Kaua'i

2.9.00

Aloha and welcome to some jottings about our holiday in Kaua'i. Unbeknown to me when I booked the tickets this is Labor Day weekend (celebrating what I don't really know -except maybe Jayne's birthday) and the whole of the US is on the move. We had been unable to even get a taxi to the airport and had to call on the services of Oliver to take us to the airport: we had to leave at about 6am so we owe him big time for getting up so early ! Once on the plane it was Hawaii all the way (flying Aloha airlines certainly puts you on the mood - free Mai Tais anyone ?).

Now the thing is, I'd never really given any thought as to where exactly Hawaii might be. I mean, it's part of the US so I'd always assumed it was kinda close. Settling back in my seat with a long cool drink I decided to check out the inflight magazine and see the route we were taking. Well, let me tell you, Hawaii is close to precisely nothing. In fact, it's bloody miles from everywhere - nearly 3000 from San  Jose for a start. Still, the time passed pretty quickly - I'd brought myself one of Bill Bryson's travel books and these are always good to read when on the move. If nothing else they inspire one to write trip reports. In this book he's hiking, or at least trying to hike the Appalachian trail and the stories ring true for anyone whose ever camped in anything resembling wilderness, I'm always in awe of someone like Bryson actually. I mean, all he does is do something (usually travel somewhere) and write about it like a sort of extended Monday morning "my weekend" story. And yet, he makes the stories so entertaining. 

Anyhow, enough of this, time to fill you in on our day. Eventually the plane starts to descend towards Honolulu airport and we are treated our first glimpse of the state of Hawaii. And what a place - beautiful beaches, towering mountains, tropical forests - nothing I can write here will begin to capture the wonder of the place. After a brief stop off we took our second flight of the day - this time just 20 minutes long - to the island of Kaui, the garden island.

We picked up our rental car - a Chevy Blazer - a sort of jeep thing from the same people that brought you the cavailer and vectra - put the hood down and headed off to our residence. 

At the recommendation of friends we'd decided to stay ay the Kiahuna Plantation on the south shore. This turned out to be an excellent choice - the place was fantastic - a set of condos built in the grounds of an old sugar plantation with views overlooking the ocean and its own beach. We unloaded the car, walked down to the beach and jumped into the ocean.

It was warm. I can't really remember the last time I swam in the sea and thought it was warm (if ever) but this was definitely warm. And so we spent the tail end of today lying in the sea, gazing at the blue sky and the palms gently swaying in the wind and reflected that this truly must be paradise. 

Oh yeah, and I hired a boogie board - a sort of half length surf board for playing in the breakers - and got myself drilled into the sand more times than I can remember. What fun. 

3.9.00 

Jayne's birthday - and what a place to spend it. We woke to the sound of cockerels. In fact, in the coming days we'd wake, fall asleep, swim, drive, cook and generally exist to the sound of confused cockerels. Apparently the last hurricane had released all the birds from their cages and now chickens and cockerels roam the island with gay abandon. 

After a slap up Mrs Miggin's style breakfast of banana pancakes and bucks fizz we decided to spend the day Snorkeling and headed off to Snorkel Bobs to rent some gear. Jayne got very excited with her snorkel because it was pink and came in a nice matching bag - it's the little things that make life so satisfying. Since this was the first time we had snorkeled for a while we decided to head for Lydgate beach - a few short miles further north on the east shore and known as a very safe beach. We donned snorkel gear and headed into the sea (warm again !). We stuck our heads into the water and guess what - we could see a beautiful world of rainbow colored fishes. Snorkeling in Kauai is really a no-brainer, you just stick your head in and are treated to a wonderful display free of charge from Mother Nature. 

           

Today we also had lunch at a spot called Cafe Coco, serving a really nice No 6-esq menu in a tropical garden setting. Jayne had Tofu pot stickers and I went for a great egg tart. From there we headed back to our apartment and "our beach" and I got beaten into the sand a few more times. Dinner was a nice affair in a South Pacific themed bar/restaurant. What fun.

4.9.00 

Helicopter day. Hurrah. Pull back the blinds and - ohmygoditscloudy. The weather in Kauai needs a little explaining at this point lest you have in mind somewhere tropical like the postcards. Well, it is, but it also rains rather a lot. In fact, the island includes the wettest spot on earth - yes, wetter even than Lancaster - with an average of over 400 inches a year (and 600 inches a few yeas back). However, many parts of the island are very dry, averaging less than 30 inches a year. And all this in an island of only a few hundred square miles. As a result, on any given day it will probably rain on you as you move around the island. But, and here's the great part - who cares ! Everyone is already in swim suits and wet from the ocean and the rain is well. how can I put it, warm. 

