The essence of Hanalei, a taro patch

Historic Kilauea Lighthouse

Sandy Secrets Beach

Kalihiwai Bay: Surfing and river fun

Cool, calm natural pool at Ke`e Beach

A glorious day at Ha`ena Beach

Lovely Lumaha`i Beach

SeaLodge Beach, a hidden sanctuary

Queen's Bath

Dreamy Na Pali Coast

All photos by Jade Eckardt

West side- The best underwater views you’ll find on Kaua`i’s west side is at Salt Pond Beach Park. Here full amenities such as restrooms and showers, parking, a camping area, a large grassy lawn, barbecue pits and picnic tables enable visitors to spend a full day at the beach. The great thing about snorkeling here is that the water is somewhat protected and is a great place for families with varying levels of experience snorkeling. Of course, use your best judgement with the ocean and if in doubt, check with a lifeguard. The best sea life is usually at the right (western) end of the beach.

Peaceful pool at Lydgate Beach Park

South side – Lawai Beach in sunny Poipu is hands down the best snorkeling in the area. It’s a somewhat small beach, located adjacent to the Beach House Restaurant (a perfect after beach stop for drinks and dinner). The bottom of the ocean here is reef, even right up to the beach so be careful of what you stand on and foot protection can be a good idea. If you didn’t bring gear, conveniently near by is a Snorkel Bob’s gear rental inside the same building as the restaurant.

East side – Just before the Wailua River is Lydgate Beach Park. Here, you’re getting a double treat. Not only is the snorkeling here nothing short of amazing, but it’s enjoyed in two quite protected man made pools with rock walls around them. Snorkeling of all ages can partake here, unless the waves are abnormally huge. There’s a lifeguard on duty just in case, but this is the most peaceful snorkeling around.

North Shore – Tunnels Beach near the end of the road on the North Shore is regarded as the best snorkeling on the island. Located at the right hand point of a long, white sand crescent shaped beach, Tunnels is also a popular surf break. It’s really important to be aware of the waves here. If the waves are large, and they often are in the winter month, do not go out. Otherwise, on a calm day you will no doubt be amazed by the sea life here. A huge spectrum of fish are always hanging out here feeding on the live reef. Very experienced snorkelers and divers can head out to the outer drop off and grab a peak.

While there may be nothing more refreshing than a dip in the salty waters surrounding Kaua`i, time spent in the cold fresh water of Kaua`i’s lush mountains should not go un-experienced while on the island. So here’s a collection of rivers that shouldn’t be missed.

Kalihiwai River – Located in the Kilauea area on Kaua`i’s lush North Shore, Kalihiwai Beach is home to a great surfing wave and an awesome river perfect for swimming, kayaking and stand-up paddling. The mouth of the river can be intense with the waves of the bay breaking right there, so it’s best to stay a little way up for swimming.

Kalihiwai River

Lumahai River – Deeper into the North Shore and past Hanalei is Lumahai, known for it’s reputation as one of the most treacherous beaches for swimming on Kaua`i, but the river is a popular, relaxing, and refreshing places to spent time in the water. Bordering the west end of the beach, the river is a favorite for local families to get comfortable on the river bank and swim and play in the sand. But stay far away from the river mouth, the ocean here is always crazy.

Lumahai Beach

Waimea River – Out in Kaua`i’s version of the wild west the Waimea River breaks through the dry terrain of the west side. It’s not a great river for swimming as it’s a little murky from the area’s famous red dirt, but it’s a perfect river for stand-up paddle boarding thanks to it’s calm demeanor and width. You can rent from and get lessons from them too, or for experienced paddlers bring your own.

Waimea River

Kunana Dairy isn’t just a home for goats and the people who make the gourmet products, but is also open for tours that last about one and a half to two and a half hours where guests are treated to a step-by-step explanation of the cheese making process, from milking the goats to the finished product. Reservations must be made beforehand. With the latest craze for consuming locally produced products, a visit to Kunana Dairy is a great way to get a peak at the island’s venture towards a sustainable future.

During the tour, guests have a light breakfast of seasonal fruit from the farm’s own organic orchard, which they can walk through. Guests also view and learn about the farm’s organic vegetable garden, and taste freshly-made baked goods.

Ramona, the author's pet goat

In 2010 the farm received the award of Best Home-Based Small Business on Kaua’i because they are so well-versed in practicing sustainable farming. Kunana cheeses are also found on the menus of Kaua’i's finest restaurants and, of course, can be purchased at the farm. Truly unique is the line of body lotions, shampoos, conditioners, and body soaps that they have produced and infused with goat milk.

Ramona looking classy in black and white

The tour is ideal for visitors of all ages who are looking for a rather unique outing while on Kaua`i.

