Disclaimer: Due to extreme relaxation the timeline of events may not exactly match the post. In the end we did all the things so lets not worry about the order.
Well I think I have been putting off posting about our trip to Hawaii because once I post about a trip then it is officially over. I never wanted to come home from this trip.
This was my first trip to Hawaii and I have to say that I completely get why people are in love with the place. We were in Kauai for 9 days.
We were invited to this amazing paradise by our friends Robyn and Phil. The offer was presented to us an "engagemoon" which we could never pass up. It was an amazing time to say the least.
Natalie and I flew in on Friday night and spent the first evening having dinner by the ocean and beginning the unwinding process. We spent Saturday hanging out on the beach watching the surfers roll by. We met Robyn and Phil at the airport around 3 and headed to their place in Poipu. When we got to the timeshare I could not believe how beautiful it was. We were 100 yards from the water. We could hear the waves from our room. Now that was living!!
The whole trip was a great mix of relaxing with friends and getting out to explore the island. We spent the first few days settling in and then ramped up the adventure. Natalie and I took an amazing zodiac (inflatable motorboat) ride up the Na Pali coast. I have seen this area written up in backpacker many times and instantly start to drool. Seeing this amazing area from the water was one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. You will have to check out the pictures because words cannot do this area justice. Come to think of it photos cannot really do the area justice either. This was a 5 hour boat tour with the last hour being a stopover for snorkeling. At this point I did not think the trip could have gotten better but after throwing on fins and a mask I jumped into a new world. With your head underwater you could hear the whales calling to each other. After about 10 minutes in the water a turtle swam by and I had the amazing experience of diving down and swimming along with him about 5 feet away from my mask. Wow!!
The night after the boat tour we all packed up and headed to a luau. This turned out to be a bit touristy but was fun as well. After fighting a bunch of tourists for a table we realized why we loved being on vacation with just 4 people. The show was good though and we had a great time.
The next day the girls were getting massages so Phil and I picked up some snorkeling gear from the resort and set off to find a place to swim around and see some fish. After doing a little driving we decided to go check out the area where we had signed up to dive later in the week. We were not out long but it was great to be in the water checking out the fish and we knew we would be back in a few days.
We headed back to meet the girls and load up in the car for a little tour-de-island. We drive up to the top of the island with our final destination being the town of Hanalei (where puff the magic dragon lived by the sea). Along the way we stopped off for a hike/swim in the Queens bath. This was a really cool tide pool right on the edge of the pacific where waves would keep the water moving as they splashed over the top but for the most part the water was very calm. We swam and lounged around for a long time before we could bring ourselves to leave. Near the end of the day we rolled into Hanalei which ended up being one of my favorite towns of the trip. I am not quite sure why I loved this town but it had a great feel to it. At this point of the island the mountains come almost directly down into the ocean. A very very peaceful place to be.
The next day Robyn and Phil headed to do a little sight seeing while Natalie and I roamed the beaches near the room and did a little exploring. We discovered a bar down the road that served the best fish tacos I have ever eaten. The only thing planned for the day was a dive class in the pool where Phil and I would get briefed on how to use our equipment for the dive we had scheduled for Saturday. Everyone had a great relaxing day and settled in even more. That afternoon as Phil and I were getting our dive instruction in the pool the girls came down and had a few drinks. After our class wrapped up we all sat in the sun sipping pineapple drinks until the sun started to dip. Ahhhhh.....
Friday (so sad that it was Friday already) we explored a beach with Phil. I wish I remembered the name of the beach because it was the most beautiful one we saw. To get there we had to push the limits of the rental car a bit but after navigating the ruts and rocks we parked safely and walked the last 100 yards to a beach tucked away by limestone cliffs. Again, you will have to look at the pictures since words cannot do this place justice. We made it back to the room in time to walk up the hill and watch the sun set over the surf.
Saturday we got up to watch the sun rise (as we did most mornings we were there) and then Phil and I headed off to meet our dive guide at 8am. We got a fish briefing of what we would see underwater and the signs our guide would use underwater as well as a quick safety refresher and we were off into the water. The last time I went diving was in Australia and they motored us about a mile offshore before putting all our gear on us and letting us fall over the side of the boat. In that little adventure I kind of freaked out but this time we just walked into the water and calmly slipped into a different world. Within 10 minutes we were seeing turtles, moray eels, angel fish, and coral. At one point a huge turtle swam up from underneath us and came within 2 feet of me. It was so amazing to see such a huge animal effortlessly glide by. We were under water for almost 50 minutes but it passed by like we just blinked. I could have stayed out all day diving and swimming with all that sea life.
After turning in our dive gear we headed back to the room and took it easy. It was very sad that we were already to Saturday. We were looking forward to a great dinner to cap the trip off though. We sat down to our nearly waterfront table 30 minutes before the sun began to set. It was great being in a place like that with such good friends. We snapped a few pictures as the sun settled into the ocean and waved goodbye to it for the last time.
Sunday was a very early wakeup to catch our plane. I was physically pained to leave the place and cannot wait to go back one day. I cannot thank Robyn and Phil enough for sharing that amazing place with us.
1 comment:
AAAAAAAAmazing pictures! How lucky are you guys??!!
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