Hawai'i

 This Thanksgiving we went on one last big adventure before we head home for good. We spent the first week of December on the tropical island of Kaua'i in Hawai'i. 

We flew out from LAX early on Friday morning. It was a straight flight to Kaua'i and we arrived just after 1pm. As soon as we stepped into the airport we were met with humid air and high temperatures. We went to catch an Uber from outside and saw there were wild chickens joining us to wait. Kaua'i is called the garden isle because it's so green, and is much less populated than the big island. 

The car took us to the marketplace where we would be renting our vehicle for the week from. We were a little early so after we arrived, we looked around the marketplace (which was more a series of sheds) and got some matcha with fresh coconut juice. 

We picked up the keys to our jeep and were on our way to the first campsite, via the grocery store. Our jeep came with a rooftop tent and all the equipment needed for camping. It was easy to pop up and all we had to do was load in the sheets each night. The campsite was right on the beach, only a layer of sand separated our tent from the sea. It had hot showers, lights and free coffee in the mornings. And lots of wild chickens.

Our first night we walked along the beach and cooked dinner before tucking in for an early night after a long day. 

In the morning we were woken by roosters as the sun rose. Through the tent window we could watch the sun rise over the pink sand and the ocean. 

We showered and got some communal coffee, and headed out for our adventure of the day. We stopped for breakfast at a little food truck in a marketplace and got acai bowls topped with fresh fruit and granola. 

Our main stop was on the north side of the Island. We parked up and caught the shuttle to Haena State Park. I'd been warned online that it would be busy and overrun with tourists, but even on a Saturday it was nothing like the national parks we've been to on the mainland. There were enough people, but it didn't feel crowded on the trails. 

We started out on the main trail, and passed through a field of taro tubers. Apparently the island used to grow a lot of rice, but in the 1960s returned to the more traditional taro. 

The trail headed uphill and parts were quite muddy. It was mostly shady and still very humid. My hair was forming some very interesting curls! I also ran into Janine from the UCR Botanic Gardens on this trail!

It ran along the coast, although we couldn't always see the sea. We did catch glimpses of it though, as well as some of the tall tree covered cliffs. This is the area they filmed helicopter shots for Jurassic Park and King Kong. One the mist came in a bit later you could definitely imagine some prehistoric creatures running through. 

The end point of this section of the hike was a beach, although the waves were too big and dangerous to go into. There were plenty of rocks and mangrove like trees to sit under and eat lunch though. We ventured a little ways onto the next trail, but we didn't have enough time to do the full 4 mile addition to see the waterfalls. 

We made our way back in the afternoon, taking some more pictures now that light had changed and we were looking at the trail from a different direction. We had some time before the last shuttles, so we sat on the beach near the start of the trail. Again, the waves were too dangerous to go into, but it was very blue. 

The evening we picked up a pizza on the way back to camp and ate it on the beach in the dark. 

The next day was our beach day. After a camp breakfast, we went to Poipu beach, which is very popular for swimming and snorkeling. The whole bay is protected by sand and rock bars, so the water is not as rough as it is further out. The floor is also rocky which makes the visibility very good. We found a spot and after carefully sunscreening (we didn't get burnt the whole week!) went out into the water with our snorkels that came with the jeep. 

We immediately saw all kinds of fish. Yellow ones, grey ones, orange and blue ones, a little pufferfish and a weird long one. It was just like the opening scene from Lilo and Stitch. A little further along the beach there even a group of sea turtles and we watch some more swim up. Mitchell nearly headbutted one while swimming too. 

We spent all day on the beach, reading, swimming and sleeping. We got some Hawaiian hot dogs for lunch and a fresh lemonade. We stayed until the sun started to set and then went for a walk to the next cove where I'd heard seals come out to rest on. We didn't manage to see any, but the sunset was lovely.

We stopped for sushi and ice-cream on the way back to camp that night. That was our last night at that camp, but it didn't take long to pack up in the morning, as we had to pop down the tent every morning to drive anyway. This time we were off up into the mountains. 

First though we stopped for more acai bowls at a roadside stop which had an incredible view. 

We drove up Waimea canyon and pulled out at all the lookouts. Mitchell described it as better than the Grand Canyon and it was definitely more unexpected. It was a lot greener too. A lot of them were similar, but a slightly different view. One had trails and we did a quick one, but we weren't prepared to go all the way to the waterfalls at the end of a 2 mile trail. 

The final viewpoint of Kalalau was the best, as as well as looking through a giant canyon, you could see where it met the ocean in a stunning combination of red, blue and green. 

Our campsite for the night was in the canyon at Koke'e State Park. There were only a few other people in the area and our camp was right at the top, hidden from all other by long grass. As well as the rooftop tent we'd been using all week, the rental company also gave us a pop-up tent for if we camped in sites that didn't allow rooftops. The chickens here were so noisy, there was a constant scream in the background as hundreds of them went about their business. We cooked dinner in the main valley as there was no one using the picnic benches once the sun started to set, and watched the other 4 campers do the same across the field. 

Once the sun had set and the chickens finally silenced, we headed up the dark hill to find our campsite. We only took one wrong turn. 

In the morning, everything was very wet. I don't think it had rained, but the fog had rolled in and left water everywhere. We moved the tent into the sun to dry off as quickly as possible, and started breakfast back down in the valley.

Once we'd cleaned and packed everything away for the final time, we drove back down the mountain to another beach. This one was also sheltered in a bay and good for swimming, but it was sandy and the visibility was no good that morning. It was still a nice beach, not too busy, and there was a seal lounging about on the far side.  

When we were hungry, we headed off to find some lunch. The cafe I'd picked out was closed, there hours were "mostly 9-1 unless there's good surfing or we don't feel like it" which seemed to fit with the island vibes. We found a sandwich truck and a bit further along the road a smoothie shack. 

Smoothies in hand, we finally went to go and see a waterfall. We could drive up to Wailua falls and see it right from the parking lot. There were two streams and they fell into a pool far below. 

Now that we'd finally seen a waterfall, it was time to return the jeep. It wasn't quite the end of our adventure though, as we'd checked into a resort for the last night. We were able to shower, sleep in soft beds and enjoy the view by the pool with a cocktail, just like the Americans intended for visitors to Hawai'i. We had a drink and a taro burger at the tiki bar, and enjoyed the fire pit table and lights. 

There was also a beach right next to the hotel, but when we visited in the morning it was raining! Despite November being the rainy season, we'd gotten away with hardly any rain all week. 

We caught an Uber back to the airport and that was the end of our last adventure. Next stop, London Heathrow! 

Thanks for reading along with all our adventures!

Lots of love,

Emily and Mitchell

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