Kauaii Adventures!

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Kaua'i is adventure wonderland for two landlocked citizens of Denver, Colorado!

Days 1-3:

After missing our flight from Denver to Phoenix and being rerouted through LAX, then renting a car with an empty tank only to drive the "alternate route" through an unlit backroad, we needed a couple of days to unwind. It all started with a delicious Mai Tai and Fish Tacos at Dukes in Lihue.

We used these first days to prep for our epic camping adventure. There was a Costco on the island, we made several trips to Kmart, bought a cooler, a summer weight sleeping bag, beach towels, cheapo sunglasses, etc. (Coolers are approved for checked luggage, and TSA wraps it up for you at the airport, by the way.) Each errand awarded us a local surprise like the delicious freshly caught and made bento boxes at the grocery stores, a huge jar of salted macadamia nuts, fruit shares on the roadside, farmer's markets, a local butcher shop for my preference of eating "happy cows," driving through the tree tunnel and observing how exactly those people boogie board, paddle-board and surf. We also screamed our heads off at cows in a pasture. "Hey Cow!" is an official game of great fun taught to me by a dear friend, thanks lady!! (Rules below.)

All this time we stayed in a fun and exceptional tree house!!! (Found on verbo.com Vacation Rental By Owner). It was on the more affordable side of accommodations on Kaua'i, (~ $80/ night, plus cleaning fee). It was romantic to say the least, an outdoor shower, a lofted bed, a lanai and the owners set up fresh white ginger flowers for that quintessential Hawaiian scent. There was an open pasture with friendly grazing horses just behind the treehouse. I made friends with them despite their distaste in macadamia nuts. The damn roosters crowed all damn night, but it was a little humorous too. Great for a short stay!

On day 3, just as we were loading up the "Rooster Ranger" (Yes, we nicknamed our Ford Ranger rental truck,) I seriously gashed my knee. I have several versions of how this actually happened and everyone falls for it...

**I made friends with the horses in the pasture just behind our treehouse, where we were staying. There was a paint, he was the biggest by far, a white horse, and two chestnut horses. One of the chestnut colored horses was very old, very skinny and a little stand-offish. In my childhood, I had been proficient in horse back riding and competed in many Jimcanas and even invited to be a Westerneer. When I was a kid, barrels were my specialty, but bareback was a close second. Also, attending the University of Wyoming and poking around the farm here and there during the college years, helped the confidence as well. It was a leap of faith, but I decided to try and mount the white horse... bareback. I grabbed his mane and hopped up, it's just like riding a bike, once you've done it so many times. Obviously, these horses were very domesticated and he didn't have any issues with a rider. As I hung out, and I got a feel for him, he grazed. I was just telling DB that we absolutely had to save some time to get a waterfall before leaving Kaua'i, and I thought, "It would be amazing if this horse took me to a waterfall." Well, he didn't take me to a waterfall. After grazing awhile longer, he walked alongside a steep hill and into some shade. Next to my ears, in my line of sight was a deep red fruit that I picked from the trees and taste tested. It was a wild plum orchard! The horse, seeking shade, led me to a wild plum orchard! I picked some plums and saved them in the bottom of my shirt, like a makeshift basket. It was unfortunate when a couple of feral goats crossed our path and spooked my poor, beautiful, white horse. I fell quickly and gashed my knee on a rock, then had to walk back. DB was just finished packing the "Rooster Ranger" when I arrived with blood spider-webbed all over my shin and knee skin flapping. **

Don't believe me? Perhaps, its better told orally...that's what she said, yea, yea, I know. Really, I have told so many people this story and they really believe me. Including, our kayak guide (Spencer), several of Dain's family members and even my traveling peers. It's too much fun to make it up into a fantastic version. If you get injured traveling, I HIGHLY recommend an alternate or exaggerated version. Then, depending on the audience, give away (or don't) the real story. Have fun! ;-)

