Saturday, April 12, 2014

K for Kauai



Kilauea lighthouse
Hanalei valley lookout
Kauai is one of the geologically oldest islands in the Hawaiian archipelago. Nearly two years ago, S decided to surprise me with a thanksgiving vacation in Hawaii, a honeymoon of sorts for us. While the week long trip saw us visiting Oahu and Kauai islands, today's post is all about Kauai. We flew in from Honolulu to Lihue airport and stayed in a resort that was right by the sea. The rental car we booked was a mustang convertible, perfect for the tropical Hawaiian weather. It felt like a dream driving through stretches of green on the island of Kauai rightly known as the Garden Isle. We drove to the Kilauea lighthouse that is part of Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge. Here one can find a variety of migratory seabirds such as albatrosses, red-tailed and white-tailed tropicbirds and the like.The ocean cliffs and tall grassy slopes of a dormant volcano provide a protective breeding ground for many Hawaiian seabirds.

Our next stop was the Hanalei valley lookout, apparently one of the most photographed lookouts in Hawaii.


The day after that we drove to the Grand Canyon of the Pacific or the Waimea canyon. This canyon owes its formation not just to erosion but also to a volcanic collapse that resulted in the formation of this island.
Waimea Canyon 
Evening sun during our drive back from Waimea Canyon
Everywhere we drove around in Kauai, the one sound that we could be sure to hear was that of roosters crowing out.
Roosters galore!!
 The scenic beauty of Kauai boasts of a lot of movie appearances, and Na Pali coastline has features in prominent movies such as Jurassic park,  King Kong and Pirates of the Caribbean movies. We also went on a rafting tour along the coastline of Kauai. During the tour, we spotted dolphins very frequently, managed a glimpse of a whale in the distance and even bumped into a turtle when we walked around a portion of the coast where we had docked for a lunch picnic.

Dolphins swimming alongside our raft 

Na Pali Coast

Turtle we met during our walk along Na Pali coast


Kauai is also home to one of the few coffee plantations as Hawaii is the only US state to grow coffee commercially, and we stopped by one of the plantations as we drove by the island
Kauaian Coffee plantation



A boat ride along the Wailua river, took us to a fern grotto, a cave which had ferns hanging from rocks and boulders. We were even treated to a hula show during the boat ride.

Wailua river flowing towards the Ocean


Fern Grotto

Before bidding farewell to Kauai, we took a quick dekko at the Wailua falls nearby. The drive to Alekoko or fishpond attributed to Menehune, a mythical tribe brought our Hawaiian holiday to a close and we were left savoring the sunset by the shining waters surrounded by lush green flora.







Wailua waterfalls

Menehune fishpond

This post is shared with April A-Z blogging challenge for alphabet K
Click on the photos to see enlarged images.

10 comments:

  1. Hawai sounds like such an exotic place. Unfortunately it is toooo far for those of us who stay in Asia. The natural beauty of the place in your pictures is amazing... Dolphins swimming alongside your raft... sigh!

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    1. For america, it is the closest tropical paradise. I haven't visited Andaman-Nicobar or Lakshadweep islands in India but I believe they will just as beautiful and scenic if not more Nisha. Glad you enjoyed this photo tour, thank you for dropping by :)

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  2. Wow Reshma this spot looks out of the world. Amazing beauty and a wonderful place for a honeymoon. The pictures are superb.

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    1. Thank you so much Ushaji :) Hawaii is a place of great natural beauty.

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  3. Superb photos. Great post Reshma. I don't think I will ever go to Hawaii. So I am pretty happy right now that I could see Kauai with you. Btw, How is it pronounced???

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    1. Glad I could show you around Rahmath, I never dreamt I would either, you never know someday you just might visit it :) Kauai is pronounced as k-y without a pause in between.

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  4. Looks like an absolutely gorgeous place!!
    I remember seeing the rooster pic earlier on your blog. Is my memory serving right?

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    1. You have a brilliant memory Shilpa :) It is the same pic and yes Hawaii is picturesque.

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  5. Hi,This is my first visit here.
    Veey interstingsite...See you again

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