relative spontaneously decided we just before the Christmas holiday week after New Year's Eve in Hawaii to spend. The prices are currently low, we have a bargain-direct flight for around 400 - found per person with the "disadvantage" that Josiah three days late to school came.
Hawaii consists of several islands of which 6 or 7 may be visited by tourists. After Internet research and advice from friends we decided on Kauai, the "Garden Island". Key facts: No house on Kauai may be built higher than a palm tree, no city has more than 10,000 inhabitants, it has only one major road on the island, not even out all around and especially the north the island is very green, with lots of lush rainforest and pristine nature. Just what we need to nix the Waikiki-Honolulu-Hubba-Bubba, what I was doing pretty well at the clock ...
nervously, as long gone before a flight, I went on 2 January in LAX on a plane to Lihue, the capital of Kauai. The flight was relatively unspectacular, for the LAX runway is so out into the sea and that's all it sees the next 5 hours. Until suddenly, in the Pacific, Kauai appears. Once there turned rather quickly, the Hawaii-Feeling: Aloha (welcome) here Malaho (thank you) because a small airport right on the sea, without major security checks and queues The car passed and not even an hour after landing, we cruise along the tropical coast to the north.
on Kauai on you can find except in the capital, virtually no hotels. But is all the more studios, condos, and small Appartmants you rent by the week. Usually fully booked over Christmas / New Year all, the prices are horrendous and we had some months in advance via the Internet to book a place to stay that is not than what it promised the pictures would have turned out. This winter is everything else, was for decades the utilization not so deep, save the Yanks and go on holiday on the mainland. Us and our style of travel meets, because we make only one day before departure to seek out accommodations and noted that there are on Kauai no hostels that campsites are state and you need a permit, which is only during the week can be picked up in the capital (and we arrived on a Saturday on) and it's sometimes not quite as simple as we are used to. So we send a few emails before the flight, print out a few rental properties and get rid of our arrival in Kauai and Hanalei toward Priceville.
For the landlord it is a bit unusual that the tenants are already on the island and call "Can we see her house?". Normally, such as advance payment, etc., but waiting lists mentioned level, many homes are empty and by the by region and price range in question objects, we can go out on Saturday afternoon about 5 or 6 degree view. One apartment, although we attracted the landlord with a price reduction of $ 250 to $ 150 per night, turns out to be modern and luxurious, but is in the middle of a nasty row Condosiedlung, another house is a bit dark and a third is located on Highway (which is not quite as bad as it sounds). The "Highway" is the name in a way and is more or less the only road on the island, is practically around the island, except on the Na Pali Coast, more below. Nevertheless, it is a small narrow road that in some cases only one lane runs, so not what we had presented to us under a highway. Nevertheless, we decided on the very last house we saw in Wainiha conveniently located at the end of the road. The house is about 10m high tsunami safe on concrete piers, which has the advantage that it looks perfect on the rain forest in the mountains. The whole apartment is a large room with many windows and a jacuzi on the terrace. What more could you want! A few photos of the apartment and the spectacular views.
We liked it here so much that we receive from our 10 days no less than the first 7 spent here. And at $ 99 per night wars, even the cheapest of all homes that we had looked at. What more could you want? So, if you go each time to Kauai and looking for an apartment that can Rainbow Villa :-) I recommend the owners we have never met, but competent guy was a "surfer dude" from Santa Cruz who is stuck here . Chill man!
Our hostel was right in Hanalei, the "laid-back surfer-horse town in general. Good starting point for many activities: the large sandy beach hang, surf, ride, along with the Hanalei Canoe River, Botanical garden visit, visit more beaches or just hang out in bars only. It do not believe a day passed without Piña Colada or Mai Tai, it was chilly in the Hanalei Dolphin Restaurant or in the bar of the perverse expensive St. Regis Princeville in which we for a (granted spectacular see photo!) Sunset have a few drinks paid as much as usual for dinner.
