We arrived in Kauai on a Saturday afternoon. We spent the rest of the day getting settled and checking out the resort we were staying in. The resort was right on the beach, but it also had a nice pool area with a lazy river and a number of hot tubs. It was a great place to relax. Surrounding the pool were a lot of hibiscus bushes, and they were putting on quite a show. The colors were really beautiful.
The next day we were ready to do some exploration of the island. For this trip my daughter did most of the planning so we just followed along. We squeezed into our convertible, put the top down, and she drove us out to our first stop, the Wailua Falls. The drive there was on a narrow road through the green countryside.
The falls itself was beautiful with two streams coming down. However, it was a bit of a disappointment. We thought that we could hike down to the bottom of the falls, but we couldn't. There is a trail of sorts, but it has been fenced off. Nevertheless, people were getting around the fence and hiking down. We considered trying it, but we talked to some ladies who were coming up from the hike. They indicated it was a very difficult trail, almost rock climbing in some places. We decided not to attempt it, took some photos, and then left.
Our next stop took us further up the coast to a park in Koloa called Poipu Beach. The beach was a nice sandy one in a small cove. However, this was not our final destination. This was just the beginning of a hike we were taking along the coast. We were going to walk a short section of the 10 mile long Koloa Heritage Trail. This trail takes one to a variety of historical and geologically important sites in the area. Poipu Beach is actually the sixth stop along the trail.
We walked east along the park and then came to a pathway that went through a number of resort areas. The path was away from the water and went by a variety of different homes and condo complexes. It was a very nice area, definitely an upper class area of homes.
Toward the end of the housing area, we came to a large resort hotel, the Hyatt. There was a large lake-like pool that faced the ocean here, and along the path were nice recliners for the guests. It was right on the beach, Shipwreck Beach. The first part of the beach was quite rocky with lava rocks, but further on it became more sandy.
At this juncture we began our hike over the jagged and rocky cliffs. There is no beach here, and the trail is not really very clear. The cliffs have a lot of layers to them indicating perhaps layers of lava flow. The edges are often jagged and look very rugged. We stayed close to the edge for a while, but eventually we had to go farther inland to be able to have a place to walk. The views of the ocean were beautiful. There were just enough clouds to make them interesting
When we walked away from the cliffs, we followed what looked like a trail. However, there was no markings, and many other paths seemed to be around so it was hard to say where the trail actually was. The trees here created a canopy overhead which was nice. As with all of Kauai, the green was the dominate color. As we walked, the weather began to change, and we had some brief showers. It also created somewhat of a mist over the coastline so when we popped out to the cliff's edge again, the view was dimmed by the mist.
The trail eventually led us down to another beach with some volcanic rocks on it. The sand here was much coarser. The main trail continued next to the beach and then through an area of large igneous rocks. Here we saw signs indicating that the area had religious significance to the native Hawaiians. They asked that visitors please stay on the trail. Away from the water lay a golf course, a common sight on the island. When we reached this point along the trail, we turned back. We returned on a trail further from the cliff's edge hoping we were on the right track.
After our hike we decided to find something to eat and ended up at Da Crack, a hole in the wall joint serving Mexican food. We returned to the beach to eat our burritos in the car. We then stopped at the town of Koloa. There wasn't much there. There was a row of older buildings connected with a covered boardwalk. We did get some ice cream there before heading back to our condo.
Our first full day in Kauai had been great. We were ready to see what our daughter had planned for us for the next day.
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Credit: The photo of the trail through the volcanic rocks taken by Silvette Lee