The second day of Kauai, we were ready to explore! We started out the day at the spouting horn blowhole. It's just a little natural blowhole that is pretty neat to watch for a few minutes... and then to move on. It was right by the Hyatt so we figured we would make a stop there on our drive to west Kauai.
Mesmerized by the blowhole.
The start of our drive west. There is only so far west you can go on Kauai and the farther you go, the more like the desert it gets. It's more warm, sunny, and dry on the western side of Kauai.
We were told to make sure to stop at Jo-Jos because it is supposedly the epitome of Hawaiian shave ice. It was decent, I have to admit but I guess I just don't have a penchant for shave ice. Can't really say that I would ever crave the stuff.
Of course, here I look completely into digging into the shave ice... maybe since the small was so freaking HUGE, I got my shave ice fix for a lifetime.
Tim enjoying his berry shave ice.
Two hours later, we made it to our destination... the Waimea canyon. This is commonly referred to as the grand canyon of the pacific. It was gorgeous, hands down. Not as huge as the actual Grand Canyon but still amazing, nonetheless. We weren't really sure what to expect but like I said that day we were in explore mood so we decided to check it out and figured if nothing else we would get a hike out of the deal (there are more hikes in this area of Kauai than anywhere else on the island). Not only was the hike we went on awesome, just the views were definitely worth it if you are ever in Kauai.
One of our first shots of the day... walking up to a look out.
A closer look at the canyon.
If you look closely at the middle of the picture you will see the a helicopter flying through the middle of the canyon. It kind of gives you some perspective of the magnitude of the canyon.
Whoo hoo!! It was WINDY!!
Surprise, surprise... there were chickens at the canyon too!
Further along up into the canyon, you get a glimpse of the south end of the Napali coast. The Napali coast is indescribable in words. It was just jaw dropping. [We were stunned by it here and later in the week, we got the chance to hike it.] Amazing.
We took a small stroll down to get better looks at the coast. It was still quite a "hill" for just wanting to be able to see the coast better.
More of the view we had of the Napali coast. Looking at this picture almost seems surreal to me... it looks like I just copied a postcard or something, not like I was actually standing there in the midst of this. It really was one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen.
After visiting all of the lookout points, we drove back down and did a short 5 mile hike. It was actually a pretty awesome hike. We hiked down into the canyon and had views of the canyon itself as well as the Kauai coastline (not Napali). We ended at a little waterfall/stream. It was not too challenging but we hike a lot so it could be for some people.
Hiking down further into the canyon. Gorgeous. Not me. The views.
Down in the middle of the canyon at the small waterfall/creek.
Just enjoying the scenery of the little lush middle of the canyon. We are pretty avid hikers and hike pretty much every weekend but I think that both of us would agree that in many ways this hike and the Napali hike we did later in the week were two of the coolest hikes we have ever been on... just due to the broad scenery we experienced.
Climbing back up out of the canyon... from the lushness and into the desert.We ended the hike towards the end of the day. After that we drove the leisurely drive back to Poipu and the Hyatt, relaxed by the pool and ate dinner at one of the resort restaurants that night. It was a great day that surpased all of our expectations. Just when you think you've seen many things and can't be completely awed in ways that you once were, you see or find something that puts you into that state again. I started off the day thinking it would be a fun day to explore but also thinking that it wouldn't be that big of a deal... I mean, if you've seen the Grand Canyon, how does it really get much better or different?
I was incredibly wrong. The whole day I felt that I was an audience witnessing the true beauty of nature, a beauty that I ignorantly think sometimes will not continue to impress, surprise, and awe me. On this day we were shown the true beauty of the island for which Kauai is so well known and I am so thankful that we gave it the chance to experience it.
Wow... how's that for philosophical?
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