My highlight (Josiah and Serafina would say maybe something else, who knows ... but it's my blog was :-) but migration of the pristine Na Pali coast along to Kalalau beach, where we camped one night and next day return. I do not know if it King Kong have seen get these scenes find her on the island, or Jurassic Park when the helicopter is flying to the island or even some rain forest scenes in Avatar : That is the Na Pali Coast beautiful and just like in the movies it's there too. Permits are normally (you need a permit to continue to migrate than the 2-mile mark and stay to the state park) this season fully booked for months, but we got booked during the week or three problems Permits (weekend, ). On Thursday, before Sonnenaugang, We started in the dark at the north end of the road at Haena State Park and headed off on the 18km long. Now for a rich sound 18km walks for a day but if still around 1500m altitude - partly in the mud - to come, then gets really tiring. The trail was developed with a beach next to the coast but it never goes straight, and I mean NEVER, it always goes up, along a cliff and then down into a bay where one usually has to balance a stream and then goes up again the nearest bay.
The trek starts right on the north side in the rain forest. I should perhaps mention that the mountains above the Na Pali coast with 12'000mm the wettest place on earth ! Fortunately, appeared at our walk on both days the sun, but the trail begins either way as mud ankle-deep in mud. After the first beach on the road is officially only available for hikers with a permit, so that one is practically alone, for day-trippers do not continue. The nature is spectacular, tropical and green agaves as great as I have never have seen, rough cliffs and a wild, raging sea. The further one moves west the drier it is, the vegetation changes, the path is small, but for dusty, dry and under one is always the raging sea, which, especially in winter here on the north side with 10-foot waves rather rough and is spectacular. In the summer it would be quiet and you could even swim at some beaches, excluded in the winter. Just before the final one of the way up again chasing the pulse, as it is about half a meter wide along a cliff and next goes pretty straight down, directly on route to the sea with no chance of a return ...
The Kalalau-beach itself was sadly non-existent, because due to the storm in the days before there was and because it has much higher in the winter anyway waves, the water came almost up to the path. To bathe after such a long walk was not to think, Josiah and I still kept our feet clean but that's it for now. The mix of people who are there was very amusing. There are, on the one hand, the hippies and neo-hippies the weeks and sometimes months, living there from time to time walking back to Hanalei to buy or beg from Hikern whether they have what's left. It was really fun, hippies out of a picture book, long hair, beards, topless or completely naked, with clothes and fabrics and hammocks had to set some almost sedentary, cooked on large fires, and there seemed quite happy and satisfied. And then there were the Hiker - and I would count us now - with their high-tech tents and Dauenschlafsäcken, in small and light gas or petrol stoves and trekking synthetic, slightly drying shirts and pants. The hippies were distributed relatively loose on the first 1.5km if you just come down the last of the cliff to Kalalau. The Hiker / Trekker, however, were all gathered at the official campsite at the end of the trail, conveniently located at a waterfall with clean water and toilets of course. Where would we be ... :-) Either way
were actually all the people there was relatively relaxed and congenial, described as extreme as above, the segregation was of course not all who made it to Kalalau seemed happy and satisfied. We had planned poorly or not thought of staying here longer, or we simply badly informed, at least we only had food and Permit (Kalalau was not always controlled) for a night and so it went on even during the day with tired legs just under 20km back. This was not without ... When we were almost back came to meet us the first day trips and one asked in all seriousness: So are there many outlaws in Kalalau? Haha :-)
