Kauai October 2012 Day 9

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Spent our first full day in Hanalei hiking the 8 mile round trip trail to Hanakapi'ai Falls. I very unwisely selected my Columbia sandals for this hike, thinking they would work best for getting across the small rivers. Um - No. You need hiking boots for this trail. And Kevlar. And a helmet. And lots of sunscreen. And a helicopter. It's no stroll through the park. It's a kick-your-butt, bring-your-machete-and-ropes sort of trail with ants, tree roots, lots of rocks, slippery streams and a narrow path that teases you into following the wrong way.

After working our way up and down those monsterous crevices of the Napali Coast mountains, we made it to a rocky beach occupied by lots of other hikers and nice feral kitties. It was a beautiful and wild cove, too dangerous to swim, but exhilerating as the waves crashed into the rocks and beach.

But WAIT, there's MORE! We left the huddling masses behind and took the crazy 2 mile hike to the falls, walking over rocks, roots and whatnot -- through a dark and mysterious bamboo forest -- all that stuff I described earlier to finally reach the Hanakapi'ai Falls.

We returned to our wonderful apartment, I took a shower in the outside shower (it's enclosed, don't be silly) and we got ready for the laua at the road's end after Hanalei.

The luau ws fantastic. We had fun drinks, took a walk along the beach and it was a beautiful place. There were some newlyweds, which is always fun, and the food was fabulous.

The luau show was led by a Hawaiian guy and featured his family. He was in his late 40's or early 50's, but with all that fire spitting and an impressive 6-pack, I would have guessed he was in his mid 30's. His daughter's danced the hula and his wife played bongos. We obviously need to get Audrey in a grass skirt after Paul learns a few more Hawaiian tunes on his ukulele.

We drove home feeling full and fine under the stars. Pretty much as good as it gets.

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