Hawaii Vaycay: Part 4 - Kauai

If I were going to publish my post about Kauai as if I were writing an academic paper and the question was: When travelling to Hawaii, would you or would you not recommend visiting "the Garden Island"? it would look a little something like this:

I. Introduction

1. Anecdote: Story about "scary man" hitchhiker we picked up who got in the car and then proceeded to inform us of all his felonies. 
2. Thesis: While Kauai may ascetically and geographically be the most beautiful of the islands, a prolonged visit is not recommended due to the obnoxious hoards of ex-yuppies, nearly non-existent economy, and the "island fever" that will inevitably develop due to the island's minuscule surface area.  

Then I would go on to describe my first-hand experiences in a series of supporting paragraphs that would back up my thesis statement. But this isn't English 102: Argument and Persuasion. Okay, maybe I'm being a bit harsh. I'll let you decide. 

First things first, Kauai is the most beautiful island we visited. While driving up and down the island's famous North Shore, to the West you will find lush and bountiful greenery lining the highway, with small dirt turn-offs every few miles to the East which will lead you to sandy golden beaches. Beyond Kauai's forests and pristine shores you will be awestruck by it's stunning mountain ranges, rivers, waterfalls and more. 

While the South Shore is considerably more dry and barren, you will still find beautiful beaches, the famous "Spouting Horn," and entrances to several tropically forested hikes, including the massively scenic Waimea Canyon. 

A few photos of Aron and Waimea Canyon

While exploring the island we decided that our favorite spot was Secret Beach (Secrets or Kaupea Beach to the locals.) Located roughly 20 miles north of the town of Kapa'a, Secret Beach is 3,000 miles of golden sand and gentle waves calm enough to swim in and wild enough to body surf. Opposite the ocean you will find a lush cliffside complete with a freshwater waterfall and plenty of canopy cover to cool off in. The further down the beach you go the fewer people you will see, and much like Maui's Little Beach, you fill find suit-less sunbathers baring it all. 

Photo taken at Secret Beach

From Secret Beach you can continue traveling North 10 miles to Hanalei Bay. A spot famous for it's longboard waves, Hanalei Bay is 2 miles of beach surrounded by mountains. It is the largest bay on the island of Kauai. While the town of Hanalei is a bit of a tourist trap, Hanalei Bay itself is by far one of the most breathtaking sites you will find on Kauai.

Hanalei Bay at sunset on the 4th of July

The other pros to Kauai? The "bed and you make your own breakfast" where we stayed was probably the biggest score ever. Magic Sunrise, located just outside of the town of Kapa'a, is a Swiss run, laid back house that overlooks the Wailua River. The main house has two private rooms with a shared bathroom and kitchen, and there is also a private cottage located on the grounds next to the house, complete with it's own kitchen and bathroom. The rates at Magic Sunrise are exceedingly reasonable considering the quality of the facilities, hospitality of the management, and general friendly atmosphere shared by all of Magic Sunrise's patrons. For a five night stay in the main house our total bill (with tax) came to only $340.00. 

What may have been the best benefit to staying at Magic Sunrise versus a standard hotel was that we had access to a kitchen. Restaurants in Kauai not only tend to be more expensive and of a lower quality than on the other islands, but they also tend to close fairly early. Being able to go to the grocery store and cook some of our own meals was a great way to save some money. That being said, we did find one restaurant that we couldn't get enough of. Kauai Pasta, or the KP Lounge, is a sort of pseudo-italian restaurant, and one of the few restaurants we found that offered late night food. If you're ever in the area, I highly recommend the bruschetta and KP Lounge's take on shrimp ramen - yum! 

If you don't make it to Magic Sunrise or a resort equipped with a kitchen and you're looking for a place to get breakfast, Java Kai is another great spot. While you're there try the "surfer girl" breakfast sandwich, and don't forget to fill up on their Kona coffee! As for lunch, if you can hold out until 3:00PM, Sushi Bushido has great deals on their teriyaki chicken skewers, gyoza, and a select assortment of sushi rolls. 

Aaron and I at Sushi Bushido (thanks to our server for the photo!)

All things considered, our time spent in Kauai was phenomenal and I wouldn't trade it for anything. But now that I've been there, I probably wouldn't choose to go back. 

For the cons, the people there were all rich Northern Californians who were pretending to be hippies and complaining about how they didn't care for islands like Maui because of the high concentration of upperclass Southern Californians. Okay, obviously this is a generalization because not everyone on the island truly fits this bill, but I just want to make sure I get my point across (and for the record I only saw a handful of native Hawaiians - and that's not an exaggeration.) One gentleman I met, while reading on the beach, informed me that he himself was from Northern California and had lived on Kauai for ten years. He said it was his favorite of the islands because, "there are the meditation gurus like myself, then you have your yoga instructors and organic farmers. It's not like Maui with all it's bleach blonde, plastic, Malibu tourists." I guess he's right, but the difference is that I think I prefer the "bleach blonde, plastic, Malibu tourists" because at least they visibly advertise themselves, making it easier to avoid them! Sorry Mr. Meditation, but you're just as bad as they are. 

Next you've got the economy. Kapa'a where we stayed seemed to be the largest town on the island, and that wasn't saying much. I'm all for small, rural towns, but knowing that Kapa'a was the biggest town on the island kind of made you feel a little trapped, considering if you did want to go to a bigger town, you'd have to get on an airplane and hop over to another island. 

Then there's Alfred. Remember that anecdote I mentioned at the beginning of this post? Well, after hitchhiking our way across Kona more than a handful of times, we wanted to return the Hawaiian hospitality we ourselves had received, and since we were going to have a rental car in Kauai what better way to do so than by picking up a few hitchhikers. Oops! The first (and last) hitchhiker we picked up was a friendly, but disheveled looking gentleman who introduced himself as "Alfred." He entered our rental car and asked us where we were from. "Washington state," we said. "Oh, I used to live in Washington, until they kicked me out for all my felonies. Domestic violence, narcotics, heh heh heh." At this point Aaron and I quickly changed the subject, keeping friendly conversation and a watchful eye in the rear-view mirror. We made it to the fruit stand (alive and well), and upon his exit from the vehicle Alfred said, "thanks for the ride, time to go make some grown men cry, heh heh heh." I'm not exactly sure what that was supposed to mean, I was just thankful he was out of the car and banned from my home state. 

V. Conclusion

If you are planning on visiting the lush, mountainous, and pristine island of Kauai, be prepared to feel a little claustrophobic, meet some overly pretentious white people (and a few pschyopaths too!),  and unless you have a kitchen,  leave the late-night appetite at home. Aloha! 

xo.