The South Side is a real visitor destination as it is known for its multiple long white sand beaches and very sunny weather. However, the cultural significance of the area is perhaps the strongest on the island and is worth a visit.

1. Spouting Horn Park
Spouting Horn Park was called puhi, or blowhole, by early Hawaiians. Legends tell of a huge mo`o, or lizard, caught in this puhi, which was formed when waves eroded softer, underlying rock and wore through the harder top rock. Water rushing into the hole is forced through the narrow opening and shoots skyward.

Spouting Horn

2. Prince Kuhio Birthplace & Park
Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole was born in Koloa in a grass hut near this beach to Princess Kinoike Kekaulike and High Chief David Kahalepouli Pi`ikoi. He became a delegate to U.S. Congress after Hawai`i became a Territory in 1900, serving for 19 years. He worked tirelessly on behalf of the Hawaiian people.

3. Hanaka’ape Bay & Koloa Landing
Once, Koloa Landing was the third largest whaling port in all of Hawai`i and the only port of entry for foreign goods. The Sugar industry increased its use until 1912, when better facilities became available elsewhere. Goods and people were transferred by hand and small boat to ships in Hanaka`ape Bay.

4. Pa’u a Laka – Moir Gardens
What began as a hobby garden by the Koloa Plantation Manager’s wife became celebrated as one of the world’s best of its kind. Numerous cactus planted in the 1930s thrived in the arid, rocky soil here. Many escaped to surrounding areas to become naturalized over time. You’ll also find water lily-filled lava rock ponds, koi and a variety of orchid and catus species.

5. Kihahouna Heiau
The walled heiau (temple) that once stood here was 130 feet by 90 feet; dedicated to Kane, a major god of Hawaii; Hulukoki, a bird god; and Ku-hai-moana and Ka-moho-alii, two shark gods. Three hala-lihilihi-ula trees situated on the outside of the naupaka hedge mark the heiau perimeter.

6. Poipu Beach Park
Abundant, easy-to-view marine life in calm waters is a major attraction at Po`ipu Beach. The endangered native Hawaiian Monk seal and threatened Green sea turtle are frequent visitors. From November through May, the endangered Humpback whale appears. Ancient Hawaiians fished and played here and harvested salt in dug-out evaporating pans nearby.

Glorious Po`ipu Beach Park

7. Keoneloa Bay
Between 200 and 600 A.D., early visitors arrived at Keoneloa Bay, meaning long sand, likely from the Marquesas Islands. They used the area as a temporary fishing camp, leaving behind stone-age tools, remnants of heiau, or temples, and ahu, or altars. They prayed to Kane`aukai, an important fishing god.

8. Makawehi & Pa’a Dunes
The lithified sand dunes of Makawehi, calm face, and Pa`a, hard rock, yield fossilized plant roots, bird bones, crab claws and other treasures. Prior to extensive wave erosion, this prominent limestone ridge extended across Keoneloa Bay. During March through November, water birds visit and sea birds nest and roost in the dunes.

9. Pu’uwanawana Volcanic Cone
More than 5 million years ago, a hotspot in the earth spewed lava upward to form the volcanic mountain island of Kaua`i. Nearby Ha`upu Ridge and Mountain contain some of the oldest geologic formations. Look for the youngest volcanic cones such as Pu`uwanawana, within view. Weathered volcanic material produced rich agricultural plains.

10. Hapa Road
Lava rock walls near Hapa Road signify Hawaiian habitation ca. 1200 A.D., while the road dates to the late 1800s. Nearby tracks once held trains hauling cane to Koloa Plantation for milling. Hapa Road served as a supply and emergency evacuation route during World War II, and at various times a foot- and bicycle path.

11. Koloa Jodo Mission
Buddhist temples provided Japanese immigrants a place to worship, study their language, learn martial arts and participate in social events. This Jodo Mission used a specialist in temple architecture from Japan to build the large temple’s interior. Hand-painted, wooden ceiling tiles were a gift from the Japanese artist who rendered them.

12. Sugar Monument
Ancient Polynesians were the first to bring sugar cane to Hawai’i. Starting with its first cane seeding in 1835, Koloa Plantation was the first in Hawai’i to successfully mill cane commercially for export. It set the precedent for free housing and medical benefits for its immigrant employees from China, Japan, East and West Germany, Portugal and the Philippines.

13. Yamamoto Store & Koloa Hotel
Built at the turn of the 20th century, The Yamamoto Building functioned at various times as a plantation camp store and general store with service station. Behind it, the Koloa Hotel offered rooms to traveling salesmen and actors. The o-furo, or hot tub, provided a relaxing soak to guests.

