Kaua'i - The Na Pali coast

Na Pali is Hawaiian for "The Cliffs" and this is wildly spectacular scenery. No wonder movies like King Kong, South Pacific and Jurassic Park chose this area. It's a favorite tour for boats and helicopters, and along its 11 mile length runs the renowned Kalalau Trail. It was formed by rain, waves, and weather on the windward side of the island. That's where the winter storms come. But from the rain, come the lush plant growth that make this area special.

Quick Tips:

On the Kalalau Trail, there's slippery mud in wet weather. Try for a dry day. And remember that Kaua'i red dirt makes for some really permanent stains on shoes and socks.

Best Way To Get Around:

You'll almost certainly need a rental car to get to Ke'e. Most tour boats leave from the south side of the island (Port Allen) passing Polihale and the Pacific Missile Tracking Range on the way.

Thousand foot high cliffs along an incredibly green coast line, with Hawai'i's most famous hiking trail following for about 11 miles. Here's the locale used for such movies as South Pacific, King Kong, and Jurassic Park. For good reason.

So much has been written and put on the web about this most famous of Hawai'i hikes, that I'd be foolish to duplicate. Please read a guide book or surf the web - you'll be rewarded. This is just a personal snapshot of a site about 2 miles down the trail from Ke'e. At Hanakapa'ai Beach, the trail branches, with a 2 mile side trail leading to Hanakapa'ai Falls. That was too much for this non athlete, so we turned back after the beach.

The beach was reward enough. Here, the crashing sea meets perpendicular cliffs and the power of the ocean is apparent in cow-sized boulders rounded by rolling in the surf. Good place not to be in a storm or rough seas! Further back on the trail is a sign warning hikers to seek high ground if a tidal wave threatens.

There's a large centipede in Hawai'i - about the only venomous creature there. And we found one along the trail (see photo). That's only the second we've see - both on the Kalalau, which we've hiked four times over the years. Not to worry. A larger risk is stumbling on a slippery trail (it rained the day before). The soil is red clay and I have a well stained pair of hiking shorts and socks to prove it.

This entry is mainly a way to show photos. On a catamaran voyage, we sailed from Port Allen on a calm but overcast March day, which resulted in dull colors in the pictures. Too bad since the scenery is spectacular. And it probably didn't help that these film camera photos were converted to digital years ago. On the way, we saw sea turtles swimming far offshore.

On this 2002 trip, we were favored by a Kona wind that quieted the normally choppy winter seas on the North Shore. Sunny skies and a whale sighting added to the adventure of this spectacular shoreline. This is the area featured in a number of movies, including King Kong. One of the photos shows that beach with its natural bridge in the background.