Hiking the NaPali Coast!

When we think of Kauai, we think of the NaPali Coast. Eleven miles of coastline along the Northwest side of the island, accessible only by foot or boat. Most people will never make it to Kauai. Some will go to Kauai and see the NaPali Coast by boat or helicopter. Few will hike even part of it, and very few will go the entire way! Of course Will dreams of hiking the entire coastline, but for me, I really only want to do the first two to four miles. I didn't think visiting the NaPali Coast during Mom's visit was something we'd get to do, so when she mentioned that she'd like to do some of the hike I was so excited! We knew that the first two miles aren't so bad; a little rocky, and not even too steep most of the way. So what better way to spend Easter Sunday than hiking along some of the most remote, spectacular coastline in the world!

We were up early for some breakfast and hit the road. It was about a 45 minute- hour long drive to the very end of the road. Along the way we saw an egret hanging out on a horse!

More one land bridges to cross.

Here we go!

We hiked to Hanakapi`ai Beach

A view of Ke`e Beach from the trail. It was low tide so this area was protected by the surrounding reef. We couldn't wait to jump in there after our hike!

Our first glimpse at the beautiful coastline.

There were several small waterfalls like this throughout the jungle hike!

Beauty comes at a price . . .

The stream we had to cross.

Scoping out the way to go.

Two hours later we made it to Hanakapi`ai Beach. It is a rock beach and there are rock towers everywhere. So cool!

I got started building mine right away.

Will came to check mine out before building his own.

Mom is showing off mine!

Will hard at work.

We had a snack down at the beach, and after relaxing in the shade it was time to turn around and head back. Ke`e beach was calling for us!

We changed in to our swimsuits immediately upon returning to the trailhead and jumped right in the water. The tide was starting to come in, so the water wasn't quite as calm as it was earlier, but it was still so refreshing. The current was really strong and carried you quite easily!

Will's hanging out with a chicken and feeling great about his experience at Ke`e!

Beach Bums!

On our way back to town we checked out the wet caves. They reminded Will and I of the cenotes we swam in in Mexico.

We had a delicious and well deserved lunch at the Mediterranean Gourmet near Kepuhi Point, just outside of Hanalei town. We enjoyed eating lunch with a beautiful ocean view.

We continued into Hanalei to finally get a picture of this cute church that we drove by several times. Then we went back to Hanalei Bay for some beachcombing and boogie boarding!

Will taught me how to boogie board finally!

So fun!

We were getting tired so it was back to our condo in Princeville.

The beautiful fountain at the entrance to our community.

This is the view of the golf course from our condo.

Our condo from the grounds. Ours was the upper unit.

We wanted to catch the last sunset of our stay so we walked from our condo, along the water, to the St. Regis hotel area which was at the end of the road and overlooked Hanalei Bay.

Sunset over Hanalei Bay

We walked back to the condo, exhausted. After cleaning up from the day, Will went to get us some take-out dinner to share since we weren't terribly hungry after our big Mediterranean lunch. It was a perfect lazy night after an adventurous day and weekend, too!