Day 231: Visit Kauai!
- JanaLee Cox Longhurst
- Aug 19, 2018
- 11 min read
What a spectacular eight days we spent on Kauai, The Garden Isle. At its center is Mount Wai'ale'ale, where it rains 360 days a year. It is the wettest place on earth, and all that rain water is what keeps the island alive. The locals call the rain the Hawaiian Blessing, because without it, the island would be nothing but lava rock surrounded by salt water.
The magnificent mountains of Kauai created Waimea Canyon between them, known as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. Because of the mountainous center, the towns of Kauai are strung around the coast like a lei, only stopping for the Na Pali Coast's jagged cliffs that shoot upward directly from the sea.
We traveled to Kauai in August of 2018, four months after torrential flooding caused damage and landslides on the North Shore. We were worried we may not even be able to visit the North Shore, but we were able to go as far north as Hanalei Town before coming to a ROAD CLOSED sign. The only way we were able to see the beauty of Ke'e Beach was by helicopter. Of course, that only meant that there must be another trip to Kauai so we can finish our bucket list.
I'm not going to detail shopping areas, but every little town has knick-knack shopping. Looking for a bright pink ukulele? You'll find it. There's also an ABC Store on every corner, but the fun little shops like The Shell Factory and Ambrose's Surf Gallery offer the coolest browsing, along with great conversation with the people who really know the island.
We spent eight days sampling the wonders that comprise Kauai. Here are our highlights:
The Beaches
There are so many beaches on Kauai. So many beaches. The local people were awesome to give directions to their favorites. These are the beaches where we spent most of our beach time:
Hanalei Bay, on the North Shore, was our favorite for playing on the beach and playing in the water. It is shallow and sandy far into the bay and the waves are gentle. Rimmed with beach houses and the St. Regis atop the point, made for beautiful views in every direction.
Anini Beach, on the Northeast Shore, was our favorite beach for snorkeling. The trick is to pass the official Anini Beach and keep going on the dirt road until it dead ends at private drives. It is beautiful and quiet and shallow far into the cove, making for successful snorkeling, if you are a snorkeler. It turns out that I am not a good snorkeler. Also, the sea floor is really rocky at Anini, so don't go out without wearing good water shoes or your snorkeling flippers to protect your feet.
Brennecke's Beach is on the South Shore, tucked in between many of the big resorts. The beach is busy and has some wicked waves, but there were lots of sea turtles body-surfing right along with all the humans. A great place for boogie boarding.
Polihale Beach, on the West Shore, was where we felt like we'd driven to the end of the earth after following our GPS down the four miles of dirt road that takes off where Highway 50 ends past Kekaha. The beach is pristine. It is a beautiful place to sit and ponder. From this beach you can look northward and see the beginnings of the NaPali Coast. However, be warned, the waves are wicked, the shore break is dangerous, and the riptide is very strong. We also experienced a couple of jellyfish stings here. Even with all the warning signs, it is spectacularly beautiful. A great place to build a campfire and watch the sun set into the ocean.
The Food
If you know us at all, you know that an adventure wouldn't be an adventure without really great food, and we found it on Kauai! Eating establishments are almost as prevalent as the chickens! We went with suggestions from friends and from our excursion guides, who led us to great food.
Naupaka Terrace - Lihue - Inside the Kauai Beach Resort, this restaurant had an amazing breakfast buffet with made-to-order omelettes and the best bacon I've ever eaten.
Kountry Kitchen - Kapa'a - So good for breakfast! Gigantic pancakes. The macadamia nut waffles were to die for. And their hash browns and omelettes were amazing. They also have artwork for sale by local artist Fanny Bilodeaux. We couldn't resist purchasing a signed print. Check out the chickens.
Duke's - Lihue - For an elegant meal, this place was divine. We tried to go to Duke's last year in Honolulu, but couldn't get in. The food is fantastic, and the view of Kalapaki Beach is, too. You must finish your meal with a slice of Hula Pie. All four of us shared one piece, and it was perfect.
Cafe Portofino - Lihue - Napoli Style pizza with a mural of Portofino on the wall. Our waiter brought us a dessert pizza slathered in Nutella, because, she said "The Dad is hungry." David took offense to this for the rest of the trip while the rest of us quoted her.
L&L Hawaiian BBQ - We chuckled at this, because there is also an L&L Hawaiian BBQ in Provo. Our son introduced us to his favorite, chicken katsu. Really good!
Mariachi's Authentic Mexican - Kapa'a - Two of us loved it, two of us were on the fence. I ordered the Enchilada Del Mar, and it was delicious!
Bobby V's Italian - Kapa'a - Delicious Italian food and great service. We'd been at the beach all day and must have been dehydrated, because after they filled our glasses a few times they gave up and brought us a pitcher. Loved the manicotti and the pizza, too.
Brennecke's Beach Broiler - Poipu - Overlooks Brennecke's Beach. Awesome burgers and the BEST fish and chips I have ever eaten. No kidding.
Puka Dog - Poipu - Fresh Hawaiian bread baked into a roll with a hole in the middle, a grilled hot dog, and magical sauces like pineapple or mango relish, topped off with their signature Aunty Lillikoi's mustard. Puka means "hole" and after you see the bun, it makes a lot more sense.
