I'd like to apologize for the amount of pictures included in this post. We went to Kauai for 10 days this month and had a smashingly magnificent time. It felt like a great mix of planned activities/adventures, and plenty of time to relax and not have to rush places. We stayed in Kapa'a in a VRBO house, which was fabulous compared to a hotel. We're all getting a little too big and old to have to cram into a hotel room for 10 days together. The house gave us plenty of room, a kitchen to cook our own food and pack our own cooler for beach days, and about 20 roosters and chickens to wake us up at 4:30 a.m. every day. But, since there are chickens are roosters literally everywhere on the island, there would be no escaping them no matter what.
We left on a 7 a.m. flight from SLC, and by the time we got to Kauai, it was only lunchtime. The 4 hour time difference threw us for the first few days. We were so sleepy by 9:00 every night, but we adjusted to island time without too much trouble.
Our first activity was touring the East and North parts of the island with a guy named Noah, who picked us up in his Toyota Sienna and drove us around for 8 hours, showing us some of the most famous spots, and some hidden gems as well. He was nice and had lots of stories, and shared the history and culture of the island with us. After about 6 hours, we were all so dang tired/jet lagged, so we were probably not the best company for him those last couple hours, haha.
The house and back yard. Addie was the chicken care taker.
Our adventures with Noah: I don't remember everywhere we went, but we did go to lots of beautiful places! We saw Hanalei Bay, beaches on the northern coast, waterfalls, a random Buddhist sanctuary, etc.
He has a machete in the back of his van so he can cut open coconuts. Hopefully not for murdering people.
Larsen's Beach
The next day we had a beach day at Anahola Beach. The surf was super rough due to the hurricane that was churning in the Pacific a few hundred miles away. Probably wouldn't go to this beach again due to the sharp rocks in the water. We were all injured to some extent. But, the good news is that Nils brought along his portable reading glasses. We had a fun day in spite of some cuts and scrapes.
The next day, (Nils' Birthday!!) we had our biggest adventure of the trip: A rafting excursion to the Napali Coast. It was about 7 hours of a crazy, bumpy, splashy ride to the coast. There was snorkeling, a delicious lunch on a beach, riding through sea caves, watching a pod of dolphins swim along side us, and incredibly beautiful scenery the whole way. The kids thought the raft was awesome. I think if it was just Nils and me, we would choose a catamaran next time. The raft was pretty rough and I'm still a little broken, but I made it just fine.
We were drowned rats at this point. We were getting sprayed and splashed non stop. Salt water is so stingy in the eyeballs!
Turtles!
Then it was the weekend, and we had some loose plans. We went to Poipu Beach and laid on the grass, and those who wanted to got Puka Dogs.
Went to Spouting Horn at sunset.
On Sunday we went to church in Kapa'a
Then Nils, Addie, Aani and me drove all the way around to the west coast of the island to visit Waimea Canyon. It is pretty spectacular! We did a 3.5 mile hike that was lots of slippery slopes on the way in, and steep slopes on the way out,
Saw the Napali Coast from the top. Still spectacular!
The dirt was super loose and slippery and I might have fallen a time or two.
Next day we kayaked along the Wailua River to Secret Falls. Our tip on this is to just rent kayaks nearby and DIY this bad boy. No guide needed. Save yourself some money like we did! Thanks to our friends, the Haights, who gave us this tip.
Our final official activity was going tubing through an old sugar plantation. They drove us to the middle of the island where it's real rainy, then we went on a nice calm ride through old canals and tunnels. It was a fun and nothing crazy. The company that does this does a great job of making the whole experience very entertaining and interactive.
Addie had to rent water shoes, and she got a little smaller size than normal. I like her toe peeking through.
After that was over, we had to get our shave ice! Then we saw a Ross in the same parking lot and spent about 2 hours there, because why the heck not.
On our last day, Anders surprised Nils was a skydiving trip in the early morning. They loved it! Nils did a bit of snorkeling in the afternoon, and then we went back to Larsen's Beach to get some family pics.
When it was dark and we were done, we hung out for a bit, and I cried because I didn't want to leave. We had an amazing trip and absolutely loved it. Alas, we had to come home to real life.
We loved the island vibe and would love to return. The thing we didn't have great luck with was finding great food. We didn't have any amazing Hawaiian food experiences, and even the shave ice we thought was just fine. We like the Hawaiian food and shave ice in Utah better, haha. Also, a gallon of milk is $9 there, so that makes us feel a little better about where we live. Although, Kauai is optimal for curly hair. My hair was amazing the whole time, and Anders' curls really went nuts while we were there, so there's that!
Kauai: 10/10 loved it, would recommend.
