Kalalau Lookout and other Kauai, HI Things to Do Tips

On Kaua‘i

At the end of Highway 550 in Koke‘e State Park you'll find the Kalalau Lookout. This spectacular panoramic view of the valley is the culmination of your drive here.

Please see my tip regarding Waimea Canyon, which is what you will be driving past to get to Kalalau Lookout.

Be sure to see my tip on the Ultralight Flight I took over Na Pali and into this valley.

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On Kaua‘i

‘Opaeka‘a Falls is in the town of Wailua on the east side of Kaua‘i on Highway 580. It's a popular spot with tour buses and gets crowded at times. Just be careful if you decide to cross the road or continue alongside the roadway on foot to get a closer viewing of the falls.

Can you pronounce its name? Remember: gutteral utterance of the okina ( ‘ ) flows smoothly into OH, then stress on PAH with a quick, smoothe, transitional off-glide on AY (when spoken quickly, it will sound like PIE in English), then KAH, then another okina flowing into AH. Now, run it all together: OH-PIE-KAH-AH.

FYI, there are trails you can hike that will take you above and below the falls. However, it is dangerous to take the high road. Two women fell to their deaths here recently (http://starbulletin.com/2006/12/20/news/story01.html). So, if you go, be careful.

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...on Kaua‘i

The Kilauea Lighthouse sits on the northern-most tip of Kaua‘i. Yes, it's also the name of the volcano on the Big Island. There are several (or should I say many?) recurring names of cities, towns or places on the different islands.

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Directions: As you drive along Highway 56 on the north shore, you'll see the signs.

It's near Po‘ipu on Kaua‘i's south side (TEST TIME: Can you properly pronounce Po‘ipu?). Spouting Horn is just a hole in the shelf of lava rock hanging over open water. As the ocean waves flow underneath, air and water are forced up through the hole by the compression of more waves behind it and manages to shoot several meters into the air.

Answer: Poh-ee-pooh

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Do you recognize this waterfall?

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Hint: Think Jurassic. As in Jurassic Park .

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Go on a helicopter tour. We used Air Kaua‘i. Of all the Hawai‘ian Islands we've explored, this is THE place to go on a helicopter tour.

With the special oversized windows on Air Kaua‘i's helicopters, you get a better view. The only better view we had on a helicopter tour was when we flew on Tropical Helicopters with the doors OFF (that's another wonderful tip for another island).

In sixty minutes we covered the whole island and saw all of the beautiful sites. It gave us close-up viewing access to the remote sites that are a day's hike or more such as Kalalau Beach at the end of the Kalalau Trail or impossible sites to reach by foot like Mt. Wai‘ale‘ale (why-ah-lay-ah-lay). We saw more beautiful sites in sixty minutes in the air than in our 9 total days (two trips) we've spent on this island. If you do nothing else special on Kaua‘i, you must do a helicopter tour.

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On the west side of Kaua‘i you'll find Koke‘e (ko-kay-ay) State Park and the beautiful Waimea Canyon. It is said that Mark Twain once compared Waimea to the Grand Canyon. They certainly look similar.

However, their origins are quite different. The rock layers you see in Waimea Canyon were laid there as one lava flow upon another over the span of hundreds of thousands to millions of years.

The rock layers in Grand Canyon are sedimentary layers formed hundreds of millions of years ago under the sea and were then thrust upwards through the geological forces of plate tectonics.

Both were cut and shaped into their present beauty by the tender loving care of Mother Nature's rain, heat, and cold while Father Time provided eons upon eons of pampering.

Waimea Canyon Drive has several places to stop and view its beauty. Be sure to take in every one of them. And if you're lucky to be here after there's been plenty of rain, you'll get to see Waipo‘o Falls (why-poh-oh, a separate tip) in all its glory (it was bone dry on one of our trips). It is best viewed from Pu‘u Ka Pele Lookout.

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Directions: Just take Highway 50 west to Highway 550 north.

On the Island of Kaua‘i

Do you know the Hawai‘ian word for coffee? It is kope (koh-pay).

Coffee in Hawai‘i has become big business. This is mostly being driven by the popularity of Kona Coffee over on the Big Island. However, during our October 2006 trip, we visited a coffee plantation on Kaua‘i.

While visiting Kaua‘i Coffee Company's Gift Shop and Visitor's Center, I sampled many of their offerings. The coffee served tasted good, with their flavored varieties more pleasing. So I purchased their Estate Roasted Chocolate Macadamia Nut and Hawaiian Coconut Caramel Crunch.

Upon returning home, I brewed a pot like I normally do. Much to my surprise, it was not very good. It was very bitter. I happened to read their label and saw my mistake; I did not follow THEIR brewing instructions.

Their on-package recommendation is two teaspoons coffee per six ounces of water, which is twice the amount of coffee per mixing than from most other brands. You will use twice as much coffee to produce a stiff mixture that tends to mask the bitterness, which is what I ended up with at usual mixing rate. The flavorings also work to mask that bitterness and I am sure this is how they brewed their sampling pots at the Gift Shop.

For harvesting the cherries, Kaua‘i Coffee Company uses equipment modified from blueberry picking. That's how they keep costs down.

Compare that to some of the best Kona brands where it is harvested by hand. That is because coffee cherries develop and ripen at different rates on the same stem. So they pick each cherry by hand at the peak of ripeness.

Just think of good ol’ Juan Valdez plucking each red cherry off the stem... Whoops! That's another coffee company's commercial for their Columbian brand. :-O

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Directions: You will see many acres of their coffee plants along Hwy 50 (the main highway) as you drive between Kalaheo and Hanapepe. Their Gift Shop and Visitor's Center is located, however, on Hwy 540 makai (ocean side) of Hwy 50.
Website: http://www.kauaicoffee.com/

Near the “End of the Road” on Kaua‘i’s North Shore in the little town of Hâ‘ena, you will find Limahuli Garden. Limahuli is part of the National Tropical Botanical Garden (http://ntbg.org/gardens/, which is a privately funded, non-profit organization that operates five preserves of which four are located in Hawai‘i.

You have the choice of a guided tour (advance reservations required) or touring the grounds on your own. We opted for the self-guided tour. After paying our $15 per person fee, we were handed a guidebook with map.

The garden path meanders through many different marked display areas with each thoroughly explained in the guidebook. The entire time in this valley, you will have Makana mountain looming above, which was made famous in the movie South Pacific as Bali Hai (look at all my pictures).

The most prominent feature of the garden is the 700 year-old kalo (taro) terraces. This whole valley actually sustained an ancient community of Hawai‘ians who actually farmed and lived here. The archaeological sites here will be studied in the future.

During the course of your walking tour, you will traverse a couple hundred feet of elevation. The slope is gradual so most people should be able to physically handle it.

While we enjoyed the garden as a whole, we also felt that some areas of it seemed neglected. The admission also seemed a little steep for what you get. So, unless you really feel the need to learn about ancient Hawai‘i as well as the foods they grew and ate, you may want to question the need to visit here.

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Directions: Near the “End of the Road” in Hâ‘ena
Website: http://ntbg.org/gardens/