Days Go By

Sunset looking west towards Hanalei.

Trying to get our sense of direction and the lay of the land took us on a drive through Hanalei to Ha'ena State Park and the end of the road for non-hikers. We turned around and drove slowly back checking out each public beach to see where we wanted to explore. Of course, we ended up in Hanalei shopping and buying snacks.

(Saturday) With our cooler stuffed and the beach chairs loaded, we headed through Princeville and along the coast to Lumaha'i River Beach. This beachfront park was perfect for sunbathing and fulfilling one of the main group requests - spending time on a beach! The Lumaha'i River is a small deep, slow-moving piece of water that provides fresh water swimming right next to the beach and black lava rock. People were swinging off ropes attached to trees next to the rock walls across the stream. They were also jumping off the bridge over the river. There was constant action to watch. It was incredibly windy (for most of our time here), but that didn't ruin it for us. The river flows into the ocean in a rush of pounding waves, swirling sand, and black lava rock. That part of the beach is not for sissies. The locals call it Luma Die Beach because someone drowns here every year.

Wailua Falls from the parking lot.

Later in the evening, we went to Happy Hour at a restaurant called Calypsos where we had pupus and drinks. The bar there was called Happy Talk. Back at the Tiki Tower, we played cards and went to bed relatively early.

Looking down at Wailua Falls.

After a laid-back breakfast on Sunday, we loaded into the car and Mike drove us south in search of several sightseeing opportunities.  Waterfalls abound on this island and so we drove to two different falls, Wailua Falls and Opaeka'a Falls. At Wailua Falls the hiking trail had been washed out and construction tape across the entrance kept us from hiking to the base of the falls. This trail gets substantial use and they were doing some repairs on it. It was disappointing to be unable to hike it.

After getting a bit lost, we were unable to find Opaeka'a Falls. At the end of the road to where we thought the falls were, we ran into two ladies who were looking for the falls also. They were very frustrated to have traveled that far and not to have seen anything. Of course, on our travels, we checked out local stores and food vendors keeping everyone happy.

Back at the Tiki Hut, we made an interesting discovery. The Opaeka'a Falls we were searching for were in a different area of the island. We were actually on the trail of the Ho'opi'i Falls. We got our waterfall names and their locations mixed up. After groaning and then laughing about our Falls confusion, we took some time to swim and relax in the sun. Linda and I took a walk from our Tiki Tower down to the beach below all the complexes and golf courses. It was a steep descent to the beach, but we were rewarded with a great view of the ocean and some nice beachcombing.