Info plaque at Spouting Horn

14. Koloa Missionary Church
Koloa Missionary Church sanctuary is part of a homestead once owned by Dr. James W. Smith, a medical missionary. In 1842, he began a practice of over 40 years, later becoming an ordained minister at The Church at Koloa. His grandson, Dr. Alfred Herbert Waterhouse, added a clinic to the homestead in 1933.

Serving as home to a mere 120 residents fluent in Hawaiian, Ni’ihau has a single village called Pu’uwai that consists of a church, homes, and a K-12 school. Purchased by ancestors of the current owners in 1864, Ni’ihau was offered to them by a reluctant King Kamehamhea V, who wanted them to take swampy beach land on O’ahu instead. Seeing no value in the O’ahu property, which would later become Waikiki, the family bought Ni’ihau for a price equalling around $10,000 today. Environmentalist Keith Robinson is part owner of the island and allows only those invited by a resident to visit, hence the nickname the “Forbidden Island.”

Measuring just 17-miles long, Ni’ihau holds a surprising number of hidden treasures: Hawaii’s first and second largest lakes; the state’s best sunrise shell beach; several epic surf breaks, including one that is said to rival Jaws on Maui when it breaks at 40 feet; unique animals; reef shark breeding grounds; and of course, Ni’ihau’s famous shells.

During an hour-long air tour of the island, I took in stunning views of the landscape while being treated to a close-up look at several pods of dolphins, beaches, sheep, and horses. I even got a quick look at the elusive tall horned oryx, a species of antelope introduced by the owners.

The island’s single red dirt road, the “Ni’ihau Highway” wove through the lush vibrant green grass blanketing the island. According to the pilot, seeing Ni’ihau so fertile is a rare sight and a product of a wet winter—a luxury for an island so arid the environment is inhospitable for Hawai’i’s tropical flowers. Ni’ihauans often use shells to make their lei.

Soon after a quick and distant peak at Pu’uwai, we touched down on a flat black lava rock landing pad on a northern beach. Nearby a curly horned ram, a monk seal sunbathed together on the white sand. A lone pavilion provided the only shade from here to the village, and looking across the ocean to Kaua’i’s west coast, I was finally on the inside looking out.

I meandered along the beach for hours, wandering through boat debris of buoys, netting, and a seemingly endless rainbow of glass bottles hoping to find a glass buoy.

Between the old marine debris and thick layer of shells, Ni’ihau is a beachcomber’s dream. White sand decorated with abnormally large colorful cowrie, cone, and puka shells, shiny huge opihi, pieces of sunrise shells, and parts of the coveted glass buoys.

The kahelelani shells were different than others I’ve found. On Kaua’i they are often a bright pink or deep red and usually imperfect. The ones on this part of Ni’ihau were a light pink with a red pattern, glossy, smooth, and nearly each one still in perfect condition. Numerous tide pools provided calm places and held piles of shells within their walls. Instead of crowds of sunbathers,there was an abundance of monk seals to walk around.

After hours of searching for the unknown, it was time to go back to reality. But not before snorkeling with three huge ulu’a and a seal circling me. As I headed back to the pavilion, I wished I could go on and on without the clock ticking. Comparing my pre-visit fantasy of the island with the reality, I decided that the trip satisfied my appetite. Before I came to Ni’ihau, I imagined an infinite array of kahelelani shells and even some sunrises, maybe a glass buoy. But out of respect for the island’s residents, the beaches with all of that is off-limits to visitors, a very respectable decision.

A message in a bottle...

I learned that visiting Ni’ihau is about going back in time to an undisturbed island with no big buildings, no freeways, and, what may the biggest relief, no cell phone reception. The thriving underwater world offers interaction with sea life that is getting increasingly harder to find on Hawai’i’s other islands. The shell line remains mostly undisturbed while Kaua’i’s and O’ahu’s disappear within hours of being washed up. Exploring Ni’ihau brings a hint of shoulda, coulda, woulda and thoughts of abandoning all modern day stressors.

Soon I was back on Oahu’s H-1, trying to maintain the sense of peace and solitude I felt just hours before.

The beach was empty, the sun was setting, and this couple was enjoying a romantic dinner lit only be candles, tiki torches,and the remnants of the day’s sunlight. The dinner was being prepared by Heavenly Creations, a unique small business that prepared beachside cooked dinners for couples and small groups. In hand with the current locovore and organic movement, they use only natural and organic ingredients, many of which are grown locally.

While many restaurants offer menus that don’t compliment a vegetarian, vegan, or allergy related diets, Heavenly Creations specialized in making meals that cater your personal health or dietary needs.

