Nawiliwili Kaua'i - Thursday, October 7, 2010

We arrived in Nawiliwili, Kaua’i about 7:00 AM. One of the first things we saw from our balcony was a mini lighthouse as we approached the harbor. Nawiliwili is very close to the town of Lihue. Kaua’i is the least populated island we have visited, with approximately 50,000 people (Oahu by comparison has one million inhabitants). Kaua’i is reputed to be run by five families that have some type of control over the population of the island. We’re not sure if that is true, but it is what we have been told.

When we departed the ship, we caught the shuttle for the rental car. Same gig, different day. lol There are many places to visit on this island and it is hard to decide where to start. We are so worried about the weather again. It is sunny with puffy clouds, but the clouds appear to be collecting and we could be facing cloudiness in a short period of time.

We decide to head to Waimea Canyon, considered the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. Just having been to the real Grand Canyon less than five months ago, this should be interesting. The drive is about 35 miles away, northwest of where the ship is docked. The drive is relaxing. We pass a coffee plantation. Maybe we’ll stop there on the way back. The road winds and ascends, taking us to over 5,000 feet. The road began to take on a reddish look and the guardrails looked rusty. The high iron content in the soil causes the coloration. We get to the top and climb to a platform above the canyon. Although not as deep as the Grand Canyon, Waimea Canyon is impressive and surprisingly like the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon has more depth to it when you look afar, but this is still breathtaking. Many languages are heard as we stand on the platform.

We continue along the road, heading to Kokee State Park. At the top of this state park there is a outlook that overlooks the mountains and what is known as the Na Pali coast. The coast is breathtaking and to really appreciate it, it needs to be viewed by boat or helicopter. We walk to the outlook and we see nothing but a cloud. It appears that it might clear if one waits long enough. We waited and waited, taking a picture of two, but none of them capture the beauty that we know is behind the cloud. We can hear a helicopter in the distance but it is a wall of clouds and so their visibility is as good as ours. Not. Okay, we’ll have to forego this one. We still want to find a waterfall that we have seen in one of our Hawaii books. We can’t seem to find it and so we stopped at the visitors’ center. The guide told us that the waterfall doesn’t exist anymore. You’ve got to be kidding. No, not kidding.

Now this is supposed to be one of the wettest places on Earth. In fact, nearby Mt. Wailaleale is THE wettest place on Earth with an average rainfall of 460 inches! So, how could a waterfall disappear???

On our way back to Lihue, we stopped at the Kauai Coffee Plantation. This is the largest coffee plantation in the United States. They have quite an operation, with a taste testing area, gift shop and lunch area. It is a beautiful day and what a great way to enjoy lunch. We photograph coffee bushes with the beautiful mountains in the background. Wow.

Leaving the coffee fields, there are two more spots we want to see. One is called Salt Pond. It is a lovely beach area and near it is a water pool that collects salt water and the salt residue is collected and dried as sea salt. We also stop at Poipu Beach Park where we get to see the “Spouting Horn”. This natural phenomenon is a lava tube (hollow) on the lava beach area where the ocean water shoots into and creates a water explosion every 15-20 seconds. It is so funny to see a large group of people (arriving by bus, car, van, etc.) to stare at a hole in the lava, spitting water. How silly, right? We stood right next to them, staring at the hole.

We head back to town and want to make one last stop before ending our day. We drive to Wailua State Park to see Wailua Falls. It is a two-stream fall that drops about 200 feet. It was actually more beautiful than we had expected.

Dennis wants to do a little shopping, so I dropped him off at a shopping center that has a shuttle back to the ship. I wanted to visit the famous Hilo Hattie’s store that carries all things Hawaiian. It is said that a trip to Hawaii is not complete without a trip to Hilo Hattie’s (even our brother-in-law told us about it). After my stop, I returned the car rental and took their shuttle back to the ship. Getting back to the room, we find a towel monkey hanging from the ceiling. If you have taken a cruise, you know the cabin stewards try to entertain you every day with another animal towel creation. This is the first time we have found a monkey hanging. Our cabin steward, Bonifacio is pretty funny.

Tomorrow we are just going to chill on the ship and maybe take a shuttle into town for a short walk. The ship will leave Nawiliwili at 2 PM tomorrow and the ship will take a spin by the Na Pali Coast before heading back to Honolulu.