Wailua Shave Ice - Kapa'a food trucks - hands down the BEST shave ice. We had to go back. The Lava Flow is the bomb! They use real fruit purees instead of sugary syrups.
JoJo's Shave Ice - Hanalei - Really good, for the usual sugary syrups, but they put their shave ice over macadamia nut ice cream, which made me totally forget words like high-fructose corn syrup.
Street Burger - Kapa'a - Fresh Kauai beef, homemade buns, homemade condiments like their tomato jam (ketchup). We went in with high hopes, and the burgers were perfectly acceptable, but we all commented that we liked the burgers at Brennecke's more.
Tiki Tacos - Kapa'a - Didn't love these, but like the burgers, we might be food snobs.
Chicken in a Barrel - Hanalei - Not awful, but not really memorable. Perhaps there are too many chickens running around to enjoy eating them?
Places that were recommended to us, but were closed (Hawaii business hours) so we didn't get to try them out:
Porky's food truck (Kalua Pork BBQ) - Kapa'a
Anuenue Cafe (Breakfast) - Poipu
Hukilau Lanai (Nice dining) - Kapa'a
Tege Tege (Shave Ice) - Kapa'a
Da Crack (Mexican) - Koloa
The Excursions
One can't only go to the beach on Kauai. There is more to see! Like these awesome trees that span so wide they deserve to be photographed. We planned ahead for three excursions and then let the rest of the week progress organically.
Our first excursion was tubing down the irrigation canals of the old sugarcane plantation. These waterways included several tunnels, so we were decked out in helmets with headlamps. The canals and the tunnels were dug by immigrant workers to bring Mount Wai'ale'ale's rainfall down to the sugarcane fields. We would totally do this again! Brayden, our guide, was hilarious and entertaining, as well as informative. We learned a lot and it was really fun.
Our second excursion was a tour of the island by helicopter. This experience was life changing! To have that view of the island was a blessing. We were also able to partake in the grandeur of the Napali Coast without getting seasick, and we saw the parts of the North Shore which were inaccessible because of the road closures. There is said to be 10,000 waterfalls on the island, and now I believe it. If anybody asked what to spend money on in Kauai, this would be my very first recommendation. Everyone needs this experience!
Our third excursion was an ATV ride through private property with stops at a WWII bunker to see petrified soda crackers, the sites of many film locations, and to swim in a waterfall. Did you know that Steve Case, the founder of AOL, owns one-third of Kauai? We had no idea. He has a strict no-build rule, so everything is left in its natural state, but he lets these adventure companies take float trips and ATV rides and do zip-lines on his land, which gives a lot of local college kids summer jobs. He also supplies the drinking water to much of the island, and hosts lots of film crews. You can learn a lot from these guides about their island and their employer.
On our own, we spent an afternoon driving up Waimea Canyon, the Grand Canyon of the Pacific, to check out the overlooks. We learned from our helicopter pilot that the canyon is more spectacular in afternoon light. This drive takes 3-4 hours. It was beautiful, but I would suggest doing this before the helicopter ride, because afterward, the views kinda suffer by comparison.
Wailua Falls, on the East Shore, is a short drive off Kuhio Highway. Beautiful and close. At the viewpoint, there were two or three chickens roaming around, and then, all of a sudden, one of them saw something to eat and 40 or more chickens came out of the bushes and ran toward us. It was hilarious and terrifying at the same time.
Kilauea Lighthouse, on the Northeast Shore, is part of the Kilauea Point National Bird refuge. Hundreds of birds nest along cliffside. Stunning view.
Makauwahi Cave, outside of Koloa, is called "Kauai's Best Kept Secret." Officially, it is still a secret, because after traipsing along the coastline on foot, we found the cave, but it was closed. It has very limited hours, so Google it before you go. However, the cave is also open from above, so on our hike back to the car, we happened upon the top and still got to see it.
Spouting Horn, on the coast of Koloa, is a blowhole in the rocks where the waves pressurize and send up a spout. There is also a small flea market for gift shopping.
For the Next Trip to Kauai:
McBryde/Allerton Gardens
Wailua River Cruise/Fern Grotto
Garden Island Chocolate Farm
Ke'e Beach (road closure)
Kalalau Trail (road closure)
A few of the posts from our Kauai week that I want to remember:
Day 224: This week of ambling along Memory Lane has taken me past minty memories, lighthouse memories, neighborly memories , bookish memories, grown son memories, and some tropical memories in the making.
My dad flew all over the world at the end of World War II. He didn’t talk about it much, except to tell a few stories here and there. My brother gave Dad a world globe with a pin in all the places he’d been. There were a lot of pins. Most of the clues I saw of these distant places were the gifts he’d brought home to Mom. She would show them to me and describe the land where they came from.
When Dad was flying home to Idaho at the end of his service, he said to the soldier next to him, “This is the last flight I will ever make.” It was true. Although he was only in his twenties and died in his eighties, he never flew again. From then on, it was the car on a country road or a tractor in a field for him.
