DAY 7: KAUA'I ~ Coconut Coast

    

Big Island to Kaua'i
My favorite island is the Big Island. In a general context, it has a dual personality: Mother Nature dominates the windward side and is at her rawest form between the Kilauea Crater spewing lava and South Point's voracious waves pounding at the basalt rock foundation; on the leeward side, the Kona Coast charms you with its bucolic calmness and embraces everyone with its warm Hawaiian sunshine.

On the flip side, Locke's favorite island is Kaua'i. As a youngster, he visited the Garden Isle with this family and fell in love with its scenic beauty. His memories were of long highways with tree canopies covering the entire roadbed and nature everywhere. And one thing I noticed: roosters on the loose! How befitting, since Locke was a rooster himself according to his Chinese horoscope!

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Lihue & Kapa'a

We fly out from the ends of the Hawaiian chain: from the Big Island on the east to Kaua'i on the west. Unfortunately, the airlines lose my luggage on this short trip, but it is found the next day, whew! We land at Lihue Airport in Kaua'i and head over to Kapa'a for dinner at a local restaurant. In the courtyard are small statues, called Menehune, which are mythological Hawaiian dwarves. Supposedly they are industrious & kind, and we enjoy our first night on Kaua'i hoping no mischief comes along our way...

Wailua Falls
Just like the other islands, Kaua'i is defined by coasts, with the eastern section nicknamed as the "Coconut Coast". Included are the two towns of Lihue and Kapa'a that we visited and a few mountains including Mt Wai'ale'ale, one of the wettest spots on the earth, averaging 460" a year! From its slopes, flowing rivers produce spectacular falls, including the multi-layered Wailua Falls.

Coconut Coast

The Coconut Coast beaches are worth a visit for the shear fact that there are so few people! While walking on the beach, a native red-crested cardinal stops by and is quite inquisitive. My hunch is that this bird is not a local and after doing some research, I find this interesting bird is just another non-native species brought to Hawaii via South America.


Rainbow Sighting #3 - in Wailua Falls!

>> Al