"Hawai'i: Sept. 28 to Oct. 13, 2001" Hawaii (State of) Travelogue by BlueCollar

Here we are at the Kalalau Valley Lookout near the end of Waimea Canyon Road on the west side of Kaua`i. This is my camera-held-at-arms-length self-portrait. I do this where ever we go. My wife hates it.

This was our forth trip to the islands together. It was my wife's sixth. We chose to go to the Big Island and Kaua'i on this trip. Although we've been to both islands before, we had purchased new guidebooks, The Ultimate Kaua'i Guidebook and Hawai'i: The Big Island Revealed , both by Andrew Doughty and Harriett Friedman that made the Islands look more appealing than ever. The books gave us a fresh perspective with an inside look at where to stay, eat, drive to and hike as well as which tours and sites were best. And the accurate maps they included would keep even the most directionless person from getting lost. They are definitely worth their cost. (As a side note: They also publish guidebooks for Maui and O`ahu).

We planned this trip for many months by searching online, looking at travel mags and reading the above books. As we always do, we became obsessed with the planning. We wanted to make the best of our 15 days on these two islands and not let one day be wasted.

However, after the events of September 11, 2001, we almost cancelled those plans. After all, we were flying cross-country from Orlando to Salt Lake City and then to Honolulu and it was long flights just like this that were hijacked on September 11. Even with those horrifying images of the World Trade Center Twin Towers standing mortally wounded (and then falling) being played over and over in the news, we kept reading the books. It was those books sitting on the coffee table that kept our interest. Their beckoning call was too great and on September 28, 2001, with our caution tossed aside, we boarded our flight and started our latest adventure.

Heading towards Hanakapi`ai Beach

On Kaua'i

See my Off the Beaten Path section on my Kaua`i page for a little more on this trail.

Facing east.

On Kaua'i

See my Off the Beaten Path section on my Kaua`i page for a little more on this. Look for the Kalalau Trail section.

This is Hanakapi`ai Beach.....facing east. When you start hiking the Kalalau Trail from Ke`e Beach, you'll reach this semi-secluded beach about two miles into the hike. Boats are not allowed to beach here. There are no roads that lead here. Cell phones will not work here (mine didn't). It's a step closer to isolation than you may think. To hike further past this beach along the Na Pali Coast the State requires you to get a camping permit. However, you may not need to go further if you're just looking for awesome views of this beautiful coast. The views you'll see just getting here will take your breath away.

If you plan to go into the water, be VERY careful. This stretch of water boasts the greatest percentage of drownings per visitor of any beach on Kaua`i. It's because of the way the strong rip currents drag you westward. Remember: There are but a couple smaller isolated beaches along this rugged coast for the next 9 or 10 miles. Then the current goes to points west in the open ocean. You may want to skip going into the water above your hips.

If you started your hike early enough, you could follow the Hanakapi`ai Stream inland for another two miles to see the falls. We are going to try this next time.

Facing west

On Kaua'i

This is Hanakapi`ai Beach.....facing west.

I guess it's tropical.

On Kaua'i

This is Mt. Wai'ale'ale (why-ah-lay-ah-lay) as viewed from our helicopter tour with Air Kaua`i. It's the wettest spot on earth with 440 inches of rain per year.

Air Kaua`i's extra large windows on their helicopter offers very good views. Well worth the cost. See my Must See Activities section on my Kaua`i page for a little more info.

Are you up for this "walk"?

On The Big Island

This is where our hike out to the current lava flow started. I'm not sure if you can read the print on the sign but it was actually 2.5 miles out to the current flow from the end of the road. It was a rather easy hike for me but my wife, because of her short stature, had a hard time keeping the fast pace over this very uneven terrain. You may read more here.

Getting a REAL hotfoot!

On The Big Island

It's hard to see in this pic, but the flow the rest of my group just crossed is recent. How can you tell? The crevice in the circle is still glowing red. You may read more here.

