I’m back today with some more #WanderlustWednesday to share days 2 & 3 from our honeymoon on Kauai, HI. Read more about why we picked Hawaiʻi and where we stayed in this post.
Our first morning on Kauai, and we decided head to the nearest beach as suggested from our Airbnb host, Tim: Larson Beach. It was only a mile or two down the road from where we were staying but it was the best beach we experienced the whole trip for many reasons, one of which being that we walked at least a mile along the beach and only saw one other person there. On our walk back we saw a Hawaiian Monk Seal! We didn’t learn until later how rare of a sighting that was because there are only approximately 1,100 of these creatures left around the islands and they typically travel alone (which is where I think the naming of “monk” came from).
Back at the car, we were hankering for something to eat, so we headed to Hanalei Bay area because we heard there were some food trucks there. We ate at the Turmeric Cafe truck, a fantastic Indian cuisine. I would recommend that place to anyone who visits. Yum!
We drove around the island for a bit, north of Hanalei until the end of the road and stopped at a few areas to explore, but headed back to take a small jet-lag induced nap and get ready for the luau we had planned to attend that evening. There were some logistics that required us to be picked up at an area of Princeville but it meant we didn’t have to drive so that sounded great.
We went to Luau Kalimehu and went to dinner on the plantation beforehand. The establishment was really conscious about diets AND the food was delicious! Oh, and so were the drinks. The luau itself was much more of a story than I had expected. It was performed on a circular stage in the center of the room, so the characters were constantly moving around. There was singing and drumming and fire and lots of dancing. Not so much of the girls in hula skirts that I was expecting, but it was a good show and a great evening.
We didn’t have an itinerary for the next day so after taking our time in the morning, we put on our hiking sandals and ventured off to hike the Nā Pali coast on the Kalalau Trail to Hanakāpīʻai Falls. There were many warnings that this hike was treacherous, and in different weather I could imagine that at parts, but mostly the trail was easy and gradual. I think that the truly harder hiking is beyond the section that we covered. It was 2 miles from the parking lot at Kēʻē Beach to the next beach, Hanakāpīʻai Beach, where most people seemed to stop.
From there, we turned inland and hiked another 2 miles up through stream crossings and bamboo forests to Hanakāpīʻai Falls. The temperature was quite cool, but on the top of my list for Hawaiʻi was hiking to a waterfall and getting in the water! So we swam around for a bit and got as close as we dared to the base of the 300 foot waterfall (trust me, not that close!). Then we dried off, had some lunch with a view, and headed back the way we came.
Once we got back to the car again and rinsed off our feet, I’m pretty sure something had just bit me because it felt like my foot was on fire. I think there was shave ice and cold bottled water used as a distraction…”Shave ice” is essentially a snow cone with sweetened condensed milk poured over it and it’s very intentional that there’s no ‘d’ at the end of the word ‘shave’. We had to ask the locals about it. We headed to Hanalei for food and ended up at Bouchons and that’s all I’ll say about that. Not worth it. Which is too bad, because the rest of the day was so noteworthy! That hike was great. Next trip to Kauai, we’re going to get the permit you need to camp at the end of the Kalalau Trail, 11 miles out and on Kalalau Beach. Yep. Definitely.
Love, Shauna
Love your photos! Makes we want to see Hawaii again. 😉