Hey, everyone! Wow, it’s been over two months since I’ve last done one of these posts. Aside from posting on social media, I have kept my time in Maui relatively quiet. There’s something about Hawai’i that makes me want to just… keep it to myself. During my first trip to the Big Island, I shared a bit about the first few days, but then kept the remainder “just for me.” For my first trip to Maui, I didn’t do a blog post at all. I will do a blog post at some point, but it will be a general overview, not the specific week-to-week that I’ve been doing since being here.

But Kaua’i… Kaua’i wants its own post, baby!

Inception

I have wanted to go to Kaua’i for the longest time. I think way back in the day, around the time I was going to Big island, I was trying to consider between Kaua’i and Big Island. Kaua’i had such a beautiful landscape from the looks of it, but people kept saying over and over again that Big Island was the winner in terms of snorkeling – and it was meant to be a snorkeling-focused trip.

Since arriving in Maui, I wasn’t sure Kaua’i would become a reality. I thought maybe it would be too expensive, I wouldn’t have the money for it, etc. After all, I had essentially run out of my “Asia” fund, and was about to be dipping into my “Return-to-the-Mainland” fund. But then some of the other hostel volunteers, Haizea, Rita, and Kaan, went. They rented a car and slept in the car together. Overall… it was pretty affordable. So I opened my mind to it.

During a conversation with Nerea, one of my beloved friends from Spain, I mentioned I wanted to go to Kaua’i. And she did, too. Within days, we turned the desire into a reality. We sat down and booked our flights, our car rental, and our Nā Pali Coast boat tour… which was the most expensive part – USD $300. EEK!

Taryn dropped us off at the airport with about an hour and a half to spare. We got through security super quickly, then chatted all the way to boarding. Nerea just turned 24 and if y’all don’t remember… I am 34. We have a decade age gap but somehow we have a lot of similarities and get along very well. We both love snorkeling, marine life, traveling – but especially whales. Like me, Nerea came to Maui specifically for the whales.

Maui to Kaua’i

The flight to Kaua’i was probably 30min long. Much better than my last flight from Thailand to Maui, that’s for sure. A piece of cake.

We landed at the Lihue airport, picked up our SUV / home for the next few days. After visiting Walmart to get snacking foods for the trip, we began our adventure.

Pretty much immediately, I liked the vibes of Kaua’i. I could see it’s similarities to Maui, but also it’s difference. How, being a much smaller island, did it somehow feel larger? I always get a kick of the “cowboy-town” feel that these islands have. The buildings really make you feel like you’re passing through the wild west. Aside from the buildings, though, was the landscape. Kaua’i is called the Garden Isle. It’s so green, with such a variety of plant life and flowering trees.

We drove about 40min before arriving at our first spot, Poipu Beach. While finding a parking spot, I spotted a large flock of NĒNĒ!! Which are the endangered Hawaiian goose. I had observed them up close for the first time only a few days prior, while hiking Haleakala in Maui. We managed to see two of them on that hike, but here on Kaua’i, they were all over the place! What a surprise.

Nerea and I changed into our bathing suits and walked over to the beach. The beach was very, very small. And very, very crowded. Lots of tourists visiting. Of course, we’re tourists, too, but we’ve gotten pretty used to Maui beaches where none are overly crowded and more often than not, we have plenty of space to ourselves on the beach. Anyway. The beach was very pretty, to be fair. There was a small little sand island that could be reached by swimming maybe twenty feet. A few sea turtles were resting on there and because of this, the lifeguard closed down the island.

We briefly went in the water, then laid in the sun for about 45min. Because it was so crowded, we weren’t really feeling the vibe and decided to move along. As we were leaving, we heard two 70-something year olds, adorned in all white and singing hare krishna at the entrance to the beach.

Salt Pond Beach Park

Stopping for poke & rice, we then drove down to our final spot of the evening. Upon our arrival, I saw a small portion of the beach sectioned off. “I think it’s…” I started to say, and then got the first glimpse of them. The endangered Hawaiian monk seals. Two of them. “One for you, one for me.” Nearly three months in Maui, and Nerea had not yet seen them. We embraced and I noted tears shedding down her cheek. I love seeing others so passionate about wildlife!

Later, after admiring the seals and indulging in our poke bowls, Nerea asked if I would mind doing a golden hour photoshoot for her. I was happy to oblige.

Nerea and I watched sunset and then, still having energy to kill, we went for a night drive. We drove through the neighborhood of Hanapepe, titled “Kaua’i’s biggest little town.” And it… was. We were looking for a main street but never even found one! In the end, we drove to a bar to share some fries. The bartender was silly. Nerea asked about why I got sober and I shared my story with her. Later, back in the car, I practiced some Spanish with her. Now we were both tired, so we drove back to Salt Pond Beach Park and went to sleep. We had an early rise.

Nā Pali Coast

Nerea and I weren’t sure if we would be able to go on this boat tour, because another Kona low storm was forecast to be coming through the islands. We woke up to a lot of rain, and I was almost certain the tour would be cancelled. Still, we tried. We made it to the ticket office by 6.45am and checked in.

