Relaxing day.
We spend most of the day on the beach. The opportunity of seeing a huge Manta.
Easy day
We hike 3 hours on the Pinapple Trail starting in front of the appartment and going along the ocean ; beautiful scenery.
If Kauai is famous for its shores,parks, canyons and waterfalls, it's also famous for ...its chickens...
"Chicken Island" is the 2nd name of Kauai.
They are just everywhere, on every road or street, on every trail, every parking lots...
There are more chickens on the island than inhabitants.
As usual, we start our day quiet late to go to the Opaekaa and Wailua falls, close to our residency.
The first Tahitian, migrating to Hawaii, settled in Wailua, which has been for a very long time the heart of the tahitian community
The Wailua river, 34 km long, runs from the Mount Waialeale to the Lydgate park where it reaches the ocean.
That's the only river in Hawaii you can sail on.
It was the favorite playground of the royal families; the "Alii".
We drive along the river up to the top where we can see 2 nice waterfalls under a beautiful sun which quickly disappears, leaving us with a rainy afternoon.
Po'ipu
We drive under a "tunnel" of mahogany trees to reach this little town.
Most of the tourists come here for the beautiful beaches and the nice restaurants.
We hike on the coast trail with the ocean at our feet
.
We also walk along a superb golf course : coconut trees, the ocean and the moutain in the background. just the ideal place to play.
But with a 250 $ green fee, it's not for us...
A curisosity nearby is the " spouting Horn".
Waves passing through an ancient lava tube come out as a geyser.
Waimea Canyon State Park
Also called the Grand Canyon of he Pacific, Waimea Canyon is 16 km long, 1.6 km wide and more than one 1 km deep.
The green and black colour of the cliffs joining the rusty colour of the river offer a wonderful palette.
We also can admire waterfalls in a volcanic mountain background.
We take a winding road along the Puu O Kila lookout, with good overlooks on the Kalalau Valley to reach our trailhead.
We hike for 4 hours on the Awa'awapuhi Trail which drops down sharply through the forest.
Although it's not a too difficult trail it's often so muddy that it's hard to keep our balance.
Thanks God we have our walking sticks !
The last overlook is in the cloud and it's just impossible to see anything.
The north of the island has got one of the most beautiful landscape of the word.
A sharp mountain range diving into the ocean from " kee beach " to " Polihale State Park " makes the " Napali Coast ".
This landscape is the result of millions of years of strong winds and heavy rain erosion.
There are three ways of discovering the " Napali Coast " ; by foot, by sea or by air.
Bad luck for us, the access road to the trailhead is closed due to numerous landslides caused by heavy rain since last april.
So it's impossible to do the " Kalalau Hiking Trail ".
We make a stop at Hanalei, a surfer's paradise with three beaches.
On the way back, we visit the Kilauea point Lighthouse and its ornithologic sanctuary.
Another island : Kauai
Tropical forests, waterfalls, white sandy beaches and dramatic cliffs compose this island.
Its luxuriant vegetation coming down from the mount " Waialeale ", the central point of the island , is at the origin of its nickname " The Garden Island ".
A large crack on the west side of the island created the impressive " Waimea Canyon ".
The south and west part attract a lot of tourists for the beaches.
At the airport, we meet an american couple living in Maui. Another opportunity of getting informations on the islands and sharing our travel experiences.
On arrival, the rent-a-car company upgrades us to a ford " Mustang "....Nice!
Installation in our Rci residency by the ocean at " Kapaa ".
ROAD BOOK 032
MAVROS ODYSSEE