Dean &
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Hawaii--01/09:
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 Thursday morning our ship
came into Kauai under a bank of dark clouds. It was windy,
too.
We were looking forward to taking an inflatable raft
(Zodiac) boat tour of the Na Pali Coast on the northwest side of the
island, which is said to be one of the most beautiful coasts in the
world. We found a note on our door that said our excursion was
cancelled due to high winds and 20-foot surf. Darn, now
we'll have to come back some other time...
Ever flexible, we rented a car for the day and
explored the island in a more conventional manner.
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Kauai,
the most remote of the Hawaiian Islands, is called the Garden
Island. It has more native birds left because the mongoose was
not introduced to the island as it was on the other ones. In
2004, though, mongoose sightings began. There is now a
concerted effort to trap them and control their population before
they do too much damage.
The ship docked in a tight little harbor
called Nawiliwili (just below the "58" road sign on the
map).
First we drove north on Rt. 56, past Princeville on
the north coast to
the end of the road. Then we drove back and then west to the
end of the road there to a small military base called Barking
Sands.
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Our first stop was this wildlife refuge that's out on this
peninsula with the lighthouse. We saw red-footed boobies on the
cliffs and a pair of nenes with two chicks in the grass, but we didn't see
any whales offshore.
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As we drove up the coast, we were rewarded with
wonderful vistas--both interior and coastal.
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A traditional Hawaiian Christian Church located in a picturesque setting is open for visitors.
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<< As
we continued northward, one-lane bridges became increasingly
common. Fortunately, this early in the morning there was not much traffic.
The Kauai Botanical Garden has a
great setting. >>
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 As
we moved farther north, the surf increased in size.
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  As
we continued along the increasingly narrow road along the
north coast we came to both the dry cave (above) and the wet
cave (left). These are carved into tall, rocky
cliffs. The aggressive aerial roots dropped down
the face of the cliffs more than 50 feet.
The beaches across the street from the caves
garnered the most attention, though.
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The lifeguards apparently did not wish to
field any questions or deal with beginner surfers.
Their signs say it all...
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We said good-bye to the northern coast,
headed south past Lihue (the main town of the island), and
then headed west. |
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A beautiful canyon near Eleele...
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Barking Sands beach is part of a military facility on the
island. It's used as a missile test-range base.
Why the name "barking" sands? When you walk on
this sand it makes a noise that sounds a lot like a barking dog if
the conditions are favorable. Read this Wikipedia
article for more information and recordings.
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These cottages serve as recreational housing for
the military families. During most of the year they are
completely booked. See above for the view...
The road continuing north after Barking Sands
became a dirt road into the Na Pali State Park. Our rental
car map proclaimed it to be "off limits." We turned back and
dropped off the car.
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As we got ready to depart, a tug came
alongside the ship for safety. The high winds created a
tricky navigation situation. >>
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<< The
next day, Friday, we were going to walk up along the Nawiliwili
River where we were docked in the morning, but the rain made that
seem like a bad plan. We stayed aboard the ship. We
enjoyed this rainbow later in the day, though.
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Several people bid us farewell from the rocky point at the mouth
of the harbor.
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The tug performed water pirouettes for us after its work was
done.
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The ship made a close-in pass along the Na Pali
Coast. The wind, heavy rain, and fog made for a precarious photo
shoot. We were happy to have been near here the day before,
which allowed us to better appreciate the majesty.
We'll be back. |
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 To
give you some idea of the size of the waves, here's what was
happening on the pool deck.
But all was calm in our cabin where the room
stewards had been busy again...
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Saturday morning we arrived back in Honolulu. We
took the bus back to Hickam AFB directly to the terminal and were able to
catch a ride to San Diego later that morning. We spent one night there and
the next day we lucked into a flight going to Atlanta. This flight
wasn't on the boards, and as we've found out before: be flexible.
We quickly checked out of our room, dragged our bags to the terminal,
and counted ourselves fortunate as the next flight east wasn't scheduled
for two more days. We rented a car in Atlanta and
then drove the five and a half hours to Jacksonville. What a
wonderful adventure this was!!
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