Hawaii - South Kauai

The last few days of our stay on Kauai were spent on the south side of the island.  It's drier and less rainforest-y than the north side, but it does have the better sunsets, in my opinion.  Our hotel was fantastic (the Grand Hyatt in Poipu) and we spent several days just lounging by the pool and going for walks along the beach.

We had a really nice anniversary dinner at their Tidepools restaurant.  Kevin had fun throwing bread to the koi fish in the pond below the window.

We also took a day to drive over to Waimea Canyon.  It's gorgeous -- like the Grand Canyon, but with a bit more greenery and lots more waterfalls.

The drive was really pleasant and at the highest viewpoint we had a good view of the beginning of the Napali Coast.

On the way back, we stopped in at the Kauai Coffee plantation to do the self-guided tour.  It used to be a sugar plantation, but was converted to coffee back in the 1980's.  They now have over 4 million coffee trees growing on 3000 acres.  We got a nice caffeine fix while sampling all the varieties on the tasting patio.  I liked the aptly-named "Rooster Alarm".

One of the best ways to really see the island of Kauai is by air, so we booked a helicopter tour.   We had the choice of a normal helicopter (with windows and doors) or one that had the doors off (for better photos and a bigger adrenaline rush).  Feeling brave, I had booked the doors-off version and we boarded the flight with just a hint of trepidation.

But as soon as we took off, all fear disappeared instantly.  Instead we just marveled at the gorgeous scenery far below us.  We got up close to the waterfalls and sheer cliffs in Waimea Canyon...

...hovered over the reefs on the north end of the island...

...and had stunning aerial views of the Napali Coast.  It was just breathtakingly beautiful.

And here's a video summary of the whole trip, including some footage from the helicopter ride.  Enjoy!


Hawaii Trip 2016 from Solsticecatamaran on Vimeo.