Last night we attended the Hyatt's Luau, which has a good reputation. The food was excellent, even the requisitely bland purple poi. The entertainment was also good, although the entire endeavor was definitely directed to us touristas. Although there was a small attempt to have an educational aspect to the evening, the show was designed to give the haoles a show. It did a good enough job of it that I tried out the video recording feature of my new camera, which will record full television quality video (640 x 480 at 30 fps).
Here for your viewing pleasure is a Hula representation of the Hawaiian goddess Pele...
We were also treated to a Samoan gent, who danced with fire. This guy is a lot braver than I am...
After breakfast this morning at the Seaview Terrace, we called the valet, and headed east through Lihue. From there, we headed up the coast to Ke'e Beach. This drive was, if anything, even more picturesque than those of the past two days. Our plan this time was to drive up the coast to Ke'e Beach, and walk down the beach to see the northern end of the Na Pali coast. This didn't quite work out as planned.
First, about three-fourths of the way there, I found that the batteries in the camera were dead. This is the second time we've bought replacements. Luckily it uses standard AA batteries that are available just about everywhere - unless you passed the last chance to buy anything about 10 minutes ago. We decided to press on anyway, as we could go back during the day on Wednesday while waiting for our flight, which isn't until 10:50 pm (yes, I said pm). Our arrival at the Ha-ena State Park jump off for Ke'e Beach was an unpleasant surprise - its the only place that we've gone that was crowded. There being nowhere to park, we headed back to Princeville for gas and batteries.
The Chevron station in Princeville is well aware that they are the last place for gas on the North Shore - regular unleaded was $3.67 per gallon. We did get a bag of really great Uncle Mikey's dried Guava. He's got a website, so check out the line of Hawaiian items. Anyway, since I knew the trip back up the on Wednesday for pictures would stress me out, we headed back north in the direction of Ke'e Beach.
I think a description of the terrain is definitely in order here. Where the South and West sides of Kauai are not horrible different from what most mountainous and moderately wet areas are like, the East and North sides are decidedly jungle-like. The road gives alternating views of the Pacific and the green, mist-covered moutains. In many places, the ocean crashes to the rocks almost directly under the road. The guard rail on the outside doesn't show much wear, and there are many turn-outs to photo taking...
So, heading North, we were treated to spectacular views of Hanalei Bay. Yes, that's Hanalei, just like the son "Puff the Magic Dragon". Think about it...
No magic dragons were evident during the course of our journey, although we did see mist. I guess Puff is elsewhere during the spring.
Back at Ha'ena State Park, we found Ke'e Beach still packed. We decided to console ourselves with checking out the wet cave near the park entrance, which you can supposedly swim up to a grotto. I took pictures of the dark water at the entrance, but we did [i]not[/i] try to swim in the cave. We weren't equipped for underwater spelunking, and we aren't stupid (or crazy). I choose to believe that there are amazing delights beyond the entrance of this place. I leave it to others to find out...
Leaving the cave, we forded a washed out road (for the fourth time), and headed back south. This area gets a ridiculous amount of rain (40+ inches), so things like potholes and washouts are common. Given the dam breaking a couple of months back, local governments have bigger issues than a few inches of water on the road.
On the way back through Hanalei, we saw this Hawaiian Church of Christ. I imagine that in this setting, it is a bit easier to have Faith, but judge for yourself...
The remainder of the day was spent in driving back to Poipu after a few stops for dinner and souvenirs. Tomorrow, we plan on relaxing here at the resort.
Posted by Chris at May 16, 2006 01:16 AM