Honeymoon Part I: Kauai

March 21^st: Land of Chickens and White Tourists

Bill and I have been living in Oahu for almost a year, and our honeymoon was our first chance to see some of the other islands in Hawaii. We returned home from our wedding in California for one evening to pack, and left early the next morning for Kauai. Our cats acted extremely needy and affectionate to make us feel guilty for leaving them again.

Bill is the King of Chickens!

Kauai and Oahu are rather different islands. Oahu is densely populated and is culturally diverse with various Asian ethnic groups, Hawaiians, and Caucasians.  Kaui, on the other hand, is a gorgeous, chicken-populated, vacation spot for white people.  I'm not sure whether you would call it the "least touristy" or the "most touristy" because although it's the least crowded, it also relies the most on mainlander tourists to sustain its economy.  Regardless, it was one of the most beautiful places I've ever been.  It was also surprisingly filled with wild chickens.

After arriving in Kauai, we wandered through a quaint little town and split a pineapple burger, taro burger, and taro fries for lunch. Then we checked into our spacious yet cozy bed and breakfast resort, which was right next to the beach. Poipu Beach has breathtakingly clear turquoise waters and provides something for everyone: lots of waves for body boarders and surfers, a snorkeling spot filled with sea turtles, and a big calm area that's perfect for swimming. We chose to swim in the calmer waters while we watched the sunset. It was a nice way to start our vacation.

March 22nd: Caves and Zip Lines

We explored the North side of Kauai, stopping frequently at overlooks to take pictures. At one of the stops, Bill took a small trail off the side of the road to urinate and accidentally discovered Lumahai Beach. Later we found out this is the beach where “I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair” from South Pacific was filmed. We foolishly climbed onto a shelf of lava rocks in the water and were nearly knocked down a number of times by strong waves. It made Bill quite worried about his fancy camera.

The speck in the middle is me swimming in the cave.

Our next destination was two caves made out of lava rock. A dog who refused to eat anything but coconuts lived in “the dry cave.” Considering his diet, he looked about as emaciated as you would expect. The “wet cave” was filled with water from underground springs. It is nicknamed “The Blue Room” because during high tides, the narrow sunlight opening into the cave turns the water a bizarre blue color that can only be viewed while swimming in the cave. I swam through the cave but unfortunately the tide was too low for me to enjoy the blue room effect. It was cold, dark, and creepy, and lots of fun.

Bill zip lining.

Bill was anxious for us to leave the wet cave because he feared I would drown and then he'd be late for our zip line hike. We hurried off to Princeville Plantations, where we rode nine zip lines and crossed a suspension bridge. The views were outstanding. The last ride was a set of two side-by-side zip lines that were each 26 feet high and 1200 feet long. Bill and I rode them at the same time while holding hands.

We watched the sunset at Hanalei Pier, where most of the South Pacific beach scenes were filmed including the song “Bali Hai.” Then we went on a 15 minute walk in the dark to Queen's Bath. During the summer, Queen's bath is a popular swimming spot but in the winter it provides a magnificent view of waves crashing into lava rock next to a waterfall. Rumor has it that multiple tourists have died there.

March 23rd: The Spin Game

Our third day was spent kayaking on the Wailua River with a bottle of premixed margaritas. Our first destination was Secret Falls. The only way to see this enormous waterfall is by traveling up the Wailua River using some sort of water transportation, and then taking a 40 minute hike through the forest. We stopped during the hike to swim in a tributary. It had a rope swing that hung too close to the water so instead of swinging on it, we held onto the rope and spun around as quickly as possible. Spinning 10 times in 10 seconds was a guarantee that you wouldn't be able to walk straight. I enjoyed it so much that on our way back to the kayak, we stopped to do it again.  

Our second stop was at Fern Grotto, a popular tourist location. I'm pretty sure a “grotto” is just a cool-sounding word for a cave or cave-like structure. This particular grotto was a lava rock wall covered in tropical ferns and surrounded by ginger flowers and mosquitoes. Before kayaking back to shore, we made one final stop at a swimming hole and I went for a swim while Bill skipped rocks. I was very cold when I got out of the water, so Bill buried me in hot stones until I fell asleep. After our kayaking trip, we wandered around Kamokila Hawaiian Village, which is supposed to represent Hawaii during the 17^th century. It felt like Colonial Williamsburg, if you ignored the multitude of brilliant-colored peacocks.

In the evening, we attended the weekly “art night” event in Hanapepe, an adorable town that was used as a model for the Disney animation Lilo and Stitch. The streets were lined with little shops, kiosks, art galleries, and music played by local performers. We bought a piece of homemade purple potato haupia (coconut milk) pie and stargazed from a giant swinging bridge that spanned across the Hanapepe River.

Swinging Bridge in the daytime.  I'm camouflaged in this picture!

March 24^th: Top of the World

Waimea Canyon.  Bill's camouflaged in the one.

The breakfast at our resort was delicious every day, but this one was my favorite. We each received a boiled egg, a wedge of cheese, a guava pastry, a walnut pastry, a chocolate pastry, and a ton of fresh fruit: papaya, lime, pineapple, kiwi, cantaloupe, and grapes. We stopped by the swinging bridge in Hanapepe so we could appreciate it in the daylight, and spent the rest of the morning admiring the Waimea Canyon. It's the largest canyon in the Pacific, measuring 10 miles long, 1 mile wide, and over 3500 feet deep. The layered walls are a colorful mix of reds, browns, greens, and yellows. Although I had read about the canyon, it was still a shock to see such a dramatic site on a tiny island. 

The most spectacular hike of our honeymoon was the Awa'awapuhi trail. It was a total of 6.2 miles long and ended with a 2500 ft high viewpoint. Sheer cliffs dropped into the Awa'awapuhi and Nualolo valleys, making us feel like we were on the top of the world. We were so high up that we could watch helicopter tours fly below us. It was one of the most incredible things that Bill or I had ever seen.

On the way home, we saw a gigantic full-arched rainbow over the Waimea Canyon. We stopped for an indulgent dinner of fresh fish n' chips and pizza topped with macadamia nut pesto, kalua pork, and pineapple. Bill had a Guinness, and I had freshly squeezed lemonade flavored with crème of coconut and lilikoi (passionfruit) syrup.

March 25^th: Oops!

We tried to fit too much into our last morning in Kauai. We went swimming in Poipu Beach, this time opting for the more exhilarating wave-pool-like area. Then we checked out of our bed and breakfast. At this point, we probably should have gone to the airport but decided to squeeze in a couple last-minute sites. We stopped by Spouting Horn, a blowhole created by water flowing under a lava shelf and bursting 50 feet in the air through a small opening. Then we shot photos of flowers at the National Tropical Botanical Garden. We arrived at the airport later than we expected and missed our flight. Neither Bill nor I had ever missed a flight before. We felt both disheartened and relieved as we bought new, last-minute plane tickets and set off for Maui.