A little after 7am, we were walked to the boat. The rain was consistent but not overly heavy. After boarding, we all sought shelter under a nook tucked away (mostly) from the elements. Despite the rain, the ocean conditions weren’t bad. The waves were fine and we were able to journey towards the Nā Pali coast. It would take over an hour to get there.

Along the way, we were pleased to see SPINNER DOLPHINS! Like the dolphins I’d seen on a cruise in Alaska, these guys were following along the boat. Similarly to the monk seals, Nerea had never seen dolphins before. (Well, once before about a week ago. I was with her then, too! But they were off in the distance, leaping/spinning out of the water). Now, she REALLY got a show. They were so close and stuck with us for quite some time. It was really special. Nerea has always loved dolphins, and even in grade school, she was in the “dolphin” group in her class. I felt lucky to be with her while she experienced dolphin viewing for the first time. Yay! (Bonus: there was also a rainbow!)

The landscape began to transform as we got nearer to the Nā Pali coast. The mountains leading down to the ocean got larger. They became more dramatic, more extreme.

The boat crew pointed out a Jurassic Park filming location, which was a trip to see. How cool!

There were also various spots that were featured in Pirates of the Caribbean and other movies as well.

We got near a waterfall and the skipper let us get “blessed” by the waters cascading down the mountainside. There was also a mountain goat and its baby up on the ridge, overlooking the water. Now, they are truly living in paradise. Nerea said at one point, one of the goats was actually leaping up and down. Cute!

Everywhere I looked… beauty. It reminded me of the mountains in Fiordland or even Iceland. And yet, this landscape was different. Something completely new.

Many photos were taken.

It was as if we were on a hallucinogenic trip, and were heading towards the peak. My favorite spot was the Cathedrals, which are probably the most well-known spot on the coast. And for good reason. They are unreal. The towering spires make for a breathtaking view.

Our tour was supposed to stop at a snorkeling spot but because of the rain earlier in the morning, conditions weren’t that great. Instead, we went for a swim near the Cathedrals. Then, we started to slowly head back. We were fed quite well throughout the trip – a continental breakfast and then a sandwich buffet with pasta salad for lunch. Yum!

Before the tour ended, we were blessed with a whale sighting – a momma and her calf. I was really surprised to see them, because the last couple of weeks, whale season has been dwindling to a close. With both Nerea and I adoring whales, it was magical to be observing them one more time together. Something tells me this is the last time in the season I’ll be seeing them (although, I keep saying that and then will see one breach off in the distance at the beach lol.)

It was an unreal adventure. Expensive, but absolutely worth it.

Waimea Canyon

After the boat tour, we were meant to go to Polihale State Park to check out a beach on the edge of the Nā Pali coast. Unfortunately, the road was closed from the previous rainfall that had come through a couple weeks ago. Much has been impacted by those storms – the worst in almost 20 years.

Momentarily, we struggled with what to do next. There wasn’t too much else to explore in the surrounding area, so we decided to drive up towards Waimea Canyon and see what there was along the way. Nerea fell asleep as I was driving. We had been up since 6.30am and had a pretty overwhelming day so far with all the gorgeous views. Life is hard, right?!

I pulled over at a lookout point, our first glimpse of the Waimea Canyon. Nerea and I got out to have a look. Our next stop was a small waterfall the trickled over red dirt – pretty unusual. It looked like something you might expect to see in Arizona, not Kaua’i. We followed the waterfall uphill for some time, but it seemed to go on forever. Eventually we gave up and returned to the car, continuing on.

We drove to two more viewpoints that day – one was Kalalau which was very impressive. It was already almost 5pm by this point and the sun would be setting soon. We admired the view, given the opportunity to observe the Nā Pali coast from a different perspective.

After Kalalau, we drove a few more minutes to the very end of the road. One thing that’s funny about Kaua’i is that there is a highway that does ALMOST an entire loop around the island… but there is a small section where the landscape is impassable due to the canyon. Because of that, you have to drive almost two hours to get to the other side of the island.

I wanted to try to find a good spot for sunset, so we hopped back in the car and cruised down the winding mountainous roads. I turned right down a random road and we accidentally made our way to a military base. It would have been perfect for sunset… but we weren’t able to get past the gates haha.

In the end, we made it just in time. Clouds had thickened and taken over the sky, but we were able to see a glimpse of the sun as it reached below the horizon. Once the sun set, we drove to Waimea Lookout, where we would stay the night. The clouds parted and Nerea commented on the stars. I laid down a blanket and looked at them for a few minutes before getting ready for bed.

While neither of us had set an alarm for the following morning, Nerea woke up naturally. “Steve, do you want to see the sunrise?” she asked me. Yes, I did. We walked over to the lookout. Such colors in the canyon walls. Greens, reds, browns, greys, blacks, tans. Totally surreal, and beautiful. I snapped a photo and literally ONE minute later, the sun peaked its face over the canyon wall. Stunning.

