On our third day we opted to spend some time on the south shore. We did indeed spend time there, but pretty much every part of the day that we planned ended up different than expected.
To start with, we drove to an area known as the Maha'ilepu Beaches. Our desired destination was the secluded Ha'ula Beach, which required a decent walk from where the road ended. However, we didn't take our guidebook with us on the walk since we already had a ton to carry. That was a mistake. It would have been helpful to realize that where we decided to turn around was actually the start of the trail. As the book notes: "The trail starts where a fence ends at the cliff's edge." They were not kidding. We got to a fence that went right up to the edge of a cliff, and we just were not willing to try to climb over the fence. So, we started walking back towards the car along the coast. The image below is looking towards where Ha'ula is located.
Pointing my camera in the other direction, we saw this:
Just a little bit farther along the shore we found a little inlet that was perfect for us. We got to dip our toes in the water and watch the wind surfers in the distance. None of these beaches are really swimming beaches so we didn't miss out on that.
We had to be out of the area by 6pm because the road that takes you to these beaches is private property, and they lock the gates at 6. So, I was in a panic wanting to make sure we wouldn't get locked in. We were the last car out of the park so you can imagine how worried I was getting. I heaved a huge sigh of relief when I saw that the gate was open.
After our adventure we had planned to go to the Sheraton, which is supposed to be the best place to have drinks while watching the sun set. Well, we made it to the Sheraton, but while I was in the restroom, Kyle met a family (with a little boy slightly older than Logan and using the same stroller we own) spending time on the beach in front of the Sheraton. We spent some time talking to them about the island. They visit Kauai often, and they couldn't believe we would spend time driving from one end of the island to the other in one trip. Guess you have to be from NM to not be bothered by a little driving. In any case, we were enjoying our conversation and missed the sunset. Oh well. This is the best image I got.
Even though nothing went as planned, it was still a wonderful day in paradise.
This image is a morning view from the beach in front of our condo. The palm trees up on the right are next to our pool.
Sadly I had Kyle post this after reviewing it and I forgot to mention where we ate for the day. We ate at the Brick Oven Pizza next to our condo for lunch. Food was fine, but Kyle had the best piña colada for the whole trip there. After a late night walking by the Sheraton, we ate at Burger King, which was crazy expensive. We also did a side trip to Costco earlier in the day to buy the local rum. It was cheaper there by about $6 a bottle than a the grocery stores or the rum plantation. The rum is awesome though. Highly recommend you go for the free tasting, which we did on day 2. Kyle also picked up some Hawaiian shirts there that were significantly cheaper than elsewhere.
To start with, we drove to an area known as the Maha'ilepu Beaches. Our desired destination was the secluded Ha'ula Beach, which required a decent walk from where the road ended. However, we didn't take our guidebook with us on the walk since we already had a ton to carry. That was a mistake. It would have been helpful to realize that where we decided to turn around was actually the start of the trail. As the book notes: "The trail starts where a fence ends at the cliff's edge." They were not kidding. We got to a fence that went right up to the edge of a cliff, and we just were not willing to try to climb over the fence. So, we started walking back towards the car along the coast. The image below is looking towards where Ha'ula is located.
After our adventure we had planned to go to the Sheraton, which is supposed to be the best place to have drinks while watching the sun set. Well, we made it to the Sheraton, but while I was in the restroom, Kyle met a family (with a little boy slightly older than Logan and using the same stroller we own) spending time on the beach in front of the Sheraton. We spent some time talking to them about the island. They visit Kauai often, and they couldn't believe we would spend time driving from one end of the island to the other in one trip. Guess you have to be from NM to not be bothered by a little driving. In any case, we were enjoying our conversation and missed the sunset. Oh well. This is the best image I got.
Even though nothing went as planned, it was still a wonderful day in paradise.
This image is a morning view from the beach in front of our condo. The palm trees up on the right are next to our pool.
Sadly I had Kyle post this after reviewing it and I forgot to mention where we ate for the day. We ate at the Brick Oven Pizza next to our condo for lunch. Food was fine, but Kyle had the best piña colada for the whole trip there. After a late night walking by the Sheraton, we ate at Burger King, which was crazy expensive. We also did a side trip to Costco earlier in the day to buy the local rum. It was cheaper there by about $6 a bottle than a the grocery stores or the rum plantation. The rum is awesome though. Highly recommend you go for the free tasting, which we did on day 2. Kyle also picked up some Hawaiian shirts there that were significantly cheaper than elsewhere.
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