Beautiful Anini Beach

The menu can vary, and appetizers include dishes like lightly blackened shrimp skewers with a lilikoi (passion fruit) glaze, and local goat cheese topped with a tri-color array of olive or artichoke tapenade, sun dried tomatoes and pesto. A salad with papaya seed or lime ginger dressing is available.

Entrees include your choice of fresh local fish, wild Alaskan salmon, organic free-range Chicken, tofu or tempeh topped with macadamia nut sauce or tropical fruit salsa. They also offer side dishes, vegetable dishes, and deserts, all prepared while you enjoy the romantic atmosphere.

The wonderful thing about Anini Beach which is a popular spot for their dinners is that it’s generally wind free and the ocean is always calm there thanks to a far out reef.

For more information visit www.heavenlycreations.org.

Happy New Year!

For a more action packed event with entertainment other than fireworks, check out Aurora Foundation’s fundraiser out in Kilauea on the north side of the island. Live music included performances by Iris Downey and Friends as well as the Soul Good Music Family. Food by Fresh From the Garden, a silent auction, dancing, and an aerial artist will all be happening to welcome the new year. For more information contact Michelle Wamsley at 808/828-2192.

At Lihue’s historic Kilohana Plantation islanders and visitors will be gathering to ring in the new year with a beer garden, live local music, champagne and light pupus will take place. Guests must be 21 or older. For more information on the indoor event please call Yvonne or Narlyn at 808/245-5608.

Up behind Kapa`a lies Ho`opi`i Falls, two hidden falls along a somewhat mellow river that is perfect for a long stroll through the forest. Located on Kapahi Road, which can be seen on Google maps, the falls are nestled behind a residential area, adding to the need for quietness and respect of the area when parking to head to the falls.

Both waterfalls are rather small, but the wonderful thing about them is the entire walk, or low impact hike, that makes the experience into a trek along the Kapa`a Stream though the forest. You may see a local resident or two walking the dog along the trail, and just wave and say hi. During the initial descent down the trail look for passion fruit, or lilikoi on the ground. If you find one in good condition give it a try.

Once down on the stream, the tall tree canopy allows rays of sunlight through, making for a sparkly morning and afternoon to explore the forest and falls. Mosquitos can be heavy here, so bring spray or you may regret it. Follow the river down stream and the well worn path is hard to miss. This isn’t a great place for swimming, although some locals do brave it.

Ho`opi`i Falls

Well known Wailua Falls are well known for a good reason – they’re amazing! The drive up the road is gorgeous itself, with acres and acres of bright green grassy pastures on either side. Up at the falls there’s a rock wall separating visitors from the edge of a cliff high above the pool below the double falls. They falls are quite impressive, said to be about 150-feet high with thick cascading water falling into a nearly perfectly round pool far below.

Try a few different angles for photos. The hedge in front of the wall can hinder pictures a little bit, but moving around is a great help. Right above the overlook is where local artisans often sell hand made palm frond hats and other crafts.

Wailua Falls

Out on the dry west side, deep in the Waimea Canyon lies Waipo`o Falls. A surprise at the end of the Canyon Trail, which is a moderately strenuous two to three hour hike, the falls and pool below that is ideal for a refreshing swim is worth the effort.

After parking at the Pu`u Hinahina Lookout between the 13 and 14 mile marker in Koke`e State Park, you’ll be treated to amazing vistas along the trail. Look for goats enjoying the forest and don’t forget the camera for spectacular canyon views. The upper falls has a perfectly swimmable pool, and here you’ll be above the lower falls that cascade about 800-feet down.

Waipo`o Falls

Hanalei mountains and taro

As you slowly cruise down Kuhio Highway, the other signs of a local, ocean loving sun drenched culture become evident. The Hanalei Taro Co., serving up Hawaiian food with a modern twist, and the Hanalei River with stand-up paddlers lazily cruising down, and an array or surf lessons and board rentals and beach wear and surf shops lining the road. Yet they’re in quaint historic buildings that aren’t offensive to the natural beauty of the region.

Lazy Hanalei River

Before or after lunch you’ll feel your feet become alive while immersed in the fine white sand of crescent shaped Hanalei Bay. Surfers, children, and beachcombers will be wandering the peaceful sands of the bay, simply enjoying the serenity and peace of the seaside stretch.

Then it’s sunset. Maybe at the Bay, maybe on the lawn in front of the St. Regis Princeville Resort overlooking the entire bay and its majestic cliffs and waves. Today we haven’t discussed what’s beyond Hanalei, that’s a more thorough story for another day. But Hanalei is heavenly, magical, and majestic. Come to Hanalei to immerse yourself in the ocean and watch the waterfalls cascade down the green cliffs (the more rain there’s been, the more waterfalls there are), and enjoy. Just relax and enjoy.