Snooze or cruise: some other things to do around West Kauai
Just stay in the hammock. Walk the beach at sunset. Mix up a mai tai. Get your toes wet. With a dearth of great beaches for swimming, West Kauai is my favorite place to simply chill out. I think vacationers to the islands often spend too much time charging around seeing sites and filling up the days instead of doing what they said they were coming to Hawaii to do: relax.
But my bosses would be unhappy if I left my "to do" list at "take lots of naps." So, here's some suggestions for those who want to get out:
• Na Pali Coast tours: The harbor at Waimea is one of the main jumping-off points for boat tours of the rugged coastline of steep cliffs, narrow valleys and empty beaches. Craft range from small Zodiac boats to large catamarans and small cruise-style ships. Book through your hotel or the Kauai Visitors office.
• Waimea Canyon: The "Grand Canyon of the Pacific" won't make you forget the real thing in Arizona, but it is a beautiful place to watch the shadows from big clouds sweep across the precipices. If you aren't up for a long hike, head to Kalalau Lookout for a view 4,000 feet down to the Pacific. Nearby Kokee State Park has a picnic area (and cabins to rent). It's a rare place in the islands where you can sometimes feel downright cold.
• Captain Cook Monument: The statue in Waimea Town commemorates the English explorer who in 1778 "discovered" what would become the Hawaiian Islands. His actual landing spot is nearby. Cook would later meet his death on the Big Island in a dispute over a small boat allegedly stolen by islanders.
• Russian Fort: Most people recall that a British explorer was the first westerner on the islands and that eventually Hawaii came under American influence. But the crumbling walls outside of Waimea Town are a reminder of Georg Scheffer, a Russian entrepreneur. In 1815, he convinced the Kauai king, Kaumualii, that Czar Nicholas could help him repel the feared invasion by Kamehameha the Great, ruler of the other islands. Scheffer built Fort Elizabeth near Waimea and two other forts near Hanalei, on the north coast. The Russians never came. Kamehameha eventually negotiated to bring his rule to Kauai. Only remnants of the fort near Waimea still exist.
• Waimea: You won't mistake the place for Lihue or Poipu, but there are enough markets, restaurants and cafes to make for an interesting afternoon. Shops sell the famous red-dirt T-shirts, stained a rust color by the local ground that's of the same color.
• Menehune Ditch: The legend is better than the sight itself. A narrow irrigation channel officially called Kikiaola Ditch was used to water taro fields. Local folklore says it was built in a single night by menehune, a kind of banana-eating Hawaiian elf. They weren't seen because the menehune sent word that they would only do the work if Ola, the local chieftain, ensured that the Hawaiians stayed in their homes from sunset to sunrise. Ola issued an order making it kapu (forbidden) to go outdoors after nightfall. The punishment for disobeying: death. In the morning, there was the ditch. The menehune were also credited with the Alekoko fish pond just south of Lihue. Some ethnologists believe there could have at one time been a separate race of forest-dwelling people on Kauai, who either died out or were blended into the larger culture by mixed relationships.
• Hanapepe: On the way back to Lihue, take the side road into one of the best-preserved plantation-era towns in the islands. Disney animators used it as the basis of their designs for the popular "Lilo & Stitch" movies and television shows (though they placed the town on the lusher north shore of Kauai). Nearby Hanapepe Valley Lookout shows beautiful views of the island interior. The area was used as a setting in Steven Spielberg's dinosaur epic, "Jurassic Park."
But my bosses would be unhappy if I left my "to do" list at "take lots of naps." So, here's some suggestions for those who want to get out:
• Na Pali Coast tours: The harbor at Waimea is one of the main jumping-off points for boat tours of the rugged coastline of steep cliffs, narrow valleys and empty beaches. Craft range from small Zodiac boats to large catamarans and small cruise-style ships. Book through your hotel or the Kauai Visitors office.
• Waimea Canyon: The "Grand Canyon of the Pacific" won't make you forget the real thing in Arizona, but it is a beautiful place to watch the shadows from big clouds sweep across the precipices. If you aren't up for a long hike, head to Kalalau Lookout for a view 4,000 feet down to the Pacific. Nearby Kokee State Park has a picnic area (and cabins to rent). It's a rare place in the islands where you can sometimes feel downright cold.
• Captain Cook Monument: The statue in Waimea Town commemorates the English explorer who in 1778 "discovered" what would become the Hawaiian Islands. His actual landing spot is nearby. Cook would later meet his death on the Big Island in a dispute over a small boat allegedly stolen by islanders.
• Russian Fort: Most people recall that a British explorer was the first westerner on the islands and that eventually Hawaii came under American influence. But the crumbling walls outside of Waimea Town are a reminder of Georg Scheffer, a Russian entrepreneur. In 1815, he convinced the Kauai king, Kaumualii, that Czar Nicholas could help him repel the feared invasion by Kamehameha the Great, ruler of the other islands. Scheffer built Fort Elizabeth near Waimea and two other forts near Hanalei, on the north coast. The Russians never came. Kamehameha eventually negotiated to bring his rule to Kauai. Only remnants of the fort near Waimea still exist.
• Waimea: You won't mistake the place for Lihue or Poipu, but there are enough markets, restaurants and cafes to make for an interesting afternoon. Shops sell the famous red-dirt T-shirts, stained a rust color by the local ground that's of the same color.
• Menehune Ditch: The legend is better than the sight itself. A narrow irrigation channel officially called Kikiaola Ditch was used to water taro fields. Local folklore says it was built in a single night by menehune, a kind of banana-eating Hawaiian elf. They weren't seen because the menehune sent word that they would only do the work if Ola, the local chieftain, ensured that the Hawaiians stayed in their homes from sunset to sunrise. Ola issued an order making it kapu (forbidden) to go outdoors after nightfall. The punishment for disobeying: death. In the morning, there was the ditch. The menehune were also credited with the Alekoko fish pond just south of Lihue. Some ethnologists believe there could have at one time been a separate race of forest-dwelling people on Kauai, who either died out or were blended into the larger culture by mixed relationships.
• Hanapepe: On the way back to Lihue, take the side road into one of the best-preserved plantation-era towns in the islands. Disney animators used it as the basis of their designs for the popular "Lilo & Stitch" movies and television shows (though they placed the town on the lusher north shore of Kauai). Nearby Hanapepe Valley Lookout shows beautiful views of the island interior. The area was used as a setting in Steven Spielberg's dinosaur epic, "Jurassic Park."
posted by ams at 1:31 PM
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