So back to today and we were worried - what would we see, would our money be wasted. Well, the simple answer is lots and no. In fact, as the pilot pointed out as soon as we took off there are clouds every day and they simply fly under them - about 500 feet most of the time. The helicopter flight lasted a mere 60 minutes and was breathtaking from start to finish. Countless movies have been set on Kauai (including Jurassic park) and it's easy to see why. The island has one road around the edge, one along a canyon and that's it. Everything else is simply a tropical paradise viewable only from the air. Canyons, volcanoes, waterfalls, forests and the spectacular Na Pali coast (see photos on the photo page). 

After the helicopter ride we had a great lunch in Hanalei and then snorkeled at Tunnels beach. This really was snorkeling Nirvanah. Finally home for some soup and toast - another fantastic day and the week is yet young.

5.9.00

Now seems as good a time as any to share with you my theory as to why Hawaiian shirts are such a distinctive feature of  the state. Well, it's like this you see, if the 70's taught us anything it's the fact that most people have absolutely no dress sense whatsoever. And, I'm sure I'm not being too outrageous here, most Americans are worse than other members of other nations - seemingly thinking nothing of touring as husband and wife killer teams in matching red and yellow shell suits for example. My suspicion is that Hawaiian's quickly realised that if they didn't do something soon their beautiful island would be overrun by such affronts to common decency. So, they decided to invent camouflage tents to drape around tourists to help them blend in with the surrounding riot of colour. Such tents, or Hawaiian shirts as they became known quickly took off with tourists who really always wanted to dress in flowers anyway and the trend was set.

Throughout our holiday Jayne tried to persuade me to wear such a shirt but ......

Oh yeah, today we went and took a look at Waimea canyon and did some hiking. Kind of fun because the trail starts about 5 miles up a cane road that requires some fun off-road driving. The canyon was beautiful and the hike a killer - I can't remember drinking so much in a long long time ! We celebrated with a slap up dinner at Roys. Really wonderful food, I can't recommend it highly enough.

6.9.00 

Let's go surfing now ..... OK, having watched so many people do this I figured I had to give it a go. I'd booked myself a lesson with a local Surf School that operated from the beach by our complex and promised a 99% success rate with beginners. After 5 minutes instruction - lye on board, paddle, stand up, lean to steer, fall off - we got into the water and before I knew it I was surfing. OK, well more sort of skimming through the water on my knees but is sure felt good. A few more minutes and I was standing and steering - hey this really is easy. And then the tough part - the instructor left us on our own for 30 minutes and we tried to catch waves without his handy push. This was _much_ harder but still possible and great fun. I really had a ball and would do it again at a drop of a hat.

In the afternoon we snorkeled at Po'ipu beach and then in the evening Jayne took me to a Lu'au. Since most of this celebration is about digging up and eating a pig that's been roasting in the ground for a day much of the magic was lost on me. In fact, we ended up eating dinner at Cafe Cocos which was pretty good (better for lunch really if truth be known). Still, we got to see some Hula girls so it wasn't all bad :-)

7.9.00

Snorkeling was the order of the day today. We jumped in the car and headed up to Ke'e Beach on the north shore and got in some prime snorkeling. And, more importantly, Jayne got to swim with a turtle ! We saw the critters in the ocean and Jayne insisted on trying to get in the sea with them, despite the fact that they were hanging around a rather scary looking reef. In the end, with me hanging on to her feet she got into the sea and "swam" with a huge turtle. It made her day :-)

Next we had a huge lunch at Zelos in Hanalei and then headed off to Hideaways beech for some more snorkeling. This is a small beach tucked away that is almost always deserted. When we went we were the only people and got to do some cool swimming with the rain pelting down on the ocean above us. Very weird. 

8.9.00

Today Jayne decided to try her hand at surfing so we hired a board for a few hours and went into the water. In fact, after about three attempts, she gave up, complaining that "it's too fast". Aaah, but that's the fun of it ! More snorkeling and then out for drinks at the Hyatt. This is an amazing hotel and if anyone ever wants to pick the perfect conference spot then this is it. I promise I'll submit a paper ! After drinks, dinner at Piatti's, walking distance from our condo. My dinner wasn't as good as the other night at Roy's but such is life. Left feeling rather drunk and headed for home.

9.9.00

Not much to say today really. We woke to the sound of the ocean, said goodbye to the beauty and tranquility of it all and headed off to the airport. A short plane ride home and then it was bed time. It seems so long ago already - and we've already started planning our return trip !

The photos are all on the photo page !