After the most unbelievable 2.5 weeks, I don't even know where to begin. Our wedding was exactly everything I ever hoped for, I'll blog more about that once I have pictures. The wedding was followed by two amazing weeks in Hawai'i. We spent 5 days on Kaua'i and one week on The Big Island. We had so many great recommendations from friends prior to our trip, I decided I'll blog about our favorite spots for eating, adventures and relaxation on each island. Maybe someone will find our opinion useful!
Today, I'll start with our favorite Adventures on Kauai'i.
Our first not-to-be missed adventure was hiking a portion of The Kalalau Trial along the Napali Coast.
The Kalalau Trial is 11 miles long and hiking much of it requires a permit for overnight camping at the far end where there is a deserted beach. While that sounds outstanding, we didn't budget enough time for that, nor do we have any camping gear, so we chose to hike the first portion of the trail. This is about 2 miles each direction (4 miles took us about 3 hours) and ends at a pretty cool rock beach and river from a waterfall you can also hike an extra mile to see. It was raining on and off, muddy and uneven rocky switch backs up and down the mountains inches from ocean cliffs, but well worth the effort. The views of the Napali Coast were amazing and the trial was almost empty making it feel like we were on our own with nature on the edge in one of the most beautiful places on earth.
Our second favorite adventure on Kauaii was our helicopter tour. We flew with Blue Hawaiian based on some reviews we'd read and we were not disappointed. They were organized, safe and professional. We had the front seat which was roof to floor windows and the most thrilling ride and views of parts of the island we'd never have seen. We saw at least 15 secluded waterfalls, mountain goats and whales. We flew over mountains and canyons through rain and sun, all in one hour. I highly recommend splurging on this one!
The Waimea Canyon is often bypassed for beaches and ocean time, but this place is a breathtaking canyon full of color from the red-oxidized-lava bed and earthquake which created it. Our third not-to-miss adventure would have to be the Waimea "reddish water" canyon, it offers more hiking trails here than anywhere else in Hawaii. We also saw a few mountain and road bikers on the narrow 18 mile road leading along side of the canyon, but we drove up and along the canyon, jumping out for short hikes along the way (maybe next time we'll bring our bikes?)
One of the many amazing things about Hawaii is the vast differences in landscape on these small islands. The canyon is like nothing I've ever seen before. It's a quick 40 minute drive from some of the popular beaches on the south end of the island and well worth the trip.
Mahalo Kauaii! We'll never forget our first week married.
1 comment:
Nice recap! Can't wait to hear more!
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