The lifeguards at Poipu all strongly suggested I get stitches. I did not have time for stiches! As Forbes Bassett says, "This isn't a walk in the park, this is vacation!" (Hah!) We bought some alcohol and Krazy glue (an old trick from my rugby days), and rented a paddle board. It was much more difficult than I had anticipated. Plus, the stupid current a Poipu kept washing me out to where all the surfers were lined up and in front of a cliff with many large rocks, plus the stupid resort crowd was more than I could handle. I decided I didn't like Poipu. We returned the board, I was beginning to feel nauseous from the disgusting gash on my knee and needed to take a break.

Puka Dogs is where we got lunch! Recommended from two honeymooners who were there a year ago and couldn't believe the flavor! Since DB is an avid hot dog fan, (very American of him, I know), it was a fun excursion. The dogs are wrapped in a Hawaiian sweet bread and the hot dog is stuffed into the bread with your choice of sauces. I had the spicy lemon secret sauce with coconut, pineapple relish and Dain got hot lemon secret sauce with mango and papaya relish. DELISH!

After, we decided to venture past the Hyatt and onto a long (private) dirt road towards a more secluded beach. We read about this amazing beach in the guide book "The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook, Kauai Revealed," amazing! Ditch the Frommers, the Lonely Planet and get this! Great book, a must have!

Maha'ulepu Beaches is where we should have spent ALL of our time, not Popiu. Too bad we learned about it a bit late. The water is more choppy, but the views don't include your average resort guest. We parked, after a long and bumpy ride, hiked a short, steep trail through some brush and arrived at the beach. This adorable puppy, who greeted us in the parking lot managed to find us again and came crashing onto our beach towels. He jumped on DB's barrel chest and, flung sand every which way before his bathing owner called him away, it didn't matter, he just kept coming back. Such an adorable, gushing puppy encounter.

We left our belongings and began to walk along the beach. First we encountered a beached Monk Seal, then a cliff for jumping. I left my camera with the towels, but I'm starting not to care too much if every moment isn't caught on camera. Monk seals were super endangered, but now protected as much as can be. It was a rare treat to see one, and sometimes it's just as amazing to tell the story, instead of just show the picture. He came upon the beach out of nowhere and was dead tired, sleeping like a log. I imagined that he just finished a large, delicious meal and needed to rest. The cliff jumping was a Hawaii bucket list item of mine, that I didn't know would be accomplished. We observed kids (they're great guinea pigs, right?) go first, then made our way up. Even with my bloody, busted knee, I was first to jump and the exhilaration propelled me even further into the "Aloha Spirit." We went a second time, but noticed the time slipping away and left for Polihiale.

Since this was the first night of camping, we made one more trip to Kmart to pick up butterfly closures, neosporin and waterproof skin covers.

Days 4-6:

Polihale State Park Beach- seclusion, fine, white sand, grilled pineapple, fresh lychee, beach camping, stars, stunning sunsets, sauna like temperatures, gorgeous nights sleep, constellations, Colorado edibles (thanks BRO! ;-), yoga, all shades of blue imaginable, green cliff sides, romance, roosters, frisbee, waves, sunscreen, pavilion, pineapple, beer, Mai Tai, Catcher in the Rye, shade seekers, hitch hikers, hippies, magical.

Days 6-8:

Kokee State Park- altitude, Canyon views, inspiring vistas, hiking, temperature drop, "AwaAwaPuhi"/ Ginger, dizzying heights, outdoor picnic, roosters, rain, burrrrr, fingertip of the Napali Cliffs, wild raspberries, wild flowers, higher than the helicopters, fresh breeze, romantic, rain coats, coconut granola, cinnamon sugar pork jerky, freezing cold night's sleep, inherited PB from friendly campers, Kaua'i Rain essential oil, Waileia waterfall bummer, looking down, wild plum orchard, Ranger Rooster, Catcher in the Rye, coconut syrup atop Macadamia Nut pancakes, wonderfully fulfilled.

