Kaua'i treats nature buffs to its landscape playground
| • | See how the other half lives on the Big Island |
| • | Mosey around Upcountry Maui |
By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Kaua'i Bureau
Kaua'i is called the Garden Island, and there are many ways to get into this island garden — on foot, on horseback, by boat and tube-drifting, and directly in the water. Here are a few itineraries:
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North Shore
Hanalei, on the North Shore, is a place where visitors can enjoy the island's beauty by foot, horseback, boat or even tube-drifting.
Have breakfast in Hanalei and then seek out Limahuli Garden down the road toward Ha'ena. This is a gem, featuring an extensive landscape of rare native plants of the wet northern end of the Na Pali cliffs as well as cultural remains like old taro terraces. Limahuli lies mauka of the road, not far past the Maniniholo Dry Cave and Ha'ena Beach Park; open 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and Sundays. Self-guided tours, $10; guided tours, $15. Information: (808) 826-1053.
At midday, consider a horseback ride to a remote waterfall with lunch on the trail, a ride along coastal bluffs or participating in a cattle drive at Princeville Ranch Stables, where rides range from $65 to $120. Information: (808) 826-6777.
If not up for that much activity, visit the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, makai of Kilauea town, where the swooping birdlife can be viewed from scenic bluffs.
Lihu'e
In town, the active visitor might take a ride with Aloha Canoes and Kayaks, which advertises itself as a Hawaiian-owned business. The operation runs kayak tours up the Hule'ia River, above Nawiliwili Harbor, past the Menehune Fishpond. A four-hour tour includes a leisurely paddle up the river, lunch and a guided hike to a cluster of stream pools; $82, adults; $70 keiki. Information: (808) 246-6804.
A gentler activity is viewing the storied Menehune Fishpond from the parking area along Hulemalu Road, wandering the old plantation manager's home at Kilohana on Kaumuali'i Highway outside Puhi, stopping at the Kaua'i Museum on Rice Street and ending the day with a sunset cocktail overlooking Kalapaki Bay at Duke's or JJ's Broiler.
South Shore
You can go for a snorkeling trip at the Sheraton caverns for $65 with Seasport Divers, which has shops in Po'ipu and Kapa'a. During summer, the firm is among those to offer Ni'ihau tank-diving, and you can also rent snorkeling equipment to go drifting on your own. Information: (808) 742-9303.
The state's only sugar mill and plantation tour is available weekdays through Gay & Robinson tours in Kaumakani. Information: (808) 335-2824.
Where to stay
One of the most interesting places to stay is in the renovated, period-furnished plantation houses at Waimea Plantation Cottages, which rents to Hawai'i residents until just before Christmas from $87 for a hotel-style room in an old home, to $103 for a studio in a duplex and $139 for a one-bedroom house, on up to $625. Information: (808) 338-1625.
