Sara Hopper's Guest Blog from Kauai
Sara Hopper, Director of Social Media Content for MSLO and who also works on this blog, recently visited Poipu Beach, Kauai, and wanted to share some of her photos and what she learned about the Hawaiian culture.
My sister, Meg, and I live on opposite sides of the country and, instead of visiting each other, go on vacation together a few times a year. This year, we decided to visit the Hawaiian island of Kauai. It is the oldest of the main Hawaiian islands and the fourth largest. It is nicknamed the Garden Isle, which is certainly apparent by the abundance of plants and flowers. We took advantage of a lot of beach time, but since we like to be active we also went on a few types of excursions. While the vacation was very relaxing, it was also very educational as I learned much about the history and culture of Hawaii. We had a lovely time and will fortunately be returning sooner than we thought; when Meg returned home from vacation, her boyfriend proposed to her and the two will be married on the beach in Kauai at the end of August!
1 We stayed at the Sheraton Kauai Resort in Poipu Beach. The temperatures hovered in the eighties during the day and the seventies at night.
2 The entire beach resort was destroyed during Hurricane Iniki in 1992 and had to be completely rebuilt.. When we arrived, they were still renovating parts of the hotel.
3 The staff told us it was not unusual to see monk seals sunning themselves on the beach. This seal was very cute, rolling around and occasionally scratching himself with his flipper. They are an endangered species, known to native Hawaiians as ʻIlio-holo-i-ka-uaua, or "dog that runs in rough water."
4 The first excursion we went on was an all day adventure with Outfitters Kauai. It began with a two mile kayak on the Hule'ia River. http://www.outfitterskauai.com/
5 My sister and I love to kayak together, though she's much better at it than I. She used to row crew in high school! I always let her steer.
6 Along the way, we saw the rope swing used by Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones in the film, "Raiders of the Lost Ark."
7 Our group disembarked on the shore and began a hike through the forest.
8 We stopped at a small natural pool to take a dip and try out a rope swing. This pool was can be seen in the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides," starring Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruz.
9 Meg and I decided the water was a bit too cold to jump into, and instead chose to pose for this photo.
10 It's easy to see why Kauai is perfect for films. On one island, you have beautiful beaches, untouched rainforests, and amazing rocky cliffs.
11 This area is called Kipu Ranch and was owned by William Hyde Rice. He purchased the land from Princess Ruth Keʻelikōlani for $3,000 to breed cattle and horses. The area is still privately owned and preserved, but the family graciously allows tours to go through it.
12 The next part of the trip was riding on a tractor pulled wagon to last destination, while enjoying the scenic views.
13 Here are some of the cattle still bred on Kipu Ranch. Barely any of the animals or plants found on Kauai are native. Cows, chicken, and coffee plants were all brought here by settlers.
14 There are wild chickens running all over Kauai, as common as pigeons in New York City. Every where we went, there were chickens pecking at our feet!
15 We arrived at our next stop, where we would be riding on a zipline. Our guides helped us into our gear and gave us a safety lesson.
16 First, we had to walk across this long, narrow, wobbly bridge as a test to make sure we were ready for the zipline. I did feel a little like Indiana Jones crossing it.
17 The first zipline was about 800 feet high over flowering trees. Here's my sister coming down the line.
18 The second zipline was 1800 feet high and tandem, so my sister and I could zip together.
19 In ziplining, you wear a harness that connects you to a cable by a metal pulley. It's a bit daunting when you realize that's all that is keeping you from plummeting 1800 feet into the forest!
20 The ride only lasts 90 seconds, but it gives you an amazing aerial view of the landscape.
21 Afterwards, we hiked back through the forest to the river bank and got a ride back to town. Many of the hiking paths had been destroyed recently by large amounts of rainfall and flooding, so we had to take a few alternate routes.
