3/23/22: Denver-Dreamy Kauai, Hawaii

Family and friends,

Years ago on our way to Australia, Steven and I stopped for a couple of days on the Hawaiian island of Oahu to break up our long flight. Neither of us was terribly impressed but we were very curious to tour some of the other islands when we had another chance. We thought that would be at the end of our 4.5 month-long trip that had begun in March of 2020 but Covid got in the way of course. So, here we were, two years later flying off to Paradise aka Hawaii yet again so we could use our Hawaiian Airlines miles before they expired. After a single day on Kauai, the first of three islands we’d be visiting over the next three weeks, Hawaii had us hooked! I think you’ll agree when you read this post or just scroll through the photos. I kid you not even if it is April Fool’s Day!

All the best to you and your loved ones,

Annie

Steven and I can’t exactly say with a straight face that we’d spent a long hard winter contending with Denver’s snow and cold weather. After all, we’d spent most of December bopping from island to island in French Polynesia, escaped for a long weekend to sunny Palm Springs, California for Steven’s birthday, and spent all of February in the Valley of the Sun aka Phoenix. We were sure glad nonetheless to fly off to Paradise, I mean Hawaii, just three weeks later when snowstorm after snowstorm hit Denver. Normally, we wouldn’t have left home so soon but we wanted/needed to take advantage of our expiring Hawaiian Airlines credits from 2020 when a trip to the islands had to be canceled because of Covid.

The gateway to the island of Kauai, our home for the next eight nights, is the town of Lihue, located near the island’s southern tip. A few minutes’ drive north of the airport on the East Side of the island was Wailua River. The area was prized by Hawaiians as far back as the 14th century for its fertile soil, abundant fresh water, offshore fishing, and a long sandy beach to land their canoes. As Wailua was a center for Hawaiian chiefs and priests, it was where they built their heiau or sacred sites and homes. They were responsible for overseeing religious traditions and maintaining the social, economic, and political well-being of the community. 

Adjacent to the river overlook was the sacred site known as Poliahu Heiau, one of the largest pre-Christian temples on the island. Many generations ago, each stone was brought up by hand to this bluff from the rivers below to build the heiau or temple. The strategic location with sweeping views of the Wailua River from the uplands to the sea would have been handy in times of war. Poliahu was believed to have been dedicated to the god Ku for success in war.

Before the traditional Hawaiian religious system was abolished after 1819, features inside the heiau would have included an altar made of lashed poles for offerings, an oracle tower where the priests communicated with the gods, a thatched house where temple drums were stored, and an oven house where temple fires were kept and traditional foods were prepared.

As the heiau was considered sacred to the Hawaiian people, visitors were asked to show respect by not walking on its walls.

As we returned to our car, we saw a man drive up in his truck, honking his horn, and shouting out his window. Within seconds, scores of wild chickens came running up from the underbrush to be fed – we’d never seen anything like it! Clearly, they were accustomed to being fed. It was our first sense of the massive numbers of chickens we were soon to see all over Kauai.

A few miles further inland was a scenic lookout for Opaekaa Falls which plunged hundreds of feet to a pool below. Opaekaa translates to “rolling shrimp” because native crustaceans were once so plentiful they could be seen falling into the falls!

Across the street was another lovely view of the mighty Wailua River, this time with lots of kayakers visible even from the lookout.

In the distance we could just see Wai’ake-ale Mountain, the highest point on the island at 5,243 feet, nearly the same altitude as Denver. Averaging 400-600 inches of rain a year, it’s one of the world’s wettest spots.

We continued to drive further inland, stopping at Keahua Arboretum whose colorful bridge mural had been painted by art students at the nearby Kapa’a High School.

Steven and I wished there were a sign indicating the name of this tree with the very unusual bark.

We walked the short trail along the river but would have been okay if we’d given the arboretum a miss as there was little to appreciate except for the ‘striped’ tree.

On the way back down the ‘mountain,’ we pulled into a parking lot to put in the next sight on Google Maps and were happy the parking spot happened to be the location for Kauai’s Hindu Monastery, San Marga Iralvan Temple.

Next to the Ganesha shrine was a sacred grove of holy Rudraksha trees planted in 1978. Their common name was Blue Marble Tree because of the striking cobalt-blue color of their fruit which we’d never seen before. That made sense after learning a Rudraksha Forest was rare in the US.

It was this sort of view that made getting up at 2 that morning to catch the early flight from Denver to Kauai so worthwhile! The panoramic views of the East Side aka the Coconut Coast from the Kaiakea Lookout were too gorgeous to pass up. Little did we realize the location was also the site of a traditional Hawaiian legend whose story about the names of the state’s winds was collected and recorded in the late 1800s.

The seaside path was as pretty as it gets as long as you didn’t daydream or were on the lookout for humpback whales when cyclists came barreling by!

Back inland a while later, we took a scenic detour to the Spalding Monument named after a Civil War veteran, Colonel Z. S. Spalding, owner of the Kealia Sugar Plantation in the late 1800s.

The monument honored the man who built a church and English school for the Portuguese plantation workers and their children who had recently arrived. What a shame no funds had been spent on the dilapidated memorial as even the central plaque was missing.

As it was mid-afternoon by then, we stopped at the highly recommended Moloaa Sunrise Fruit Stand hoping to grab a bite to eat and something to drink. After waiting for what seemed like a good while, we finally were told in a none-too-pleasant tone that only smoothies were being served. Sadly, as I write this after spending more than a week on Kauai, we were surprised by how unfriendly so many of the islanders we met have been. 

I know two of my brothers in Canada would have been amused by this addition to the stop sign but I didn’t want to add fuel to the fire of the mask or non-mask debate!

We finally headed up to the island’s North Shore where we had rented a condo in the resort community of Princeville for the next three nights. Our last five nights on Kauai would be spent on the South Shore.

As we looked for a grocery store, we chanced on some more OMG views – these were of the Hanalei Valley and the Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge, one of several in Hawaii where the decline of wetlands and waterfowl is being reversed. 

Two hundred years ago, large populations of Hawaiian waterbirds were supported by natural wetlands and taro ponds were cultivated by the Polynesians. Now though, less than five percent of the natural wetlands and taro ponds remain as sugar cane, etc have replaced most of the waterfall habitats. I read that farmers are raising their taro crops in ways that benefit wildlife at Hanalei, through a cooperative program with the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Poseidon and his trident welcomed residents and guests to Princeville!

Next post: Touring the exceptional Limahuli National Tropical Botanical Gardens.

Posted on April Fool’s Day, 2022, from the town of Kihei on the island of Maui, the second of three islands we’re visiting on this exciting Hawaiian vacation. After less than a day here on Maui, we can already see we’re in for a real treat exploring its nooks and crannies from land and from the sea.

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