Days 8-10:

Napali Coast- In a nutshell, frustrating and magical. Brings me to tears, the magic we witnessed. How incredibly fortunate we are..... As DB says, " If everything in the world came without any frustration, then everyone would do it." Kayaking the Napail Coast is not for everyone. I wasn't even sure if it was for me. The price point being the main factor, but the expense was minimal compared to the experience, exhilaration, and that "cool unlying life that rushes in."

Kayak Kauai was the company we began dialogue with back in April. It was determined by Micco, the owner/ operator, that we must go with a guide at least partially due to my inexperience in a kayak. Hindsight is 20/20, and we could have forced ourselves away from this expensive "Guided Maverick" trip into a solo Maverick trip, but there was some doubt and fear. No lies. Everyone kept freaking me out about seasickness. I was getting really amped up, especially the night before. Admittedly, the tantrums were stressful. In the end, I'm glad we went with the partial guide!

Spencer (the guide) arrived at our campsite, at Haena, on the morning of our launch and, just as any guide, playfully, took us through the training in robot mode. Not hard. We launched and for the first hour, I couldn't look anywhere but the horizon. After we flipped 3 times and DB 5 times, I felt like I could look all around and multi-task, i.e. camera. The water was choppy and aggressive, relentlessness. NO one became sea sick, and we learned some Hawaiian story, Hawaiian language and I shared the hilarious game of "Hey Cow" with Spencer.

He parted ways with us at Kalalau Beach. This is where DB asked if it was necessary for us to pump water from the kayak belly. Spencer gave a little demonstration with the pump and the "dry bag" loosened it's roll. This is where my phone was soaked along with food and camping equipment. Spencer asked, "Was there anything in here that needed to be dry?" Uhhh.....?

Technically, we weren't supposed to land at Kalalau without a state park permit, but these kayakers gotta eat! Exploring the island and warming up after a somewhat rainy morning paddle, was essential. The beach was crowded with tents under the under-hang of the cliff. We ate sandwiches, and foreign, delicious, tart, lilioki (passionfruit), walked along to the side arches, then back to the waterfall for a freshwater shower. The hot sand dance was performed to perfection by DB, without sandals, good job! It was a shame we didn't spend more time exploring the lava tubes, secret pools and waterfalls. It's my wish to go back, despite the crowd.

{A note about state park passes. We went through the trouble of reserving months in advance online. At Haena in Hanalei, a rather, busy county park I was asked by an officer for my permit. When I didn't have one he asked for $5, when I didn't have cash, he asked I bring it before launching the kayak. Unfortunately, I forgot to seek him out. Whoops. All other beaches we were never approached and felt as if the reservations were a wasted effort. Kalalau beach had excessive traffic, especially because tenants set up for months at a time. I got the feeling the remote beaches were not patrolled at all.}

Now we launch solo. Surprisingly, it went well and the paddle mantra was, "Just keep paddling," especially when DB became wobbly and engrossed in geology speculations. We found the "Mermaid Cave," an open ceiling cave where kayaks, and zodiacs can enter. We were the only people there and took full advantage. I just couldn't get over the beautiful shades of blue, and the clarity...then to look up and see sky blue. I'm glad we were here unguided, very surreal. It felt like the Hawaiian Gods were carefully watching over our playtime and smiling down on us through that open hole ceiling.

Accidentally, we got caught in the riff at Nu'halo Kai and almost dragged bottom on top of a reef, if weren't for high tide, I would have been devastated. A local man made it clear that we weren't at Milioli, it was another mile down shore. At Milioli we landed gracefully, and began to feel the extreme sunburn from the one thing we forgot on this trip....sunscreen. Near the freshwater shower, (not potable), was a massive grove of aloe. I felt so native using the plant to help heal my legs. A quick rinse, moor the kayak, dose of aloe, unload, another meal and another tent set-up....we needed drinkable water. It was promised to be here, right?

