Kauai (part 2)

Day 3
We decided to drive to the North side of the island to see Hanalei Bay and do some hiking along the Na Pali coast. There is a trail that goes 11 miles down the Na Pali coast called the Kalalau Trail. This trail ends up being a 22 mile hike there and back. Most people stay the night at the end and come back the next day. We obviously were not prepared for something like that but we did decide to hike the Hanakapi'ai Falls Trail. It is an 8 miles hike round trip and the first 2 miles are along the Kalalau trail so we got to see some spectacular views along the coast. Then, the trail heads 2 miles inland to a waterfall at the end. Only the pictures can show how beautiful it was and those don't even do it justice.

View from the 1st leg of the trail

Nik joked and called it a baby pelican (haha). We just happened to be going opposite ways on the trail. It made for an interesting pass

The second part of the trail was like playing in a jungle gym. We felt like little kids. Swinging from trees to get to another part of the path, jumping from rock to rock to cross many creeks and mashing through the mud. It was all worth the work because we made it to the waterfall and it was gorgeous. We decided to swim for a bit in the watering hole beneath the waterfall to clean ourselves off. Then we headed back the way we came. 

Nik being silly and taking the picture backwards

the waterfall in the distance

My Baby bump is starting to show. I must have been sucking in though, because it is much bigger than that

one of the many creeks we had to cross

Finally made it. Looks so small from the photo

That's Nik waving his arms. Looks much bigger now

Water was cold, but definitely felt good

We were definitely tired by the end of the hike so we worked our way back down south. That night we went to dinner at Keoki's Paradise across the street from our hotel. We had a great day and got to enjoy some live music to finish it off.

Day 4

We decided to drive to Waimea Canyon, or as Mark Twain called it, "The Grand Canyon of the Pacific." It was just that... breath taking. We drove the winding rode up to the canyon and took as many shots as we could. This was the coldest weather we had felt all week and it was still warmer than Portland.

After our drive we headed back to the beach and spent the day again soaking in the sun and the water. We had to rest up for the night ahead, because we were going to the Luau Kalamaku. 

                                     

Fire dancers at the end of the event. 

The Luau show was great. Nik and I weren't to keen on the food and the drinks, but we were glad we got the experience.