Kauai Vacation

Our trip to Kauai Hawaii was amazing. It is a complete and total luxury to have the opportunity to take such an wonderful vacation - esp with Andy. By the end of the trip we were totally relaxed and did not want to return to cold Wisconsin. We took a ton of pictures - here are a few of the 436 photos that we took. These pictures briefly outline the basics of our vacation. Enjoy.

Waimea

We stayed in the west part of Kauai in the historic town of Waimea. Waimea is on dry and sunny side of Kauai - that is one of the reasons we stayed there. Another reason we stayed there is that it was a minimum of 30 mins away from a large number of resorts and tourists. Historical note of interest: Captain James Cook landed in Waimea Kauai in 1778.

Here is a picture of the 4 suite in where we stayed in Waimea - Inn Waimea. This place was PERFECT! 1/2 block from the black sand beach in Waimea and 1/2 from downtown Waimea. The Innkeeper Lorraine was fantastic. I would definitely recommend staying here if you plan a visit to Kauai.

Here is a picture of the black sand beach and the pier located 1/2 block away from where we were staying. This was a perfect location to watch the sunset. This beach was very secluded - we'd be on the beach for 3 hrs and not see another person - this was great.

Waimea Canyon and Kokee State Park

Since we were staying in Waimea we had easy access to the Waimea Canyon and Kokee State Park. We spent nearly a full day exploring the Waimea Canyon and Kokee State Park.

The Waimea Canyon is beatiful. Mark Twain named this canyon, "The Grand Canyon of the Pacific." What do you think?

After exploring the canyon a bit we went hiking in the Kokee State Park. We hiked the Pihea Trail. This trail traverses the narrow ridge in the Na Pali Kona Forest Reserve between the Kalalau Valley, the largest valley along the Na Pali cliffs, and the Alakai Swamp. Andy accidently hiked this trail in his flip-flops - his feet were hurting for days. Needless to say, I highly recommend against hiking in flip flops.

The views from the trail were spectacular - take a look.

Poipu

We visted Poipu beach one day. The beach is actually pretty cool - but there were way too many people. This is the area that we decided not to stay in because it is resort land. The people on this beach were VERY annoying - I could not believe how many people were on the beach talking on the cell phone - who frickin' talks on the cell phone about outfits while on the beach in paradise????

The one redeeming quality about our visit to Poipu beach was seeing a monk seal resting on the beach.

Kilauea Lighthouse and Secret Beach

We spent two different days in the north shore area of Kauai. Our first day we visited the Kilauea Lighthouse and Secret Beach.

The Kilauea Lighthouse, built in 1913, is the northernmost point of the main Hawaiian Islands. The area surrounding the lighthouse is gorgeous.

After visting the Kilauea Lighthouse area we went to Secret Beach. This was one of our favorite beaches. The ocean and sand were fantastic. Here is a quick glimpse. I'd show you more pictures of the beach - but it is a secret, remember.

Kalalau Trail and Hanakapi'ai Beach

On our second visit to the north shore we did 2 miles of the Kalalau Trail to Hanakapi'ai Beach. The Kalalau Trail provides the only land access to this part of the rugged coast. The full trail is 11 miles and ends at Kalalau Beach. However, to hike anywhere past Hanakapi'ai Beach you must have a permit. I should have worn bug spray - I totally forgot to pack bug spray and got 15 mosquito bites on this hike - that was rather annoying.

The views from the trial an Hanakapi'ai Beach were incredible. From the trail you could see the Na Pali coast line very well.

Sunset over Ni'ihau from Kekeha Beach

Ni'ihau is another Hawaiian is island located eighteen miles southwest of Kaua'i. For over a century, access to Ni'ihau has been limited to those Hawaiian families who work on its privately owned cattle and sheep ranch.

Ni'ihau is visible from Kauai. Our last night on Kauai we watched the sunset over Ni'ihau from Kekaha beach. Even though the sun was a bit clouded over the sunset was still spectacular.

We left Kauai at 10:40 pm on Sunday Feb March 11; back in Madison 5:30 pm, on March 12; and back at work the morning of March 13.

Andy and I loved Kauai and developed great shared memories on this trip. We hope to visit Kauai together again soon.

Happy Knitting!