A friendly Randall and Sarah filled us in about the beach happenings. He jumped over to his cooler and jumped back to our tent in his hyper, excited state and produced two bottles of ice cold Hawaiian Princess purified water. Apparently, there were archeologists from a museum that just exited after an extended stay on Milioli. They were nice enough to pass along their leftover necessities to Randall, which he offered to us! DB was modest and refused, at first, to take the water. Me, on the other hand, took that bottle like a gorilla and gulped it down. THANK YOU! Water never tasted better after a day of salt water splashing in my mouth. Besides, our last water refill was at the campgrounds at Haena, it sat strapped to our kayak in the sun all day in a Camelback and tasted nasty! Another tent with a family and two blonde girls smiled and waved at us, Randall told us their names too. Sarah introduced themselves as Coloradans from Durango! It was fate to be amongst our own, who better to appreciate the awe and inspiration of this paradise!

Sarah explained the clues to the potable water. She said, "Ignore the water tank, it feeds the shower and is not 100% potable, there is a pipe coming out of the cliff near a waterfall that feeds fresh spring water." I felt determined at the challenge of finding the drinkable water. Milioli Beach is on the same side of Kaua'i as Polihale, so the return of sauna like temperatures, tall grasses and cacti were surprising after just departing the lush North Side this morning. Carefully, trying not to debrain ourselves as we hiked under a mangrove, passed the muddy water tank and only a few minutes later, we entered under a tropical canopy with the running stream, waterfalls and pools. There were goats "neighing," birds singing, and bugs buzzing.

After hiking deeper into one of the fingers of the Napail Coast, it was admirable to look up and think that yesterday we were on top of one of these fingers looking down (Koke'e State Park). The trip perspective became very complete, great planning by DB! For a joke, DB said how great it would be to sit in one of these pools in the stream to cool our sunburns radiating heat. It wasn't a joke to me, I stripped down and waded in, DB too. Skinny dipping in the cool, fresh spring water of the Napali Coast is a favorite memory of mine, mainly because it was so unexpected.

Only because the damn mosquitoes were making a meal of my sweet blood we, again, set off to look for the PVC pipe that fed fresh spring water. We hiked, searched, felt around waterfalls, sat and stared, and when the trail became too overgrown, turned around. Resolutely, we decided to employ the use of iodine tablets, (not my fav). On our way down we saw a new couple whose names we would later learn are Dorian and Brittany. While they were busy gathering wood, I mentioned the fresh water. Like it was a sink with a faucet, he so obviously gave us directions: pass the manmade stone wall, around the fallen tree with the wall of roots, the stream bends right, over the the large boulder, the pipe is on the left, under a small grove of taro plants. Really, the taro plants? Not 10 minutes earlier, I was standing on that exact spot!! We found the pipe at ground level, had I not just looked down at my Chacos, I would have see the black pipe.

Once more we sat and bathed our hot pink legs, drank over 32 oz. of water each and refilled. To this day, DB and I both claim that spring water was the greatest healer of our sunburn. As we entered back into camp, the smiling family with the blonde girls greeted us with, "Oh! There you are!" Its a guarantee, whenever a camp neighbor greets you with those words, it is not because of good news. The family described the incredible gust of wind that uprooted our tent and began blowing its path towards the water! "There were credit cards flying.....Randall is fast," I heard enough to panic. I expressed our appreciation for the camp's effort in saving our tent and Dain gave directions to the water. The nice family left us with news that a beached sea turtle arrived at the other end of the beach.

Adrenaline settled down when all belongings were accounted for and rocks were set on the corners of the tent. Dain and I were able to joke about "amateur hour," here at Milioli. The night was winding down, we grabbed our mini wine bottles and walked towards the end of the beach for the show. Sunset with a beached sea turtle, my beloved, and a glass of wine on a secluded beach, couldn't wish for anything else in the world. Grateful. Awaking throughout the night lent me the treat of seeing a gorgeous night sky where every inch was filled with sparkle. My nighttime sleeping habits were a reward, rather than a struggle here at Milioli.

