A Hawaiian Kaleidoscope - Kaua'i: the Na Pali Coast and Koke'e Park - February 2012

Return to alavigne.net home

NOTE: You have javascript disabled in your browser. This presentation will continue to function, but with only basic capabilities. In order to view this presentation will full capabilities, please enable javascript in your browser, then refresh this page.

[< Previous Page]

[page 1] [page 2] [page 3] [page 4] [page 5] [page 6] [page 7] [page 8] [page 9] [page 10] [page 11] [page 12] [page 13] [page 14] [page 15]

[Next Day >]

Since we had finished our Kalepa Ridge hike relatively early, we had a little more time to burn. so, we continued up the park road to its end at Pu'u o Kila Lookout, where we had another look down Kalalau Valley and a view across the high-elevation rainforest towards the super-wet highpoints of Mt Waialeale and Kawaikini. Both were wreathed in clouds.

courtesy JInnes

Pihea

Towards the wettest spot

Kalalau Valley

Satisfied with our day in Koke'e State Park, we headed back down the park road, stopping for a soft drink and some postcards at the main visitor center and campground (beautiful open grounds near the visitor center). We then drove on, back down past Waimea Canyon, back down into the more tropical heat of the coastal lowlands of Kaua'i.

Open lawn at Headquarters

Twisty five-fifty

Our time in Kaua'i was drawing to a close. Our itinerary had us flying out the next morning, bound for the island of Maui, and the next phase of our adventure. We were booked into a motel not far from the Lihue airport, in the small coastal town of Kapa'a. That was now our destination.

Twisty five-fifty

Makaweli Post Office

The Kaua'i Sands Motel

Interactive Trackmap - Feb 22 Driving on Kauai - Double-click to expand

Interactive Trackmap - Feb 22 Driving on Kauai - click to expand

We arrived at the Kaua'i Sands motel around three in the afternoon, giving us plenty of time to re-organize, check out the beach (surf still too strong for safe swimming), and have a swim in the pool (good backup when surf still too strong). The motel has a slightly tired 70s-vibe to it, but that is also its charm. I had picked the Kaua'i Sands because it had decent rates, was close to the airport, and had an overall good rating. I'd read online afterwards that some people said they'd had problems with cockroaches. I am glad to report that our room at the Sands was clean and bug-free.

After cleaning up, we had a quick dinner at a local BBQ stand, then headed over to the very same Foodland grocery store that we had used when we arrived on Kaua'i. Even though we were about to board a plane the next morning to Maui, we needed to pick up groceries now (usually we wait until we finish air travel before getting food). However, the complicated and tight logistics of our next adventure on Maui precluded that. The full details of those logistics are waiting for you in the next chapter of this report!

Harley's Tropical BBQ

Pulled Pork and Fries

Our Foodland

Next Day →

[< Previous Page]

[page 1] [page 2] [page 3] [page 4] [page 5] [page 6] [page 7] [page 8] [page 9] [page 10] [page 11] [page 12] [page 13] [page 14] [page 15]

[Next Day >]

Send feedback or leave comments (note: comments in message board below are separate from those in above message board)

send feedback |

homemade custom message board

(1 message)
(last message posted on Tue. May 15, 14:34 EDT 2012 by Elvira)