I've never been so satisfied with a vacation before this one. We managed to fill every day with something amazing to do or see but weren't stressed out about trying to fit everything in in such a short amount of time.
The first two nights were spent in Waimea on a rustic plantation on the beach turned condominium. A number of beautiful things greeted me in this southern side of Kaua'i, including our receptionist Aaron who was avidly enthusiastic about sharing with us which trails to hike on, wild chickens (which ended up being pretty much everywhere), a double rainbow vibrant sunset combo on the beach, a friendly wild cat who happens to love nuzzling my legs, Waimea canyon as one of my favorite places on the entire island, and a catamaran ride by a certainly handsome crew along the Na Pali coast as my other favorite place on the entire island.
The catamaran ride was a blast, especially heading back because we were going against the waves while the wind picked up, which made it bob up and down and the waves sprayed up at us on each downward plunge. Hanging off the rails up front was like a wet and wild roller coaster ride of awesomesauce where I literally could not stop laughing for all of the exuberant joy welling up within me.
The next two nights were spent in Poipu in the heart of the resort town on the south shore. I didn't make it there this time around, but along this town's shore is Shipwreck beach where apparently sea turtles come and hang out with you. Why did I not do this? I don't know. What I do know is that I went to the botanical gardens and enjoyed some fresh fruit with our tour guide Sam who liked to tell/show us "illegal" things like other sites of the park that wasn't necessarily supposed to be shown to us. Like the Allerton Estate on the beach where sea turtles nested their babies' eggs. We also managed to visit my favorite restaurant we went to on the island, called Keoki's Paradise. They have a delightful kashiyaki plate. Leaving Poipu lead to a "Tunnel of Trees" as well as Wailea River and the arboretum just west of Kapa'a.
The last four nights were spent in Princeville in the heart of the resort town on the north shore. This may have been the most touristy town there was, probably because there was so much to do. Golf, horseback riding, helicopter rides to the Na Pali coast and the rest of the island, zip lining, kayaking, hiking, snorkeling, scuba diving, surfing, shopping, etc etc.
Zip lining was already on our list, and it was a good clear and sunny day to go. We trekked through nine ziplines and a suspension bridge. It was my first time ever zip lining, but I don't think I ever really became afraid. I just thought of it as a sort of mild roller coaster, which it kind of was. It ended up being more relaxing than terrifying for me. The last course of the day was on The King Kong, the biggest of them all with two lines side by side so you can race your partner down. I won after catching up to her in the middle, where she gave up and then got stuck before we reached the end of the platform. It's okay, she was laughing. They have tools to pull you in easily.
After a day of rest and relaxation (at a time very much needed), we ventured back to the east shore in Kapa'a to Kayak the Wailua River. Our tour guide brought us to dock about a mile down on some pebbles (I can't believe he was barefoot) and we hiked a half mile to have lunch under a "secret" waterfall. Some people went swimming under it, and the group can stay however long they want until everyone is ready to go. Walking back to the kayaks from the waterfall, our tour guide went "Shhh. Do you guys feel that? It's going to rain." And everyone was confused but it started raining 1-2 minutes later. Natives feel the rain, dude. They do.
It seemed that by our last day we were satiated of Kaua'i and wanted to go home, but not before my mom went out on the porch to feed all the birds like a Disney Princess.
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