The sunrises about 6:30 AM these days, so when we were pulling into Kauai just before 7 AM, we had a spectacular view of the island from our ports-side verandah.
Today our destination was Waimea Canyon, which is considered the Grand Canyon of Hawaii (at least according to the writings of Mark Twain, so the name stuck!). The ship had an excursion to the Waimea Canyon - but it only allowed you 15 minutes at the lookout. But J wanted to option to go for a hike to explore the vegetation and topography, so we rented a car with Enterprise. A car rental in Kauai is not cheap - $166 US for the day, but the freedome it provided us was worth it.
We had paid about $12 for a Gypsy Guide tour and downloaded it onto my phone. This became our personal tour guide which identified our location and told us about the sites to see around us and the history of the island. It was well worth it!
Our first stop was at the Waimea Canyon Lookout, with an elevation of 3400 feet. (I should mention we paid $10 to park the car and $5 for each occupant - so $20 total revenue for Hawaiian parks). Here we ran into friends on the ship’s bus excursion and they told us clouds were moving in so we ought to hustle to see the viewpoint. We knew the forecast called for rain beginning at noon. And so we saw a smattering of colour that hinted at the beauty of the rock colour beneathe the clouds.
We carried on down the Waimea Canyon a few more miles and saw a roadside pullout, big enough for two cars - and here we got to see the full majesty of the Waimea Canyon. The clouds had not arrived here yet. We would not have seen this view from the bus - because there wasn’t space to park the bus in this spot. The road is filled with twists and turns (making our friend feel sick on the bus) and absolutely no shoulder for safety. So we were happy to get this stop in for the view!
We drove a few more miles down the road and pulled into Pu'u Hinahina lookout and this is where we planned to hike the Canyon Trail. Our Gypsy Guide suggested we hike the Cliff Trail (1 mile total - of difficult hiking) to get a great view. And so we set out on the Canyon Trail for the first 1/2 mile (which ultimately connects with the Cliff Trail). We descended down into the Canyon, hiking for 30 minutes before we joined up with the Cliff Trail. At that point, a person could go see the Waimea Canyon view, or descend further to see two waterfalls AND the view. I made the decision to go see the view and J continued down. And when I arrived at my view….all I saw was cloud!!!:( I stayed for 15 minutes in case the clouds shifted, and they did ever so minutely, but no enough to see the glory of the colour of the red rock. And so I returned back to the parking lot in about 35 minutes of hiking. J didn’t make it all the way to the waterfalls, because he was worried about rain beginning to fall in earnest and knew the red earth would become slippery when wet.
When I was about 5 minutes away from the parking lot, two women (who were about my age and fitness level) stopped and asked me how the view was. I told them 30 minutes out, only clouds to see, 35 - 40 minutes return. They quickly made the decision to turn around and save themselves the effort! I was still pleased we did the hike, it was good exercise!
After than drove further up the road to Kokee Lodge for lunch. We ordered a delicious salad and chile for lunch and a mango lemonade! By the time we left the restaurant, it started to rain. Our Gypsy Guide told us that we were heading up the road to one of the wettest places on earth, Mount Waialeale gets 450 inches of rain per year (that is 37.5 feet!). So as Gypsy said this, it started to rain in earnest…. and we looked for a place to turn around and head back down the canyon, becuase we knew we would have no views after that!
We left Waimea Canyon for the day and started the return trip back to the ship. We stopped in the town of Waimea and I bought some pineapple and mango to snack on. I stopped and tried on a few dresses in a local shop. We then carried on to Salt Pond to see a local beach - and it was there I discovered I didn’t have my Tilley Hat! So after 15 minutes on the beach enjoying watching families play in the waves and surfers further out, we returned to the town of Waimea to look for my only wide brimmed hat that I brought on this tropical vacation! Back to the little shop where I tried on dresses hurriedly over my shorts and tank top, and I found my hat!!! Hooray!
Salt Pond Beach - a local hangout!
So we continued on back to the car rental drop off, then caught a shuttle back close to the ship. J went straight to the ship and I looked at a few shops. And I bought a dress!
I then boarded the ship and caught up with J. After a lovely catch up call with our youngest son, we went for dinner. I decided to forgo the entertainment on the Mainstage (another comedian) and come back to pack for our "Hike Maui" trip tomorrow and write my blog. It is now 8:45 pm so we might even have time to watch a movie tonight!
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