Kauai Day 1

When Elton asked me if I'd like to go to Kauai, I said yes but I was nonchalant. It didn't matter to me if I was in O'ahu or Kauai as long as I was with him. But once on this island, I quickly realized why it's called Hawaii's Garden Isle. I was surrounded by an enchanting untouched tropical land in every shade of green every direction I turned. Despite the rainy weather we arrived in, and not getting to do all the things we wanted to do like ride ATVs, zip lining, kayak into the fern grotto on Wailea river, visit Kamokila Hawaiian Villange, see the Na Pali  coastline or do a helicopter ride of the island, we somehow managed to cover quite a lot of ground and save the rest for next time.

Hanging out in our jeep on the beach

A common sign on all the beaches

Lihue on the southeast side of the island turned out to be as uneventful as the airport we landed in. First on the list was a drive to Waimea Canyon and Kokee State Park on the west side along the scenic route. (Well to be honest, there isn't one but we created it from our impromptu diversions and getting lost! ) A quick stop in 7-Eleven introduced me to Spam Musubi! It's a giant nigiri sushi rolled with spam and Egg on the top. Elton picked a typical local breakfast plate of sausages, eggs, potato and ketchup on rice. I wasn't too fond of it.

We took a turn into Hanamaulu Beach Park and sat in our Jeep under the trees on the beach to eat. Moving on, we took detour through Koloa Old Town, Hawaii's first sugar plantation. We didn't find the small touristy shops that amusing so we continued our way to the popular Poipu beach but took a wrong turn at the roundabout and ended up at the Allerton Botanical Garden which housed the Ficus Tree roots featured in the T-Rex eggs shot in Jurassic Park. 

Giant Ficus trees

Moving on, stumbled upon the Spouting Horn Bay where we watched the waves crashing into the lava shelf and spouting up the blowhole. The drive up Waimea Canyon would've been more enjoyable had it not been such a foggy day. We hardly saw anything, even throughout the 4 hour hike we made up and down Awa-awapuhi Trail in Koke'e State Park up to Kalalau Lookout point. Since it was so foggy we headed down again to be back by nightfall as it was already about 4pm. The soil here is this mahogany deep red color and so fine, it's almost the consistency of clay. When wet, it's really slippery so we had to be very careful not to fall. It's also said to stain everything.

Kauai's red dirt

Kalalau Lookout covered in fog but still lovely

On the way down, the fog cleared up once we reached below 4,000 feet which was nice to see the Waimea Canyon and Kekaha landscape with the canyonlands to the east and the grasslands and seashore to the west. After all that workout, Elton was ready for a big steak so we looked in our handy iphone to find the best steakhouse close by and found 22º North - an organic restaurant on Kilohana Plantation which promised a fresh farm-to-table experience. We made reservations and were not disappointed. The prime rib and meatloaf were delicious. 

Waimea Canyon (Hawaii's Grand Canyon) with Waimea River running through

Kekaha landscape

We got to our romantic little getaway at the Sealodge in Princeville without a hitch. It was a cute little one bedroom unit overlooking a bulff with a fully loaded kitchen, washer, dryer and even all the snorkelling accessories for a great beach day. 

View from Sealodge