What's the speed limit here? :)

On The Big Island

Update: Sept. 2002. On our most recent trip here we discovered that this section of road is now covered by a few meters of lava. You may read more here.

Can you feel the heat?

Peeling back the cooled crust. You may read more here.

On top of the world.....

On The Big Island

Seeing the sunset from high atop Mauna Kea (mow-nah kay-uh) is spectacular! It's a must-do if on this island. See my Off the Beaten Path section for a little more on this trip.
In this photo, the foreground shows the shadowy top of Mauna Kea with a cindercone on the right. In the center, you can see Mt. Haleakala (on Maui) peeking through the clouds in the center distance. To the left of that, you can see two cloud formations. The closer/smaller one is over Lana`i and the enlongated one further out is over Moloka`i.

Be repectful, please.

On The Big Island

This was Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historic Park. You cannot see it in the photo as I intended (with the insert), but it's a sign that says "Because this area is considered sacred, no picnicing, smoking or sunbathing, please."

What's a lava tube?

Looking back from the end of the lava tube we just hiked through. This tube is just south of Pu'uhonua o Honaunau along the 1871 Trail. The end where we are standing is about 20 feet above the water and we were tempted to jump but the jagged rocks along the shore looked too intimidating for us to climb upon in order to exit. Look in my Off the beaten path section for more details.

On The Big Island

This is the close-up of the ceiling of the lava tube above. You can see how the lava just dripped from the ceiling as the flow receeded. Read more here.

The tube entrance is there to the left of the ramp

On The Big Island

This is the lava tube entrance as mentioned above.

Just another black sand beach.

On The Big Island

The hike down the switchbacks to Pololu Beach was spectacular. The breath-taking views of the Pololu Valley and this blacksand beach as you descend the cliffside trail make this somewhat arduous hike worth it. Just remember: the hard part is coming back up.

The day we went down here, we had the entire beach to ourselves.

See my Off the Beaten Path section of my Kapa`au page for a little more on this spot.

Waipi`o Valley Lookout

On The Big Island

Unfortunately, this is all that most people see of Waipi'o Valley. Although this view from the Lookout is spectacular, the view from down inside or from the opposing valley wall is even better. After all, Hi`ilawe Falls can only be viewed from down inside the valley or after an arduous hike up the other wall. After driving down (4WD REQUIRED), we had to hike across the valley floor about one mile to get to that side. We then hiked the trail that goes up that opposing valley wall to the spot where I made the circle in this photo (enlarge it to clearly see circle). From there we took the photo of ourselves that is on my main Hawai`i page with Hi`ilawe Falls in the background. I placed the camera on the tripod back in the bushes and we stood on the ledge. You may read more here.

Hi`ilawe Falls

On The Big Island

Ahhh... Hi'ilawe Falls. This is down inside Waipi'o Valley on the north shore of the Big Island. At 1,500+ feet high, it's the highest in all of Hawaii. Unfortunately, you cannot see this waterfall from the Waipi'o Valley Lookout. It is only viewable once you get down into the valley. And to get there you MUST have a 4WD to make it. We rented a 4-wheel-drive Jeep just for these types of situations. The very steep grade (up to 25% in places (yes, 25%) ) will burn your brakes out if you try it in a 2WD vehicle. The low gears of the 4WD allow you to idle down without using your brakes. Please note: After returning our Jeep and completely reading the rental agreement, we discovered that we weren't allowed to drive on this road. WHOOPS! You may read more here.

At the mouth of Waii`o Stream

On The Big Island

Here we are at the mouth of the Waipi'o Stream down inside Waipi`o Valley. This was after driving down the previously mentioned road. You may read more here.

Peeking upstream

On The Big Island

Looking upstream from the beach as we hiked across the valley floor. You may read more here.

On The Big Island

Here we are at a viewing station at the water's edge on the east side of the current flow. We are approximately 200 yards from the flowing lava. (Update: Sept. 2002; the lava is not currently entering the ocean here)

ssssssss................

On The Big Island

This is a zoom shot from the same viewing station previously mentioned.