22 The northern part of Kauai, called the Na'Pali Coast, is only accessible by boat, helicopter, or foot. Na'Pali is the Hawaiian word for cliffs. We took a sunset boat tour on a 60 foot catamaran provided by Kauai Sea Tours. www.kauaiseatours.com
23 The crew members had no qualms with the motion, unlike the rest of us who were gripping on to the railings. They were a very nice crew, full of helpful information and stories of the island.
24 We passed many sugar plantations. Sugarcane used to be the a major industry in Kauai but now much of this land is used for cattle ranching instead. Sugarcane requires a lot of water to grow and it has become too costly for production.
25 This area, Waimea Canyon, may look familiar to fans of "Jurassic Park." Other movies filmed here include "Six Days, Seven Nights" and the 2005 remake of "King Kong."
26 Nualolo Kai is marked by a giant X said to be created by Pele, the goddess of fire, lightning, wind, and volcanoes. Many volcanic phenomena have been named after her, such as Pele's hair and Pele's tears.
27 A beautiful sea cove
28 Kalalua Valley is the widest and most famous of the Na'Pali valleys. Above are "The Spires," pinnacle-shaped cliff formations. This area is also sometimes referred to as "The Cathedral."
29 We were also entertained by many Hawaiian spinner dolphins. They can spin up to eight revolutions as they leap through the air. They are both smaller and friendlier than bottlenose dolphins and like to swim in the wake of boats.
30 After a nice dinner on the boat, we stopped to watch the sunset over the ocean before returning to port.
31 On the last day of our trip, we decided we wanted to fit in as much ocean life as possible.
32 We signed up for a snorkeling trip through Kauai Z Tourz. It began with a boat ride and took us snorkeling in two locations, Lawai Kai and Allerton Bay. http://www.tombarefoot.com/kauai/kauai_z_tourz.html
33 Those fins poking out of the waters are more of our spinner dolphin friends. They travel in pods of as few as twenty and as many as hundreds.
34 There were Hawaiian green sea turtles everywhere!
35 It was exciting to be able to swim so close to them. This area is nicknamed "The House of Turtles." They live in caves on the ocean floor in shallow water, coming up for air and to munch on seagrasses.
36 At the second snorkeling location, there were many schools of fish, like these black triggerfish, called Humuhumu'ele'ele in Hawaiian. In the water, they appear black but when taken out of the water, you can see they are actually dark blue and green.
37 As soon as we got back into the boat, our dolphin friends came to join us again. It was a wonderful trip and I can't wait to go back for my sister's wedding!
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
What an exciting vacation.
Pictures # 21 and 22, and 25-28, and #30, are just picture perfect. They would look great blown up and hanging on my wall.
Gloria G!!
Posted by: Gloria | July 31st, 2012 at 12:46 am
Thanks
Posted by: ann | July 31st, 2012 at 2:52 am
Sara-Thank you so much for the fantastic capsule tour!!! I loved it!! "The Cathedral" is amazing. What a magical , gorgeous, entertaining place Kauai is. Congratulations to your sister Meg on her engagement, and may you have a wonderful time when you return for her wedding!! Thank you again.
Posted by: Gail Hildreth | July 31st, 2012 at 6:33 am
Sara, your pictures are stunning! I've never heard of the island of Kauai, it's beautiful and looks less crowded than the other Hawaiian islands.How fun that you vacation with your sister and get to return for her wedding soon! Congrats Meg! Thanks for sharing your pictures Sara, and by the way, this is how I like to vacation, mixing in relaxation with adventure and physical activity, perfect!!
Posted by: Cindy F | July 31st, 2012 at 6:39 am
Hi Sara,
WOW, you had an amazing trip, along with your sister. The pictures are spectacular. Thank you for sharing your trip with us. It looks like the two of you were busy every minute of your vacation. Who can blame you, that place has so many different things to offer. Congratulations to your sister and hopefully, you can post another guest blog when you go back for the wedding. If you do, see if you can find a Chow somewhere on the island that wants it's picture taken.
As Maddox would say, hehehehehehehe.
