Kauai. Just the mere mention of the word brings a million amazing memories rushing back, and immediately makes those who have been wish they were kicked back on Poipu beach
without a care in the world. It's one of America's wonders, and while the Garden Isle is far from being the biggest, most populated or easiest of the Hawaiian islands to get to, it's unquestionably worth the trip. Particularly so if you're the adventurous type. If there's any island in the Hawaiian chain that begs for you to plop down in one spot for the week, Kauai most certainly isn't it. This place abounds with things to do, and those who aren't afraid to climb, jump, sweat and dive right into the wild will have no shortage of fun. I've compiled five of my favorite Kauai adventures here in hopes that you too will find certain thrills while visiting, so grab your untouched itinerary and read on!
This is unquestionably my favorite thrill on Kauai. Kipu Falls are conveniently located near the popular eastern side of the island, around 20 minutes or so from downtown Lihue. Ask any of the locals about Kipu, and chances are they'll be able to guide you right to it. It's actually fairly easy to locate via GPS (it's off of Kipu Road), and you'll probably see a dozen or so cars parked along the side of a road beside a massive field. Park, hike along the stream's edge (the beaten path is private property, but the stream itself isn't), and ten minutes later, you'll be in paradise. A huge, freshwater pool to leap into, a massive tree swing to reenact Tarzan on, and plenty of opportunities to meet fellow tourists and locals from all over the world. If you pick the right day, you may even see locals running out of the edge of tree limbs and backflipping 70 feet into the water below. Astounding. Have a look at my experience above.
Fair warning: cliff jumping is risky. Be smart, and stay safe! If you're in doubt, don't jump! It's plenty entertaining to just watch the pros who are experienced.
Tunnels Beach has grown into a real spectacle in recent years, making the parking situation somewhat of a nightmare. Not a
ton of tourists flock here, but enough have come for the neighbors to turn their yard into a pay-for-parking lot. Bummer. Your best bet is to show up early and park along the sections of the road where it's allowed -- even if you have to walk half a mile, it's worth it. Rent some snorkel gear down in Lihue or Princeville before heading out, and bring along your waterproof camera if you have one. You'll find loads of fish here, crystal clear water, gorgeous stretches of sand, and -- if you're lucky -- a giant sea turtle. I was able to swim with one for a couple of minutes on my last trip, shown above. Talk about Hawaiian hospitality!
Similar to Tunnels Beach, the only catch with this outing is the parking situation. The Queen's Bath is a magnificent rock formation along the ocean's coast, but it's actually hidden behind an upscale housing community / golf course in Princeville. You'll need to drive back into the neighborhood (found two to three miles within St. Regis Princeville) and park at the handful of public spots. If those are full, you'll need to park wherever it's legal nearby and hike. There's a well-beaten path through the woods and to the ocean, and chances are, you'll be able to follow the other tourists and locals down. The pool is formed with lava rock, and it blocks crashing waves as you sit and soak. There are also plenty of cliff jumping opportunities here for the daredevils in attendance.
The grueling, gorgeous Kalalau Trail (reached by driving as far north as you can along Highway 560) is likely Kauai's most famous, but few people know that it takes days to complete, and to proceed beyond Hanakapiai Beach at the ~2.5 mile marker, you actually need an overnight camping permit from the state. The full ~11 mile hike has managed an incredible 9.0 out of 10 on Sierra Club's difficulty scale, making it the most difficult trail that doesn't require vertical scaling of a mountain. Thankfully, the first bit -- which wraps around the north of the island and provides astonishing views of the Na Pali coast -- isn't so tough. You'll need great hiking shoes, a few liters of water, a bathing suit and a towel. After you've hiked down, you're treated to a waterfall that nearly runs directly into the ocean. Take a dip in the Pacific, bask on the sand, and then rinse in the waterfall before heading right back where you came from. Take a camera -- the views are unmatched.
You've got only a few options to actually see the Na Pali Coast, and while a helicopter ride (or a ride from the highly recommended Wings Over Kauai) is just fine for some, I prefer a little more adventure. Taking Captain Joe's
zodiac tour is a great excuse to visit the vastly under-appreciated western swath of Kauai, and moreover, an amazing way to see parts of Kauai that you could never see but by boat. You'll get a personal view of the island's Barking Sands Pacific Missile Range Facility, schools of dolphins, and of course, the Na Pali coast. Joe also provides lunch as well as an opportunity to snorkel for an hour or so while out at sea. On the ride in, you'll get a great view of Niihau, and feel free to ask Captain Joe anything you want -- he's a wealth of information, and the vibe on zodiac is one that'll make you want to relocate rather than fly back home.
Any other amazing sights to see or activities to engage in while on the Garden Isle? Speak up in comments below! Aloha!
Filed under: Hiking, Surfing, North America, United States
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Eric Feb 9th 2011 3:00PM
Great article but visitors to Kipu falls and the Queen's bath need be aware that people die at both of these spots every year and Kipu falls is left off of tour maps for a reason. When in doubt don't go out.
Mark Feb 10th 2011 3:06PM
Is the author talking about Hanakapia falls, the ones that are 2 miles inland from Hanakapia beach, like they are steps from the beach? To rinse off? I don't think so. After you hike to them you have to swim across the pond to get to them, maybe get beaned by a falling rock, certainly meet up with a few hundred frogs under the falls.
Dana Murph Feb 10th 2011 9:52PM
No, just saying that the falls trickle down towards the beach that you'd hike to. Not the actual source of the falls, which is an extra 2 miles.
