For our last full day in Kauai Sara and I checked out the east shore. We drove to the roadend beach at Anini past the campground where we had virtually the entire beach to ourselves. I was pretty snorkeled out after the previous day and so found a picturesque tree dangling over the beach to set a hammock up in (photo above). Sara mostly snorkeled. Both were satisfied.
We had a quick detour to see Kilaeua Lighthouse, which seemed like a nice stretch of coast to packraft around (another time maybe). Then down a dirt road deadending at a cliff, we hiked in search of Pila'a Beach. This too we nearly had to ourselves, just a couple locals hanging out. Here there was a broad fringing reef which created some beautifully calm, clear, and colorful waters. I again spent most of the time comfortably in a hammock while Sara snorkeled, even spotting some rays, This was certainly one of the nicer beaches around. I suppose this day was the closest I came to what most people would consider a vacation.
After an appropriate amount of hammock time, we left and drove south to see Poipu and Shipwreck's beaches before driving to Makena and Clarke's where we camped the night. It was great to be able to spend a little time with them. In the morning Makena's curious chickens made packing difficult, following me wherever I went. Sara and I checked out McBryde Gardens in Poipu to kill a little time (learning that virtually every plant we associate with Hawaii is from somewhere else!), then dropped off the rental car and waited for our flight back to the mainland. In about two weeks I was able to get in three very memorable exploration trips. In many ways this only wetted my appetite to return for some expedition-grade adventures with a keen crew.
No comments:
Post a Comment