Setting out the next morning a Hawaiian family took over our site, but offered a generous amount of sunscreen to us. I got a lot of weird looks due to the shorts tan line. We packed up, but kept the kayak empty for speed. An early morning paddle awarded us smooth water, sea turtles and dolphins.

Back at the Mermaid cave a jealous zodiac captain yelled at us for snorkeling on his turf. Back Nu'halo Kai, a zoo of zodiacs, boats and kayaks with snorkeling guests crowded the area. We left and headed back to pick up our gear and rest a little. Just before Milioli beach I spotted a brown circle floating on the water. Turtle sighting!

We floated around that area for a long time and I jumped in to snorkel again with all the turtles. They came right up to our kayak and went under us, then back up for air. We saw a family of two large turtles and two baby turtles. There was a big one, then a bigger one. I was thrilled!! In Australia I was able to swim with "Brian" the turtle, a single turtle. This was an entire clan or family of many turtles, so many we couldn't count. They sped away from me in the water, so I felt the kayak was a better place to observe. They tickled my heart when they came up for a little sip of air. I had been hoping all along for a wildlife encounter, but didn't want to jinx it by saying anything. Here they were, surrounding our kayak. Turtles in the wild as all the boats sped past us to the snorkeling zoo, one beach back.

After we refilled (yes another hike to the black PVC pipe), loaded and launched. Sarah and Randall were launching at the same time, so we paddled with our fellow Coloradans towards Polihale. We talked about car arrangements as the Maverick trip leaves you to your own devices getting back to Hanalei. Coming into a calm cove with the most gorgeous water I've seen yet, with little yellow fish darting around below us, I felt as if I didn't want the trip to end. Polihale was around the corner and Sarah said, "I think just saw dolphin." Sure enough, out in the distance a dolphin popped into the air with water spinning all around. Spinner dolphins!

Excitedly, Dain and I began to speed paddle towards the dolphin, I didn't think we would ever make it out there in time. It was quite a distance from the beach, I wasn't sure we should be out that far. Sarah and Randall weren't far behind when another spinner jumped into the air. Off to the right was a pod of fins floating, I started counting, maybe eight over there. In a wave, four more fins just riding the wave. Now there were dolphins to the left over by Sarah and Randall. I lost count. Soon, they were swimming up to our kayak. Dolphins were under our kayak, next to our kayak, in the air, in the distance, all over! I couldn't turn my head left and right fast enough! We sat out there for over an hour and watched this magic show of dolphins doing tricks in the air and teasing us with their presence in the water. I was smiling, but I think I felt my heart grow a little bigger with this experience.

I couldn't stop smiling and was filled with happiness. We landed at Polihale and pulled the kayak up into the shade. The couple that gave us directions to the potable water, were already landed. Dorian called Micco for a van ($300 charge) and everyone split the cost. Randall and Sarah were with another rental company and we parted ways after exchanging numbers. Dain and I got into a conversation with another couple, who told us they were from Colorado Springs and are now teachers in Anchorage, Alaska. Small world! The conversation led to the TV show "Portlandia," we talked about all the Portland stereo types. After joking about the culture, Brittany chimed in and said she was from Portland! Apparently, she validated our observations and what we said was true. The ride back was enjoyed by story swapping and Micco answered many phone calls, by the 3rd call I knew the password and login that all his employees were requesting. To sweeten the trip, Micco mentioned, "I'm very impressed with all of you, and we are always looking for guides." What? A job offer? Maybe I can just move to Hawaii and become a kayak girl...seriously I'm still considering.

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Comments

[Lacia]

awesome
Love love the blog made miss Hawaii!