Karen
Posted by: Karen Tracy | July 31st, 2012 at 6:56 am
Hi Sara,
What a beautiful impressive place and obviously a perfect place to film a movie. You sure covered a lot of territory and did some exciting things but that's the only way to spend a vacation. I had to laugh at the 90 second ride on the zipline because that would seem like an eternity to me! I don't do well with heights but I bet that view was great. How nice that your sister's wedding will take place there - her guests are going to love it. Trish
Posted by: Trish | July 31st, 2012 at 9:31 am
Sara,
Thanks for sharig your photos they are beautiful! Enjoy your time again on your sisters wedding.
Posted by: KLBrown | July 31st, 2012 at 9:53 am
Hi Sara, Thank you so much for this fantastic blog you shared with us today about your trip to Kauai, Hawaii with your lovely sister, Meg! You girls must have had a fabulous time there and these photos are absolutely stunning! I have never been there before, but your tour makes me feel like I have been there now! I love seeing your photos over and over! Congratulations on your upcoming wedding, Meg! Would be fun to see a blog about that, too! Please say Hi to our dearest friend, Martha! Sure hope all of you have another great day! Off to see The Daily Wag comments about "Holes"! Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | July 31st, 2012 at 10:09 am
Enjoyed the pictures of Kauai. Always wondered where "six Days Seven Nights"
was filmed. The movie is one of my favorites. Thanks for sharing.
Posted by: Vivian Price | July 31st, 2012 at 1:05 pm
Sara, I am in Kihei, Maui, HI at this moment. You are so right about all the green foliage...they have it here too! Does the Scissor grass grow on Kauai? This grass looks like astro turf but feels like you are walking on a carpet. Love your pictures.
Posted by: Vicki | July 31st, 2012 at 3:10 pm
We were there 40 yrs ago on our honeymoon and stayed next to the Sheraton at Poipu Beach Hotel which was totally destroyed and has never been rebuilt to our knowledge. It was nice to see the familiar beach. We saw the sugarcane fields and documented what we saw(just happened upon them). I liked the Coco Palms Resort which was a royalty playground ( I think it has been gone a long time) and we went to a museum that probably is still there and Waimea Canyon. We also liked the Botanic Gardens. We had a guidebook "Hawaii on $10 a day"! We loved all the seafood. We are planning on going in June so thanks for a reminder of what we will see and congratulations to your sister!
Posted by: Kandy Maharas | July 31st, 2012 at 4:01 pm
I went to Hawaiin back in October for my honeymoon and Kauai was one of the islands we visited. It really is a magical place! We did the sunset boat cruise as well and it is a day I will never forget!
Posted by: Trish condo | July 31st, 2012 at 4:47 pm
Your pictures and descriptions were fantastic! There was also another famous TV movie (mini-series) filmed there in 1983: "The Thorn Birds," starring Richard Chamberland and Rachel Ward.
Have fun on your return trip and best wishes to your sister!
Posted by: Roberta Palumbo | July 31st, 2012 at 9:13 pm
Sara, you did a beautiful job with the photo's. It looks like you had an awesome trip!! I would love to visit there. Just beautiful! Thank you Sara..
Jan
Posted by: Jan Kolnik | July 31st, 2012 at 11:47 pm
thank you for every thing that you you give to me lovely place lovely life lovely thinking lovely mind thank you again
Posted by: pawanya | August 2nd, 2012 at 9:59 pm
Sara, You've done an amazing job detailing all there is to see and do on the isle of Kauai. Thanks for the great tour! I enjoyed my honeymoon on Kaui 25 years ago and was eager to learn more about it's history and to see how lovely it remains. Congratulations to your sister, Meg and may she have an amazing wedding and many years of happiness to come.
Posted by: Roger | August 4th, 2012 at 1:25 pm
Nice blog Sara and loved those photos.
Thanks
Posted by: Monica Horgan | August 9th, 2012 at 4:26 pm