There are no roads in the incredible Na Pali cliffs area, it’s far too steep and treacherous for a roadway. However, one can drive from the northern end of the island to the southwestern end in a couple of hours – depending on traffic, of course. Below is the island’s map, showing the places we visited during our stay at the south shore:

Having a friend who’s lived in this tropical paradise and whom I had not seen for decades added a new dimension to our visit. Leah moved here from California almost 20 years ago, fell in love with the island, and never left – who can blame her? She was so gracious, carving out two days of her time to drive us all around the island on a grand tour. She made our trip so much more awesome, thank you, Leah! The Covid restrictions on the island were very strict, and being a nurse she was able to tell us that her small clinic had received no Covid patients during the past few months.

Waimea Canyon and Koke’e State Park are practically in Leah’s back yard, so they were our first outing. The drive on the scenic route took us above 3,000′ and it was nice and cool there. It was exciting to get up close to what we had seen from the helicopter and actually touch the red dirt:

The horizontal layers and colors on the walls reflect a series of lava flows that occurred over the past 4-5 million years. The reddish hues show the varying levels of iron oxide and the chemical make-up of the lava that is present. The red soil is what’s used to dye the T-shirts sold at the Red Dirt stores here.

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Unlike the Grand Canyon we couldn’t hike down, but there are several trails around the rim which begin at nearby Koke’e State Park. Leah led us to one that went to the top of 800′ Waipoo Falls, the signature feature of Waimea Canyon. We went to the top of the waterfall but couldn’t see it cascading all the way to the bottom. But what a view! It was a popular trail, and tough enough that some people gave up before making it to the falls. It took us a couple of hours to finish the beautiful 4-mile round trip journey:

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After the hike we drove further, up to the highest point of the canyon at over 4,000′. We took a quick hike at Pihea Trail, which offered expansive views from a ridge looking down into the lush oasis of Kalalau Valley. We stopped at the Pihea Overlook, which is the highest rim point of Kalalau Valley.

The next morning Leah drove us from the end of the road on the west side to almost the end of the road on the north shore (see the map). We were a bit disappointed that we missed the coffee tour at the Kauai Coffee Company because we didn’t have a reservation. But coffee tasting was available and we grabbed a pound of coffee grown and produced in America!

At the northern end of the island, access to Hanalei Bay at the most northern point was restricted due to a landslide across the road and ongoing repairs. We didn’t want to sit there and wait so we headed back to the south shore. Leah pointed out several points of interest along the way that we could check out later.

And that’s exactly what we did during the next few days!

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I love botanical gardens, and Kauai has seven of them – two of which were located near our rented unit. The Allerton and McBryde Gardens are part of the network of five botanical gardens under the National Tropical Botanicals with locations in Hawaii and Florida. I wanted to check out the home of the famous tree in which the dinosaur’s egg was found in “Jurassic Park” at Allerton Garden. Unfortunately, because of the pandemic, visits to the garden were by timed access appointment only and it was fully booked. Lucky for me there was one spot available at Mcbryde Botanical Garden, so off I went!

With a limited number of visitors every two hours, the sprawling garden was a huge relief from the required face covering. I could breathe fresh air and smell the fragrance of the tropical flowers. Being here also reminded me of my mom’s garden in the Philippines which was full of Hibiscus:

Neither of us is into surfing or ocean swimming, but the south shore is a hotspot for those activities with several beaches to choose from. All beaches are public in Kauai, so public access must be included even if the beach fronts a resort or private home.

We walked the coastal Maha’ulepu Heritage Trail that began at Shipwreck Beach near the Grand Hyatt in Keoneloa Bay. It led us to what looked like an alien landscape. The rock formations were created over thousands of years from sand dunes weathered by crashing wave action, and carved sharp ridges with deep pockets were the result. The scientific explanation is fascinating, in that lithification occurred when sediments compacted, filling pores with ground water containing high levels of minerals. It all translates to spectacular and unusual formations like none we’ve seen before.

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Just 5 minutes from our condo was another natural phenomenon, the Spouting Horn. The explanation was that it formed because of the repeated waves crashing onto the lava rocks and forming narrow openings in them. Every time a wave hits the rocks the water is forced into this narrow opening and shoots up into the air:

The south shore area and the entire island has no shortage of bright vibrant flowering trees lining the streets, towering majestic trees everywhere and beautiful green mountains. Driving in and around the west and south areas we could really feel we were in a tropical paradise. These are my drive-by photos as we cruised along:

We enjoyed our stay and loved our rented condo at Koloa in the south shore area. We think it was a perfect home base for six days, with close proximity to the activities we did. Not to mention the ocean and rainbow views, surfer action and wonderful sunsets. It was a winner!

Next up: Moving to the east side