19 September Kauai

Monday 19 September

Today we were sharing a car with Anita and Jim to visit Waimea Canyon on the island of Kauai. This is a must see for very good reason.

First view of Kauai

Entering the harbour

Having visited Fish River Canyon in Namibia – the second largest canyon in the world – we were keen to see this wonder on Kauai, which is known as the garden island. It receives the highest rainfall of all the islands and this is evident with lush green hills and gullies. As we wound our way up the hill to the canyon the clouds were coming in and we were concerned about a white out when we arrived, but we were lucky. Although there were clouds in parts, the main part of the canyon was clear and we could see right down to the sea as well.

This is a magnificent place. Certainly living up to its reputation. The wooded canyon spread like a snake with the red cliffs making a striking contrast to the green of the vegetation.

Lots of options for heli sightseeing

We followed the road right to the end stopping at the various viewpoints. At the end of the road, the weather had once again deteriorated and we were faced with no view at the very end. We could, however, just read the sign which declared this spot as being one of the wettest places on earth!

These intrepid visitors were heading to the top of the falls

Wending our way down the mountain via a different route, we stopped at a small town to buy some things for lunch and went to a beach (black sand, of course). The water was not particularly inviting but it was warm and very pleasant just sitting watching the waves roll in.

These cockerels had just finished with an argument

Looking towards the coast

There were many of these sea birds, but too far away to identify

Jim was happy to be out of the car for a while and found plenty to amuse himself

Beach art, Jim style

We dropped off the car and caught the shuttle back to the ship (cars were only available for pick up at the airport, some 10 minutes away). Another lovely day in these wonderful islands.