Our 25th anniversary extravaganzas continued with a sojourn in Maui and Kauai.
I believe it was in 1975 that I visited Kauai for the first time with Mom and Dad on one of our trips back to Hong Kong. We stayed at the Princeville Resort near Hanalei on the north coast and had a few glorious days of golf, tennis and touring the island. We took a helicopter tour of the island, hovering close to waterfalls and buzzing the Napali Coast; I think it’s the only time I’ve flown in a helicopter. The island, the resort, and the Prince golf course were among the prettiest places I’ve been, and I was eager to show them off to Barb and Allie (well, not the golf course).
Saturday, August 23
Our flight from Maui arrived at Lihue Airport on the southeast side of Kauai around 1:30pm. We rented a car and headed north toward Princeville, stopping for lunch in Kapa’a. I can’t remember exactly where we ate but I recall it was pretty good. I hope that’s helpful to you, the reader. We also found a grocery store to stock up on supplies for the next few days.
We reserved a condo, number 7302, at the Hanalei Bay Resort. We had stayed at one of the condos closer to the clubhouse and tennis courts with Mom and Dad in 1975. This time, we were driven in a golf cart with our bags to our condo which turned out to be a bit of a hike back to the main facilities. The condo itself was nice, but we had been spoiled by the one in Maui — while the view from this one was good, it was no match for the one in Maui, nor were the amenities quite as up to date. Still, it was not a bad roost for a few days, and Allie liked her little space upstairs in the loft area.
We took a look around the resort, found the pool and figured out how to get to the beach which was a bit of a hike past the hotel and then down a steep hill which seemed even steeper coming back up if there wasn’t a golf cart shuttle. After exploring, we settled into the condo, unpacked, and eagerly watched our first sunset out beyond the Bali Hai rock formation. The famous profile of peaks looked far smaller and further away than I had remembered. The sunset wasn’t near as spectacular as I’d hoped, but I snapped a lot of pictures anyway.
After sundown, we went to our car to drive into Hanalei for dinner. In the parking lot, we encountered our first Kauai chicken. Barb was not at all pleased. Her chicken phobia kicked into full gear as Allie and I shooed the bird away. We wondered if this lone wandering bird was an anomaly or a portent. Spoiler alert: there would be more.
We had dinner at Bar Acuda, according to my notes. I don’t remember much about it, but the pictures seem familiar.
or Tahiti Nui 5-5134 Kuhio Hwy, Hanalei http://www.thenui.com/
Sunday, August 24
I reserved one of the first tee times for this Sunday morning at the Prince golf course. I got myself up bright and early, headed over to the course, and proceeded to have a fine time losing a bunch of balls on this very difficult course. It was still a stunning layout, one of the prettiest courses I’ve ever played; my couple of photos don’t begin to do it justice.
While I played golf, the girls went to either the pool or the beach. We reconvened back at the condo around noon to head to our afternoon activity: an airplane tour of the island. We drove back to the airport in Lihue, stopping along the way for lunch at the Kilauea Fish Market, a little hole in the wall with good fresh food and a few outside tables to sit at.
One of my fond memories of visiting Kauai with Mom and Dad was a helicopter tour of the island. I knew that many of Kauai’s wonders, especially the Napili Coast, Grand Canyon, and central waterfalls were best seen from the air. That said, we had heard of some helicopter tour crashes over the years and neither Barb nor I were especially eager to risk another. I found a good alternative in a Wings Over Kauai, a private airplane tour. I booked a 2pm tour for the three of us.
We arrived at the Lihue Airport commuter terminal by 1:30, met our pilot and owner of Wings Over Kauai, Bruce Coulombe, and got a safety briefing before getting on board the small Cessna prop plane. I was hoping that Allie would get the co-pilot seat so she could get the best view, but the pilot recommended I sit there for better weight distribution. Sorry Allie.
We took off and started clockwise around Kauai passing the resorts at Poipu on the south side of the island. Bruce did a decent job of narrating the sights as we flew along, but we maintained a height just below the cloud cover which made it hard to see details on the ground. We were also flying faster than a helicopter would, so we couldn’t linger over any particular sight even if we wanted to.
We swung by Waimea Canyon, the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. We flew a little bit into the canyon but again at such a height and speed that we couldn’t really get the same majestic effect as being in a helicopter.