Nerea was very taken by the canyon. I gave her some time to absorb it as I got ready for the day. We ended up driving back to Kalalau to do a hike around there. The hike was rather steep in sections, but the views… wow.

Kühl Hiking Shorts

I knew the hiking trail was the perfect spot to do a little photoshoot for the shorts Kühl had sent me a couple weeks back. Kühl is an awesome company – they actually reached out to me maybe two years ago, after stumbling upon my blog. They asked if I’d be interested in trying a pair of their hiking pants, of which I agreed to. The hiking pants (which could be easily converted into shorts) were great. Recently, they asked if I would be interested in checking out some shorts. Because of my positive experience with the pants, I was eager to say yes again.

I want to give the disclaimer, too, that I’m not getting paid to write about this. This shorts are KILLER and such an upgrade from the pants I’d received a few years ago. They are so breathable, fashionably, and have a lot of pocket space. I think my favorite feature is the waistband – it is made of a kind of stretchy material that makes them super comfortable. They hug me perfectly and I’ll happily be wearing them on many future hikes.

Anyway, I wanted to take some photos of me in the shorts at this hiking trail. The sunlight was a bit harsh, but I think they did the trick. I also wanted to share a couple shots from another hike back in Maui featuring the same shorts.

As is the custom, Kühl sent along not only the shorts but also a sticker and a stroopwafel (a little waffle cookie). It’s the details!

The North Shore

After Kalalau and the photoshoot, we began our long drive to the other side of the island, stopping at viewpoints along the way.

Along the way, we passed a field of sunflowers. It has been so long since I’ve seen a large field like that – I think honestly the last time may have been when I went on a road trip through South Dakota with my parents. If you know me, you know that sunflowers have a very dear place in my heart. Seeing them is a sign that I am on the right path.

We’d had intentions to stop at one particular waterfall but upon our arrival, we learned that a) we needed advanced reservations and b) the trail was closed anyway due to the impending storm.

We certainly got lucky during our time in Kaua’i. I was worried the boat tour would be cancelled, that the roads would be impacted and we would be stuck with strong rain, flooding, and wind. We completely lucked out, aside from a couple spots we weren’t able to visit this time.

Instead, we went to Hā’ena Beach Park. There was a cave nearby, so I went to explore it and snap a quick photo. Nerea and I then went to the beach and laid out. The beach was gorgeous. We initially were meant to go snorkeling, but the waves were crazy. Snorkeling was simply not meant to happen during our time in Kaua’i. That’s okay! Instead, I read a book and relaxed. We both took naps.

In the afternoon, we drove to Hanalei Bay, which was more of the same. We ended up skipping it and heading into Hanalei town to walk around. I bought a Hawai’i pin – a rooster with the words “aloha” under it. Roosters/chickens are EVERYWHERE in Maui so it felt like a fitting souvenir to buy myself.

Before sunset, we stopped at Foodland to buy rice and poke. We then drove to a small lookout. We backed up the car, whom we named Destiny, and sat in the trunk, soaking in the view as the light faded. A couple roosters stared at us while we ate our food.

Once it was dark, we drove to our final destination for the night – Anini Beach Campground. A lot of others were camped there as well. We listened to a podcast about Hawai’i and then, after a long day, went to sleep. It was our last night in Kaua’i.

We woke up in the morning to lots of rain and strong winds. Luckily, we didn’t really have anything planned that final day. We had to return the car at noon. I had a phone call with my parents, then we drove closer to the beach to watch the waves crashing onto shore. From there, we went to Walmart so Nerea could get a few souvenirs, and we returned to Maui. By the time we returned to the staff house, I had only an hour and a half before I started work haha. But we made it!

What an adventure. Only three nights, but we saw plenty of stuff. I’m so grateful to have had Nerea as my companion – we shared laughs, great conversations, Spanish lessons, and more. Gracias, Nerea! Te quiero!

Reflections

Well, I made it to Kaua’i after all. While I haven’t visited every island on Hawai’i, I’ve now seen all of them. I’ve been to the Big Island, Maui, Oahu, and Kaua’i. From Kaua’i, I was able to see Ni’ihau from Kaua’i, and I am constantly able to see Kaho’olawe, Lāna’i and Moloka’i from Maui. Very cool! One day I’ll get to the others, too. (Although not Kaho’olawe, because it is closed off to the public.)

What’s next? Well, I’m still in Maui, baby! More snorkeling, more sunshine, and more adventures, hopefully!

I have been with a lot of the same volunteers for the last two months and in the coming week and a half, a bunch of them area leaving. Last night at Margarita Night, I sang Gypsy by Lady Gaga to them. Ahead of the song, I explained what it means to me – how I played it for my dear friend Michael before he was leaving for Australia. I sang it for my parents many years later when /I/ was leaving for Australia. And then, in New Zealand, I sang it for my Queenstown buddies before leaving town. Now, again, I played it for our group – of which pretty much everyone is leaving in the next two weeks. We shared a huge group hug afterwards.

I will eventually do some kind of post about Maui, but I’m not sure when. Know that I am doing very well and am happy.

Until next time, sending you all my love. x