North Shore – Tunnels Beach!

If you’re on your way to Tunnels Beach, then you’ll get gorgeous views from Princeville on the way down to Hanalei Bay.

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At Tunnels beach, you CAN count on a relaxing day on the sand with a gorgeous view.

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However, unless you are willing to brave strong current and deep water to get to the outer reef, then Tunnels is no longer a good easy snorkeling location. Sunscreen and clumsy tourists walking all over the coral have seen to that. Thankfully the turtles were still hanging around; they made our day!

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Braving Wilua Falls

Watching the sun sink below the waves at Salt Pond Beach after enjoying one of our first lazy days of the trip was a great way to celebrate Lukas’s birthday. The following day, we picked up the pace again and braved the slippery steep trail down to Wilua falls. For those of you looking for a whole day trip, the trail isn’t the only way to get to the falls. If you have more time, you can rent kayas from the mouth of the river down by the beach and enjoy the scenery the whole way up. I can definitely recommend kayaking (did it on a previous trip), but be sure to have ample time and wear plenty of mosquito repellant!

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It was magical down there. The spray from the falls glittered in the sunlight, casting rainbows.

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Our earlier victory in the WAR we had with the cell phone provider Total Wireless had us feeling daring (it took about four hours on the pay phone at Walmart to set up one SIM card…#@!%*, which is a Blow to the USA’s status as being a developed country), so we braved the river and crossed over into the sunlight before heading back up.

Crossing the chilly river:

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After making it back up the hill before it got dark, we got to see a wild boar and her piglet enjoying getting muddy!

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Fantastic views on the way back down the mountain:

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Enjoyin Kauai- Slack lining and Chocolate!

29 October 2016

We found a great farmers market down the road at the community college with tons of fruit, honey, good food, and even fresh cocoa/cacao beans!

dscn6671Delicious lunch! The pink and white fruit is called Dragon Fruit and is grown on-island. Super tasty!

Check out this thing:

Shipwreck beach is a great beach to play in the waves and relax. Off to the left there’s a path to another beach and a bluff that’s perfect for cliff jumping! We even got to try slack lining! …….Hah! I had no idea what slack lining was either 😛 A really nice local told us all about it and even taught us how to do it! You string the line up between two objects and attempt to make it across. The more advanced you get, the longer the distance and the more acrobatics you try!

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Me trying it out:

We’re definitely thinking about getting one of these later when we settle. It’s such a great whole body work out.  Thanks for the try Chelsea!

 

Good-bye Big Island, Hello Kauai!

We said our goodbyes to the Big Island and drove to the Kona airport (28 October 2016). Along the way we found a lava tube cave and wondered at the ‘mini’ calderas we whizzed by.

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Evening found us in Hilo, renting a car and picking up supplies at Walmart and the local shopping market before following Liz and Glen’s instructions to their beautiful home in Kalaheo. (Thank you again so much for letting us stay in your place of refuge!)

Kalaheo, Kauai
Kalaheo, Kauai