Last full day on the south shore

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We woke up today absolutely drained from our big hike yesterday. After a bit of deliberation, we downsized our day's hike from the Po'omau Canyon Ditch Trail and instead opted for the ~4 miles of the Canyon Trail. The grey clouds in the morning kept the drive in Rod, our trusty Wrangler, a bit breezy, but the sky cleared up as we entered Waimea Canyon.

As expected, a handful of the island's finest roosters were at the trail head to send us off. It's nice to have little alarm clocks walking around, going off at all times of day.

The hike itself was not overly challenging, and the views were nice. The trail winds around some cliffs out over the canyon, so we got some fantastic views of the contrasting greenery and red dirt. Coming around one cliff, we could see some stone arches way up on the canyon side. According to our guidebook, these are NOT man-made. Just nice little scenes in nature.

The trail took us to the Waipo'o Falls. The first view is of the smaller upper fall. The trail then takes you to the top of the second fall, which drops 800 feet below. Unfortunately, you can't see any of the falls below you, so we kept on hiking where many people stop. Our perseverance was reward as we continued to round cliffs and reach startling views both of the falls and of the rest of the canyon. When we started to worry about time, we turned around, hiked back through the falls, and back up to Rod.

We rushed back to the hotel to get ready for our 5:30 reservations at the Beach House, a restaurant with amazing sunset views. We enjoyed a couple of fruity drinks while watching a few paddle surfers, then ate a very good meal while watching the sun slowly set. We even caught a whale or two spouting, but from a long distance. The dinner was a lot of fun, and we headed back to the hotel around 7:30. As was becoming our custom, we were in bed well before 9.

We cannot overstate how much we loved the south shore. The access to the Waimea Canyon was great. Snorkeling at Po'ipu Beach Park was fun and convenient. We were never without something to do. If you go, spend some of your time in the south. It's worth it!!

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Photos

D, Rod, and the Rooster
Just before the day's hike

B on the edge
One of the great viewpoints along the Canyon Trail

Smaller Waterfall
B found it!!!

The arches
How did they get there???

Look back at the larger fall
Easier to see from here than on top of it

Sunset at the Beach House
The view from our table

Another sunset view
More from the Beach House

Post sunset view
Even after the sun went down the ski was still bright

Final view from the Beach House
Let's light the torches