Oh the Na Pali Coast! There really is nothing quite like it anywhere else in the world. Rugged cliffs and peaks meeting the ocean for 17 miles of Kauai's shoreline, with hidden beaches and valleys at every turn. There is no road on this part of the island so the only way to see it is by hiking, boat, or air. We took advantage of two of those ways.
Hiking actually requires a permit to go the entire 11 mile trail (each way), and is among the most dangerous hikes in the world because there are parts where you scale the cliff face. It's also supposed to be one of the most beautiful, which I imagine is very true. You can do the first 4 miles of the trail without a permit, which lead you to a beach and then a waterfall. We did the first 2, which were quite a workout. The elevation change is significant up and down, but the views along the way make it worth the while.
When you get to the beach you have to walk across rocks/boulders to cross the river to get to the actual beach. Apparently, especially after rains, this can be quite treacherous, but luckily for us it wasn't too bad that day. In the end, we decided not to continue on to the waterfall, since we had just seen a waterfall the day before and knew the next day we would be kayaking all day. Relaxing seemed like a much more appealing option! :)
The kayak trip. I was pretty nervous going into this, as they describe the trip as "The Mount Everest of sea kayaking" on their website and warn it is not for everyone. We decided that, although not strong paddlers, we were in good enough shape that we could do it. On Thursday, our trip got canceled due to high swells, and I was okay with that. The weather forecast wasn't looking great, so we didn't reschedule at the time. But, when Saturday morning was picture perfect, we decided to call and grab the last 2 spots on the Sunday tour, hoping that day's weather would be like Saturday’s. We were not disappointed; picture perfect blue skies and waters so calm you could see the tints of blues almost to the very bottom.
However, that did not mean, this was an easy trip. After a bit of a mishap in the beginning (2 couples attempted the trip that had never kayaked before, 1 spoke English, and 1 didn't know how to swim. Needless to say, they all got turned back by the 1 mile point.), we were off. The views were beautiful, the water stunning, and the guides very informative.
Besides the amazing views of the cliffs and valleys, we also went into a few sea caves, which was awesome! The second one was open ceiling, and we were able to get out and swim around in the bluest of waters. Such an awesome experience!
Perhaps luck of the draw, or perhaps because it was Memorial Day weekend, but everyone else remaining on our tour lived on Oahu and was either military or kayaked on a regular basis. Needless to say, Nick and I were definitely the weakest paddlers in the group, but we did our best to keep up, and I don't think we did half bad! The toughest part was the stretch just before lunch, where it seemed we were barely moving. Despite the beautiful conditions, we had literally no wind (normally there's some at their backs), so it was a mentally and physically exhausting push to get to the beach for lunch. I think Nick and I both thought there were no way we were going to be able to get all the way to the end at that point. But, we made it to lunch, recharged with food and a power nap, and thankfully we only had 5 miles after lunch until the end.
We also had winds at our back after lunch as we rounded the corner of the coast, and wow, what a difference it made! When we took breaks, we were still moving forward! Landing at Polihale Beach in some pretty big swells was a bit intimidating, but our guides did a fantastic job of guiding us in between waves, and no one tipped! In fact, no one tipped the entire day, which is pretty rare! We left our airbnb at 5am, were in kayaks at 7:45am, and got out at 5:30pm. Needless to say, we were exhausted that night and the next day.
Afterward, we scarfed down a pasta meal all while rocking, feeling like we were still on the ocean. As grueling as the trip was, I am so glad we did it. We weren’t brave enough to bring our phones on this trip, so we borrowed Mom & Dad’s waterproof camera, but we weren’t great about clearing the water on the lens each time so the photos aren’t perfect. But, the memories we have are really something special!
However, because we were so tired the next day, which was our last full day on the island, we decided to forgo our plans to go to the Waimea Canyon (which was a 1.5 hour drive and is best in the morning) for sleeping in and relaxing on the beach. While we don't regret this decision, it is an area of the island we were looking forward to seeing and hiking. So this just means we have to plan a trip back to do so (as if we needed another reason to return).
And because Kauai is so beautiful, part 3 is coming with some of our favorite scenery pictures!
No comments:
Post a Comment