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Kaua’i |
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Wednesday, August 27, 2008 Cruising To The Nā Pali Coast |
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For Kathie, the one of the best parts of going to tropical destinations has always been when we go on sailing trip. In St. Maarten and St. Lucia, these were among her favorite days on the trips. When we went to Guadeloupe earlier this year, our inability to find a day charter was one of her biggest disappointments. Needless to say, going boating was at the top of her list of priorities! Our hope was to go sailing, but the simple reality is that if you go sailing to the Nā Pali Coast, it will take you forever to get there! As a result, we ended up settling for a motorized catamaran. Not the ideal, but still a good time! |
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Not my picture, but it is an excellent panoramic shot to illustrate the magnificent beauty of this area! |
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If you look at a roadmap of Kaua’i, you’ll notice that there isn’t a road circling the entire island, missing a gap of about twenty miles. The reason is quite simple – the impressive Nā Pali Coastline is so rugged that it renders it impassable by any road. With cliffs soaring 5000 feet into the Pacific sky and much of the coast almost completely vertical, it would be impossible to build anything wider than the footpath that creeps along the coastline (sometimes, 2,000 to 3,000 feet up the side of the cliff!). If you travel by boat, however, the scene is simply stunning! |
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We met our catamaran on Anini Beach and made our way about twelve miles to the west for the cruise along this stunning coastline. At the top of these peaks are the Alaka’i Swamps, a wetland where much of the island’s rainfall accumulates. It’s easy to see the impact of the water draining out of this swamp, as it has carved our huge chasms on its way to the Pacific! As we cruised along, you could make out the many sea caves along the coast. Many of these are used by hikers and kayakers looking for some overnight shelter, but some off them are big enough for our entire boat to make its way into! |
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Fortunately, no one started humming “… a three-hour tour…” |
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There were quite a few caves along the coast. The recommendation is that you DON’T sleep in them because of rockslides covering the entrances! |
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So instead of walking into them… |
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...we SAILED into them! |
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At 5000+ feet high, these cliffs were stunning! I sometimes felt like I was looking up at a Gothic cathedral! |
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We did some snorkeling at the cruise’s furthest most point, but it definitely wasn’t too impressive, especially if you compare it to some of the swimming we did later in the week. The cruise back to the Anini Beach was pretty rough (especially for some of our shipmates!), but was enjoyable as much of the cloud-cover disappeared, allowing the sun to light up the cliff’s beauty! (see some of the pictures from Saturday’s helicopter flight to get the true beauty of this region) We also saw quite a few sea turtles as we motored along, making it that much more enjoyable! |
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Watching for green sea turtles on our way home. |
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A beautiful farewell, er, aloha! |
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Wisely, we had made dinner arrangements back at the hotel at the Tidepools Restaurant because we were all pretty wiped out. The day’s cruise may not have been the way we wanted it to go, but the views more than made up for it!
Tomorrow: A Day’s Plans Gone Awry |
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