The best came at the end: Total sweaty and tired, I suggested still too short hop into the sea, at least as pure as it sure appeared (swimming was not even possible). Fast moving, everything quickly into the car in, including pants with a car key, car, chop, trunk to stow everything and we are in bathing suits without money, cell phone, nothing ... front of the locked car just before sunset, tired and ready for a bath and dinner. Serafina was quite beside himself, "Not again ..." (Inset: avid blog readers may remember the summer I also lost just before sunset in the desert half the keys ...) and close to tears. Even a borrowed cell phone did not help much, because there was no reception there at the end of the road ... Some Brazilians then took us - a bit surprised because we were all in bathing dress - back to our apartment, the key fortunately was not in the car but hidden behind a Pflanzentop at the entrance of the apartment. (Another slide: diligent readers may contact the trip - also in the summer - remember to Six Flags Magic Mountain, where I in the dark a bag with cell phones and camera and car keys hidden, because it could nix take on the roller coaster, and then everything was stolen ... The whereabouts of key must therefore always be with me to weigh one: At the house / car, etc. to hide the danger of becoming stolen or take the risk of losing him Our latest solution is probably the best? Seraina decreases car keys, etc. now :-) So I called the Auto Club to - its membership, we have prudently in the first week solved here in the U.S. - and after more than 2 hours later the tow truck to the back with me went to find parking It was pitch dark by now. I mean pitch black, as in Hawaii are thousands of miles around are no cities and the roads not illuminated. I stress this as an excuse for the big hit of the evening, as I navigated the mechanic directly to the last car of the parking lot (all that can stay in Kalalau their car here) and relatively professional with air cushions and iron rods, the car was already open. A few minutes I was looking for the damn long lever to open the closed case until I noticed that the trunk was not so separated from the rest of the car, ergo no wars our rental car ... Embarrassing, embarrassing, I assured him that this would remain among us (and publish it on my blog, yes ...) and we set about the next car to crack. I mean, who were all white, and generally see this car all the same :-) Anyway, we had our car back, finally!
The remaining three days we spent on the southern and western parts of the island. On Saturday we drove from one end of the highway all runderhum to the other end of the road. The funny thing is that Western End of the road almost exactly 1,000 meters above the Kalalau Beach is. That is, we stood at the viewpoint and looked down the beach we had with a lot of hardships during the day before achieved. But: There is no way down, ie. There was a time but was washed away in a storm and people who wanted to from here down to Kalalau are already dead because it is rocky and steep. The area around the Weimea Canyon is not called "Grand Canyon of Hawaii" and is really almost as impressive as the big brother in Arizona! Of our planned hikes we did then not one, partly because his legs hurt us and also because this region is the wettest region in the world and although we the Kalalau Trail along the Na Pali coast were lucky, was now back in fashion rain. A night in the rain in the tent, very comfortable among all the lush green vegetation! But for walking ... No thanks ... So it went down completely on Sunday in the South where, of course, the sun was shining. That seems always to be: In the north-west stow the clouds and it rains often and is humid tropical in the south-east, however, it is often sunny and "somewhat" dry. (! Real desert) I say "somewhat" dry because we had told people in the south there is practically a desert, "but after this the desert of Nevada and California saw habene us laugh: The South is not quite as tropical as the north but it's still all green, green pastures, lots of bushes and shrubs etc.
The last two days we were hanging out on the beach, snorkeling, swimming, whale- watching (cool!!) in expensive bars or enjoy the sunset. The whole region around Poipu we had expected much uglier and tourism as it was the end. I had the "No house should be bigger than a palm tree" forget-me rule and any concrete bunker a la Kotza-Brava Cancun or imagined, but it's actually quite charming, little more geared to the (modest) Mass tourism and hats for less so complicated All-Organic-Körnlipicker and more ordinary tourists. Whatever can be pleasant ...
My conclusion: Kauai is truly a super beautiful island, who compares Hawaii with paradise is no corners off, but a second time to go I do not necessarily . Unlike other places, the cultural bubble and you can suck the life, with cities where you can discover new cultures and people and is foreign, here is one more in a great "Club Med" with all the bells and whistles. What can I say? It's just, despite all the exotic, still in the U.S. ... Been there, done that, would be my conclusion. Perhaps retirement again :-) And here are the
Link to photo album for more photos !
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