Time to see the island! We reorganized our luggage for hiking and camping, loaded up the car, and headed north. Very quickly we entered the town of Wailua along the Wailua river. This river is where the ancient kings of Kauai lived, many temples lined the river up to the top of Mount Wai ‘ale ‘ale, Kauai’s tallest mountain located in the center of the island. Mat and I pulled over at the beach and briefly checked it out. Going further north, we took another brief detour to see the Kilauea light house. The next detour was a stop at Anini beach to check out the campgrounds since we had reservations there in two nights. The campgrounds looked fabulous! Being a long beach park, there was plenty of space to spread out and not feel cramped by other campers.
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| Kilauea Lighthouse |
We continued west on the northern highway, stopping at the amazing Hanalei overlook, then continuing on to Ke’e beach, the westernmost terminus of the northern highway. The parking lot was packed, since Ke’e beach is also the start of the Kalalau trail. We U-turned it outta there and went back to Haena beach park where we had camping reservations for the next two nights. Parking there was tight but we were able to squeeze into a spot. We set up our tent and prepared for snorkeling. They were doing road construction not 30 yards from our campsite so a great reason to hit the beach. And what a beautiful beach it is! Golden sands, blue seas & skies.
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| Hanalei Overlook |
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| Campsite at Haena Beach |
We walked up the beach towards the reef and best snorkeling, only to turn around and have our breath taken away at the sight of steep green cliffs rising from behind our campground. Truly beautiful! We found a spot to settle and don our snorkeling gear before wading in. This part of the beach, called Tunnels Beach, was really cool for snorkeling!! A steep drop off into 40 feet of water was 50 yards out from the shore, but this drop off is the ending of a lava shelf with all sorts of tubes and crevasses. Apparently it is a popular place to shore scuba dive and I can definitely see why. We wish we could go deeper to check out the caves. Lots of fishes live here. We spotted one fish we’d never seen before: a medium sized neon blue with a long, flute-like mouth.
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| Tunnels Beach |
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| Spires at Tunnels Beach |
The current started to get strong so we got out. A brisk walk back to camp to change and mix some drinks, then back to the beach to watch an amazing sunset. Although the campground can feel a little crowded, this is a stunning location.
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| Sunset at Tunnels Beach |
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