Tomorrow we will fly in a helicopter to better see Kauai, and I’ll be thinking about my dad and his view of the war-torn world. How blessed I am to see the world through eyes of peace.
And this one . . .
Day 225: This is Getaway Week, because I’m on the island of Kauai, The Garden Isle, and it’s definitely a get away for me. I’m typing this while I sit on the beach under a tree, marveling at the color of the water and the sea turtles body-surfing the waves. Not my normal Monday.
This morning, we chartered a helicopter tour. The pilot gave us a birds-eye view of the entire island. It was the most thrilling experience. And reverential. The grandeur of what God created for us is incomprehensible. What a beautiful world we live in. The people here show respect for the beauty of the earth. It reminds me to do the same.
When I was a little girl, my mom taught me a hula dance and explained that each movement told a story. I have no idea where she learned it. I wish I could ask her. The words were “Oh, we’re going to the hukilau, the huki huki huki huki hukilau. Everybody loves the hukilau, where the laulau is the kaukau at the hukilau. We throw our nets out into the sea, and all the amaama come a swimming to me. Oh we’re going to the hukilau, huki huki huki huki hukilau.” My mom would have loved everything about this place.
A shopkeeper in Kapa’a picked two flowers out of his tree and handed them to my daughter-in-law and me with the instructions “It goes behind your left ear if you’re taken, and behind your right ear if you’re takin’ applications.”
There is an old photograph of Mom as a young woman with a flower in her hair. I wish I could ask her the story. Did she know about the meaning? Or was she just enjoying the beauty of God’s creations? Either way, I better wear a flower behind my ear in her honor today. #MomsCompanyTowels #GetawayWeek #FlowerBehindYourEar #GoingToAHukilau
And this one . . .
Day 226: What’s the first thing I noticed when we landed in Kauai? The place is overrun with chickens ... I mean feral red fowl ... or the sacred moa, all of which look like chickens. The moa are fowl that the Hawaiians consider sacred, so they are a protected species.
At one point in history, during a hurricane, the cages of both the fighting chickens and the moa were blown open, releasing them all to the wild. Now the chickens are 80% cocky attitude and 20% sacred, and they roam wherever they want.
When I was growing up we had chickens on our farm, and our rooster thought he was of a protected species. He strutted around the farmyard like he owned the place. He also had a bad habit of chasing me into the house. He would have fit in perfectly in Kauai.
I haven’t seen a single Kentucky Fried Chicken while we’ve been here . . . now it all makes sense. #momscompanytowels #getawayweek #kauichickens
And this one . . .
Day 227: It’s Wordsday in Kauai, and the words are SPAM ... not the junk mail variety, but the canned meat-like variety, and SHAVE ICE ... not shaved ice. Never shaved ice.
Spam sightings on Kauai are just as prevalent as chicken sightings. It is on every menu. Even the McDonalds menu offers SPAM selections. Our favorite breakfast place, The Kountry Kitchen, lovingly brings your bill in a SPAM can.
Why is it so popular on the Hawaiian islands? According to local lore, SPAM became popular during World War II when feeding the GIs required shelf-stable meat requiring no preparation. It caught on, and has been a popular selection ever since.
Perhaps the ease of popping open a can of SPAM compared to roasting a feral boar in a giant pit won out. It would seem so, because for all the wild chickens there are on Kauai, it is said there are even more boars—an estimated 250,000 of them, although we haven’t seen a one yet.
Maybe the boars are like those cows who shamelessly advertise for Chik-fil-A, only these boars are selling SPAM to save themselves instead of chicken sandwiches.
SPAM does not make an appearance here, at Wailua Shave Ice in Kapa’a Town, but their creations are so amazing, they’d probably do SPAM proud. No high-fructose syrups here - only fresh fruit purée deliciousness. If you come to Kauai, give them a try, but please don’t add a “d” to the name, because it is NOT shaved ice. It is shave ice. Mahalo. #momscompanytowels #getawayweek #SPAMHawaiianStyle #boarsboarseverywhere #wailuashaveice
And this one . . .
Day 228: The Aloha Spirit is alive and well in Kauai. People are chill here. Nobody seems to care about staying in the lines when parking. They stop for you if you’re waiting to cross the road on foot. When they merge in front of you, they hang a Shaka (hang loose) out the window. They’re happy to give directions to their favorite beach or their favorite food truck. The businesses open when it’s convenient and only stay open as long as necessary. Like I said. Chill.
Did you know that the Hawaii Archipelago is the most remote island chain in the world? It is located more than 1,000 miles away from the next country (Kiribati) and more than 2,000 miles away from the nearest continent (North America). It is the northern most point of the Polynesian triangle and the only part in the northern hemisphere. They are SERIOUSLY isolated in the middle of the Pacific. Next week, on August 21, they’ll celebrate their 59th year as a state. That’s teen-aged in state years. Maybe that’s why they’re not in a hurry.
Island Time is a real thing. That’s why I waited until I was finished at the beach before writing this post. Because we would all do well to adopt the Aloha Spirit. #momscompanytowels #getawayweek #thealohaspirit
Aloha, Kauai! Until we meet again . . .
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