Hawaii is possibly one of THE destinations furthest from London, yet I was surprised to hear so many people that I know in the UK had actually been before! Following a direct flight to LA (c. 12 hours) and a stressful time at immigration, Fahad and I arrived on the other side and found ourselves enjoying some of the USA's finest offerings - sports, food and beer.
We arrived the night before the rest of the wedding group, so booked a single night at a nearby hotel. When we landed in Lihue, we found an airport similar in size to Eugene's and wandered around for a while trying to figure out where we could board our hotel shuttle. After making a few circles around the tiny airport, we found a small phone which you picked up and were taken directly to an operator (no dialling needed), stated your hotel and then it connected you. I guess the set-up is more environmentally friendly than having the shuttles constantly make rounds like the rental car shuttles do! Our shuttle arrived, for just the two of us, and we had a quick 10 minute drive to our resort. Fahad and I don't normally stay at resorts, as I like the character that you find in B&B's and even some guest houses, but this was a nice treat! The resort was very well kept, and had a nice open and airy entrance. After pointing out how hungry we were, the desk attendant told us we had about 10 minutes to place an order at the bar / restaurant before they stopped serving food, we so sped up our check-in and headed over. Fortunately we made it just in time and sat enjoying our food while listening to some live Hawaiian music, which automatically puts you into the chill-out zone.
The rest of the group wasn't due to arrive until late afternoon the next day, so we enjoyed some al fresco breakfast, had a brief moment of pool time until we were drenched by a tropical rain shower and then rented our car, where we were persuaded (tricked?) into upgrading to a Mustang Convertible, ensuring we stood out as tourists everywhere we went. With a couple of hours still to spare, we ventured out to a nearby beach to have lunch and catch some sun. The beach we found was called Kalapaki Beach, and had both sand and manicured grass areas to lay. It was a great find, with lots of bars, restaurants and beach activities, probably due to the strip being lined with hotels and resorts. We enjoyed lunch at Duke's Barefoot Bar and watched the airplanes as they came in, so we were able to perfectly time meeting the group at the airport.
When we got to the airport, we found the whole Horn Family had upgraded their rentals to Mustangs and Jeeps. We travelled in style for about one hour to the north of the island, Princeville, where we were staying for the rest of the week. After briefly unpacking and assigning rooms, Linus' family also came over and we regrouped and headed out to Hanalei where we had read about a number of different restaurants. We should have known better for a Saturday night, but after trying and failing to find a table for 9 people we started to lower our expectations and found a pizza place which was in the back of Tahiti Nui (the infamous bar, which we didn't recognise until AFTER we went inside). The waiter was nice at first, making room for us in the back, but then he quickly forgot about us and kept reminding us how busy he was and how we needed to make his job easier. Island people clearly aren't used to stress. Try working in my job for a day, buddy! In the end, the pizza and mai tais were great, and we were grateful that we found somewhere we could all fit, but I probably wouldn't go back.
The next morning, Brandee, Linus, Fahad and I set out for a hike to Hanakapi'ai Beach, which was a 4-mile round trip hike. The drive to the starting point was gorgeous, driving past Hanalei and up around the top of the island, as far as the road goes.
We arrived pretty early (benefits of jet lag) but still found there to be limited parking. We found an overflow parking lot which was still pretty empty, and after scraping the bottom of the rental car on a few large, sharp boulders, it was clear why there were mostly SUVs in the lot! We had intended to hike to the Hanakoa Falls, but that was a further few miles.
After about an hour of hiking, we arrived to the secluded Hanakapi'ai beach, which can only be reached via the hike. There were still a lot of people who, like us, apparently decided NOT to continue on the muddy trail to the waterfall.
There was a small stretch of sand, which had to be reached by wading knee-deep through a small pool of water. This water was mostly blocked off from the waves of the ocean, but we still had to be quite careful. This beach was not meant for swimming, which was a common theme we found many other beaches,. We found the below warning posted at the bottom of the trail.
One one edge of the beach, there was a small cave, where you again had to wade through the shallow pool which was mostly protected from any of the ocean waves. It was a popular photo op for most of the visitors!
The next day was the group boat trip around the Na Pali Coast, which we pre-booked in advance. We had only seen the tip of Coast on our hike, and the rest of it is not accessible by car. The only ways to see it are by hike, boat, kayak or helicopter. The ride was beautiful, and being on the left side on the way out, we had unrestricted views of the sights.
I was surprised to found out that so many other films had been made in various spots, not just Jurassic Park. There were a number of caves and beaches which featured in films with Robin Williams and Johnny Depp. We even saw dolphins and a sea turtle along the way!
Since the tour started at 9am , we still had the rest of the afternoon to explore. Despite having a picnic lunch on the boat, Fahad and I decided to go to Kapa'a to try a recommended restaurant, Mermaid Cafe, because eating is pretty much our favourite thing to do on holiday. The cafe was nothing more than a walk-up counter, with a couple of picnic tables outside and a small bar with stools along one side of the hut. I had the Tropical Tacos, which were drenched in a 'special sauce' which I would describe as creamy and coconutty.
Following lunch, we continued to drive around the island, stopping to take a scenic drive to a 'fishpond' (aka Alekoko Fishpond) near Lihue. The 39-acre fishpond was tucked up into the hills and we encountered very few cars on the scenic drive up.
The ancient loko wai (freshwater fishpond), according to legend, was built by Kauai's menehune (little people) overnight when they built a 900ft stone dam across a bend in the Hule-ia River. Holes in the structure allowed small, young fish to enter the pond but not to escape once grown.
The scenic drive was followed by a stop at the Gilligan's Island beach (Moloa'a Beach) just before sunset. We reached the beach by a long, dirt road and found a tiny spot for parking amongst the raised beach houses. I wasn't sure why the houses were raised, but I think it serves a dual purpose - avoiding high tide, while providing a less restricted view over trees and neighbouring homes.
Top Tips:
- Don't be fooled by the laid-back island style, make reservations for top-rated restaurants in advance
- If you plan on hiking to Hanakapi'ai Beach, Hanakoa Falls or the whole Kalalau Trail - START EARLY! Not only will you struggle to grab a parking spot, but it's a long, slow trek, especially when the trails are muddy.
- If you MUST rent a convertible, make sure you are a pro at using it and keep a close eye out for rain clouds, especially when on the North/Northest side of the island. We had to stop more than once to protect ourselves and the interior of the car from a sudden rain shower.
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