Get lost within natural beauty
THE instant Hawaii’s oldest and northernmost island, Kauai (also known as the Garden Isle), meets the eye, the call to adventure stirs the soul – thanks, perhaps, to cinematic familiarity.
Its pristine natural world is, after all, where movies such as Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and Jurassic Park (1993) were filmed. Upon arrival, you might experience a marked desire to don an Indiana Jones-style fedora and pursue as many outdoor escapades as possible.
Lift your spirit
As you escape the ground on Safari Helicopters’ Deluxe Waterfall Safari, John Williams’ Raider’s March – the theme to Raiders of the Lost Ark – dashes through your headphones.
The song choice is totally appropriate – one of the first sights on this 55-minute flight is the Hule‘ia River, which features in the first Indiana Jones film – and is also a kayaking destination.
From here, the music changes. Flying over a mountain range, you enter the lush Hanapepe Valley, where waters gush from Manawaiopuna Falls – the waterfall visible as Jurassic Park’s guests fly into the dinosaur-infested island.
Afterwards, soar over 1087m-deep Waimea Canyon, known as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific, which boasts its own waterfalls, and the beautiful, 24km-long Na Pali Coast, which, with its towering, 914m sea cliffs and remote beaches, features in Jurassic World and other films.
A spin around Kaua‘i’s inviting North Shore, where, like the rest of the island, no structure is taller than a coconut tree, into the Hanalei Valley’s tropical rainforest, and by 1569m Mt Wai‘ale‘ale’s summit crater completes the journey.
An aerial tour is a fitting introduction to Kaua‘i’s beauty spots, and it may inspire you to lace up your hiking boots and venture into the island’s interior for a more intimate look.
Take a hike
Waimea Canyon, the Na Pali Coast Wilderness, and Koke‘e, all state parks in the island’s north-west, offer spectacular hiking possibilities. However, some are best tackled with an experienced guide.
If you’re time poor, embark on a culturally and scientifically significant coastal hike instead. The 3.2km one-way Maha‘ulepu Heritage Trail follows the south coast northeast from Shipwreck Beach to Maha‘ulepu Beach. You’ll travel over 8000-year-old dunes, beside pinnacles, and by rocky Heiau Hoouluia, thought to be an ancient place of worship where fish were offered to the god of the sea.
The trail’s most compelling feature: 6.8ha Makauwahi Cave Reserve, an important archaeological site and a small part of Hawaii’s largest limestone cave complex. The site’s fossil-bearing sediments have revealed 10,000 years of Kaua‘i’s history, including evidence of now-extinct bird species such as the tortoise-jawed moa-nalo (“lost fowl”).
Follow the trail around the rim of a central sinkhole and down to a small, triangular cave opening, which requires a metre or so of crawling before you can stand and enter the sinkhole’s open-air, palmadorned atrium.
A volunteer may be available to share some insights and divulge the reserve’s Hollywood connections. Outside the cave is the fenced home of the reserve’s African spurred tortoises. The endearing reptiles – all former pets that outgrew their owners – serve as an ecological replacement for extinct giant ducks, eating nonnative weeds and, thus, helping preserve native plant species.
Go by sea
How would die-hard adventurers reach the rugged Na Pali Coast if coming by sea?
Source a sea kayak (and guide) and paddle a rigorous 27km for 12 hours through potentially rough ocean waters? Speed towards it on rigid hull raft – a wet, bumpy journey that offers the possibility of entering sea caves, plunging under waterfalls, and exploring remote beaches on foot? Or take it easy, cruising up the coast on a luxurious catamaran, cold beer in hand, watching, mesmerised, as Hawaiian spinner dolphins surf the nearby waves?
Whichever trip appeals to you, make sure you secure at least one water-based vantage.
With its emerald cliffs, deep valleys and ridges cascading towards the turquoise sea, the Na Pali Coast is magnificent enough to drive seasoned travellers to tears, and deserves lengthy perusal.