The highlight of the tour was flying along the isolated Napali Coast. It was ruggedly beautiful but again I wish we could have gone lower and slower. The three of us strained to see features out of the windows of airplane and I snapped away as best as I could.
We approached the Bali Hai rock formation from the west; it was even smaller and less impressive from this angle.
We slid past Hanalei and Princeville, staying well offshore to avoid some lowering clouds. We could barely make out our resort as we flew by.
We circled a bit over the Wailua Falls, also known as the Fantasy Island waterfall. These falls happen to be close to the airport so it was a good spot to circle around a couple of times to fill out our hour-long tour.
Time to land…
…and post by the plane with our intrepid pilot, Bruce. He was very friendly and I think Barb and Allie enjoyed the tour and first time in such a small plane. I have to admit I was a little disappointed that the flight didn’t offer better views but it was very much the nature of a fixed wing airplane versus my memories of the helicopter. Live and learn, I guess. I’m still not sure I’d be comfortable doing a helicopter tour but at least I know not to expect better from an airplane ride.
Our official marketing photo.
We had time to drive over to Waimea Falls for a closer look.
We encountered more chickens in the parking lot. By now, Barb started to get the story that there were thousands of colorful chickens and roosters roaming free across the island of Kauai. By lore, they were the result of chickens that escaped their pens after hurricanes raked Kauai in the 1980s and 1990s, but the truth seems a little muddier. In any case, by 2008 when we visited there were plenty of them and as I write this in 2023 there seem to be even more. They’ve become a tourist attraction for many, but don’t count Barb among them.
We drove back north to Princeville and went further to the end of road where Allie and I hiked a few hundred yards of the Napali coast. Even that little bit quickly becomes a little rugged as you climb over the first little ridge.
We got back to the condo in time to see the sunset but were thwarted by a rain shower. The rainbow was a nice consolation, though. My notes say we had dinner at CJ’s Steak & Seafood (which closed permanently in 2015). Could be.
Monday, August 25
The highlight of our final full day on Kauai was a 4-hour Zodiac boat tour of the Napali Coast courtesy of Na Pali Explorer. We got up early, had some breakfast in the room and made it down to the beach near the hotel at 7:30am to check in for our 8am tour. The check-in was fine but it soon became apparent there was a problem with the boat so we had to wait an extra 45-minutes or so for another boat to be brought around. We killed time walking around the beach and watching Allie wade in the nice calm water. Eventually the replacement boat showed up and our tour got underway.
We cruised across Hanalei Bay, past the Bali Hai rock formation and into the choppier water along the Napali Coast.
The tour guide had fun taking us to a cave and actually going in. It was a bit scary.
We went further down the coast, had a good look at the Napali cliffs and were glad we weren’t hiking them.
We spotted a pod of dolphins right up close.
Time to snorkel! Even Barb got in the water for a while. The water was fairly deep and the seafloor more lava than coral. We saw some fish but not nearly as many as at Molokini. It was a decent snorkeling session but we had been spoiled in Maui.
After snorkeling we clambered back on the boat and tried to dry off as best as we could. The boat bounced its way back to Hanalei as the midday wind and waves started to pick up. Getting this seaside view of the Napali cliffs was better than what we saw from the airplane and I’m glad we did it. It’s probably the best way to see this famous coastline.
We grabbed lunch at one of the cafes in Hanalei, then the girls went back to the pool for one last afternoon of sun, though I think they mostly got the afternoon clouds and rain. For dinner, we ate at the Hanalei Dolphin, a pleasant though unremarkable dinner to close out our Hawaiian vacation.
Tuesday, August 26
We checked out of our condo and made it back to the Lihue airport in time for our 1pm flight. We had first class seats on the direct flight to Los Angeles and again on the red-eye trip to Baltimore.
Overall, Kauai was something of a disappointment for me this time. I’d had a great time there in 1975 with Mom and Dad, but the Princeville Resort was just a bit down at the heels, especially compared to our condo in Maui. The airplane tour and boat tour were both fun but not as spectacular as I’d hoped. The weather in Princeville/Hanalei was cloudy and wet in the afternoons which was more of an issue for my sun-loving spouse and daughter. And then there were the chickens. Kauai has not beckoned us back and I doubt it will. My favorite Hawaiian island was still the Big Island, but Maui raised itself to a close second with this trip.
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