Day 3 in Kauai: Sightseeing and Beach
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The morning view from the end of the driveway at my cottage - this time you can actually make out the ocean. This was in a residential neighborhood in Kalaheo, where, incidentally, you can find a great breakfast and a place to plug into a DSL jack at the Kalaheo Breakfast Place. It has a formal name, but it's the only breakfast place in town (which is a one-stoplight town) and in fact it may be the only breakfast place, per se, in the South Shore.
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The cottage I stayed in for 3 nights. My rental car to the left. When they asked me in the lot which car I wanted, I said, "That's easy - the red one." I have determined it is a Dodge Stratus.
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Wailua Falls, not far from the airport city Lihu'e. Reputed to be used in the tv show "Fantasy Islands." Spectacular view, but, almost a let-down since you just drive there, park, snap some shots, gape a while, and then drive away. The guidebook claims you can climb down but that would've involved scaling some serious do-not-trespass fences.
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More context.
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The mountains and jungle where the water originates. Let it be noted that the center of Kauai, Mount Wai'ale'ale is the wettest spot on earth, averaging 440 inches of rain a year. You can't get near it, though. The only way to see it is by helicopter. I believe it might be private land, in some medieval 19th century takeover of the islands by Westerners.
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Get back on the main highway that circles the highland, head north, hang a left on Kuamo'o road, and you will shortly reach 'Opaeka'a Falls. The guidebook admits that in this case, there is no practical way to get to the bottom - they've tried.
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The ridges loom tall and green far in back of the falls.
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With the camera now zoomed out, you can see the context of the falls in the overall Kauai landscape. Don't be fooled, they are enormous.
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Possibly the nicest beach on Kauai - on the south shore, the Maha'ulepu Beaches. Catch: you have to drive for about 15 minutes down the roughest, most badly potholed red dirt tracks you ever hope to expose your suspension to. The beach was wonderful and secluded enough that I ALMOST went back the next day, but decided I would not be happy if my car broke down along the way. In this picture you can see the windsurfers and parasailers.
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I know, I know, you're thinking: generic beach. But the sand is wide and soft, and the difficulty of getting there mean you only get serious beach bums, windsurfers and surfers. It feels like more of a locals' beach. This is a view looking east, in the afternoon.
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The view looking west, in the afternoon.
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I am fascinated by this notion of using a sail to pull me along the surf. This is the one and only ocean-sport that I think I could get into. (Apart from snorkeling.)
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Another shot of the curved sail.
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Typical Kauai'in landscape.
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This must be a well-known and named mountain in the south; I don't know its name, but I'm very partial to it.
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Another in my failed attempts to show "the view from home." I'm now moved into my second condo, in Lawa'i, and the ocean is again about 3 miles in the distance. You'll have to trust me on this one.
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The inside of my second condo. It's a wonderful place, wide and light, with skylights, and everything done in white and light colors. That rose comfy chair faces the TV, which is telling the world about Saddam Hussein's capture.
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The view out my bedroom window, looking north. Glare from glass.
Marianne Mueller
Last modified: December 15, 2003
The morning view from the end of the driveway at my cottage - this time you can actually make out the ocean. This was in a residential neighborhood in Kalaheo, where, incidentally, you can find a great breakfast and a place to plug into a DSL jack at the Kalaheo Breakfast Place. It has a formal name, but it's the only breakfast place in town (which is a one-stoplight town) and in fact it may be the only breakfast place, per se, in the South Shore.
The cottage I stayed in for 3 nights. My rental car to the left. When they asked me in the lot which car I wanted, I said, "That's easy - the red one." I have determined it is a Dodge Stratus.
Wailua Falls, not far from the airport city Lihu'e. Reputed to be used in the tv show "Fantasy Islands." Spectacular view, but, almost a let-down since you just drive there, park, snap some shots, gape a while, and then drive away. The guidebook claims you can climb down but that would've involved scaling some serious do-not-trespass fences.
More context.
The mountains and jungle where the water originates. Let it be noted that the center of Kauai, Mount Wai'ale'ale is the wettest spot on earth, averaging 440 inches of rain a year. You can't get near it, though. The only way to see it is by helicopter. I believe it might be private land, in some medieval 19th century takeover of the islands by Westerners.
Get back on the main highway that circles the highland, head north, hang a left on Kuamo'o road, and you will shortly reach 'Opaeka'a Falls. The guidebook admits that in this case, there is no practical way to get to the bottom - they've tried.
The ridges loom tall and green far in back of the falls.
With the camera now zoomed out, you can see the context of the falls in the overall Kauai landscape. Don't be fooled, they are enormous.
Possibly the nicest beach on Kauai - on the south shore, the Maha'ulepu Beaches. Catch: you have to drive for about 15 minutes down the roughest, most badly potholed red dirt tracks you ever hope to expose your suspension to. The beach was wonderful and secluded enough that I ALMOST went back the next day, but decided I would not be happy if my car broke down along the way. In this picture you can see the windsurfers and parasailers.
I know, I know, you're thinking: generic beach. But the sand is wide and soft, and the difficulty of getting there mean you only get serious beach bums, windsurfers and surfers. It feels like more of a locals' beach. This is a view looking east, in the afternoon.
The view looking west, in the afternoon.
I am fascinated by this notion of using a sail to pull me along the surf. This is the one and only ocean-sport that I think I could get into. (Apart from snorkeling.)
Another shot of the curved sail.
Typical Kauai'in landscape.
This must be a well-known and named mountain in the south; I don't know its name, but I'm very partial to it.
Another in my failed attempts to show "the view from home." I'm now moved into my second condo, in Lawa'i, and the ocean is again about 3 miles in the distance. You'll have to trust me on this one.
The inside of my second condo. It's a wonderful place, wide and light, with skylights, and everything done in white and light colors. That rose comfy chair faces the TV, which is telling the world about Saddam Hussein's capture.
The view out my bedroom window, looking north. Glare from glass.