here awhile back until they were rousted out.  Now it has reverted to essential wilderness.  The ancient Hawaiians did have a thriving community here - with taro and sweet potato farms - centuries ago.  It's now a ecologically protected area.

     We also went to Shiprock Beach, Brenneke's Beach and Poipu Beach, all of which are worthy destinations where one can relax completely.  They are all in the Poipu resort area.  Also Kekeha Beach on the west shore past Waimea.  The turtle in the photo atop this post crawled up on Poipu Beach for a nap, as is their wont.  The poor lifeguards have to try to keep the tourists away from the turtles so they can rest in peace.  Actually, watching a turtle on the beach is far from exciting.  Once you get over the cool feeling of seeing a big turtle, watching them rest is about as exciting as watching paint dry.  They pretty much lie there motionless.

Cliff off Shipwreck Beach.

Looking down nearby.

Both of us exploring the cliffs near Shipwreck Beach.

Jagged lava rocks and surf.

Kakaha Beach - miles of empty sand - west shore.

     On our last day we visited the National Tropical Botanical Garden and toured Allerton Garden.  This was the estate of an heir to the Allerton fortune, amassed via the Chicago stockyards and First National Chicago Bank (a story in itself) and later donated in trust.  The heir had developed beautiful gardens with several "rooms" where he brought in Greek style statuary and other touches. Only photos can show what its like, so here are some:

The estate and manor house.  I could live there.

Orchid.

Endemic plant.

Another orchid.

Statue & pool in a "room."

Descending waterfall.

Another "room"

Bamboo forest.

Rick in fig roots, see next.

Row of fig trees.

The "Thanksgiving Room."

Eucalyptus tree - note variegated colors in bark.

Gecko lizard!

     Not only has Kaua'i in general (especially Napali) been often used in movies, but this Allerton Garden has been featured as well.  Disney rented it for a couple months to use areas for scenes in Pirates of the Caribbean; and the photo of Rick standing in the fig tree roots is where the dinosaur eggs were found in Jurassic Park.

     One common sight in Kaua'i is the feral chicken, or "jungle fowl" to birdwatchers.  They are literally everywhere:

Should we or shouldn't we?  The insoluble conundrum.

     A Hawaiian treat is shaved ice; a concoction of shaved (not crushed) ice over a scoop of ice cream and doused with a variety of flavored syrups.  While it may superficially look like a snow cone, don't be fooled; these are far superior and are absolutely heavenly.  Rick made it a quest to find the best on the island, as a public service of course.  Hint: include macadamia nut ice cream:

Shaved Ice.  Melts in your mouth.

     Flowering plants were everywhere around Kawa'i.  Here are a few photos taken simply at random as we travelled around:

Plumaria - Hawaii state flower

Bird of Paradise

     After a week in the south and west, we reluctantly had to return home.  But we vow to return to this little outpost of paradise.  I'll leave you with a final view of the symbol for Hawaii, pictured on its auto license plates:

Waiting for our return.