Ono Feb 10th 2011 9:27PM
Bill would hold publishers liable for accidents while trespassing
LIHU‘E — Two bills moving through Senate and the House could change the entire travel writing business in Hawai‘i.
SB 1208 and HB 552 require authors and publishers of travel publications that encourage readers to trespass to access an attraction to be held liable for injuries sustained by the reader on such property.
“You won’t be seeing any more books about Hawai‘i from Mainland publishers because they’re going to be terrified about this bill,” said Andrew Doughty, co-author of The Ultimate Kaua‘i Guidebook.
Rep. Jimmy Tokioka, D-Lihu‘e-Koloa, co-introducer the House bill, said the bill addresses publications that encourage people to go to dangerous places such as Kipu Falls, in Puhi, knowing that to get there the readers will have to walk through private property.
Kipu Falls has been the site of many serious injuries and deaths. The last person to die there was in December, when a 26-year-old O‘ahu visitor drowned after diving off the falls.
“They’re sending innocent tourists there that don’t know any better, they’re not giving proper notification,” Kaua‘i Visitors Bureau executive director Sue Kanoho said.
Sen. Ron Kouchi, D-Kaua‘i, said the concern is about the publications that encourage people to break the law.
“Some of the guide books say that all of the locals disregard the no-trespassing signs,” said Kouchi, who co-introduced the Senate bill.
“Every visitor that goes in there is trespassing,” said Kanoho, adding that she’s not asking that publications be re-called.
“We’re asking, moving forward, guide books that send people to places that they’ve been told not to send people to because it’s private property could be held liable,” Kanoho said.
She said she has written to all the guide books and shared with the them her “pet-peeves,” asking them not to send tourists to Kipu Falls or Queen’s Bath, in Princeville, because those are dangerous sites.
“The visitors tell me ‘the guide book told me to go there,’ and when people get hurt or die, they ask us ‘why did you allow this to happen?’” Kanoho said.
“First and foremost about Kipu Falls, it’s trespassing,” she said. “Legally nobody should be in there without permission, and permission has not been given.”
Kouchi, who served five years ago on the KVB board, said the organization had approached in 2006 publishers and authors, and asked them to remove those references from their publications because of the accidents.
“We were unsuccessful in getting them to voluntarily comply,” said Kouchi, adding that the intent of the bill is making the authors and publishers responsible for sending people to those sites.
“It’s for author or publishers who encourage the reader of that guide book to disregard the law,” Kouchi said.
Doughty said the bill is written in a way that touches a much broader issue, land-ownership.
“The way the law is written … basically you may do nothing that attracts or entice people to go to a place. It’s not a matter of encouraging somebody to trespass,” said Doughty, noting that even a picture of a place would be considered enticing.
A coffee-table book with a picture of somebody surfing Jaws, on Maui, could be considered enticing, Doughty said. If someone died surfing Jaws, a dangerous big-wave riding spot, then the author or publisher of that book could be sued if the surfer trespassed private property to get to Jaws.
“Maybe that’s not what you mean, but that’s what it says in the bill,” Doughty said.
The authors of the bill may be frustrated about the accidents, Doughty said, but they do not understand how travel writing works.
“From a travel writer standpoint, land ownership and trying to figure out where you belong and where you don’t, is a baffling and very difficult issue when you’re trying to write about Hawai‘i. It is not as cut and dry as it seems,” Doughty said.
Someone could get hurt in a given place, order every travel book listing such place and claim that those books were in his or her car, Doughty said.
“Now you’re going to have a lawyer who is going to have a whole huge list of targets that they can go after, hoping they can shake money out of somebody, it’s terrifying,” Doughty said.
The consequences of the actual language in the bill would be “devastating” to travel writing, according to Doughty.
“It’s important to look at the actual language that they use in the bill,” Doughty said. “What they describe as tourist guide could be anything, even a pamphlet. Anything could be considered a tourist guide, and trespassing is redefined.”
Doughty said he has been meeting with legislators to discuss the bills. Despite his criticism of the bills, he said he believes in a solution to everyone’s satisfaction.
Kouchi can be reached at (808) 586-6030 and Tokioka can be reached at (808) 586-6270.
hawaiilover Feb 12th 2011 3:56PM
Did the Zodiac Tour off the Na Pali Coast and had 2 whales play around our "rubber raft" for 30 minutes. A memory of a lifetime! We have amazing pictures of breaches and flukes. Although the sea was to rough to go in and out of the sea caves, I will never forget this trip!
wailuachef Feb 12th 2011 6:31PM
Spot-on Ono.
Kipu Falls, Queen's Bath and Hanakapi'ai Beach take lives each year, and the vast majority are visitors. People may think "I'm smarter than that, it won't happen to me", but it does. In 2006 two women, both experienced hikers and very fit, fell 200 feet to their deaths after taking a wrong turn off a trail near Opaeka'a Falls. The trail was not marked or maintained, but was listed as 'a hidden gem' in travel guidebooks and websites.. A week earlier, a 26-year old man had died after jumping from Kipu Falls. A few months later another visitor died on the Opaeka'a trail, and another had to be rescued the next year. Websites and guidebooks continue to promote the trail, despite the history.
Regarding Doughty's statement about the difficulties in figuring out "where you belong and where you don't", he spends a considerable amount of time here and I'm sure is well aware of both. Regardless, he's in the business of selling a product and should be held responsible for his recommendations.
Want a fun vacation? Go home alive. Stick to the places the locals recommend, go to beaches with lifeguards and read the safety pamphlets. Have a great time, but be safe!