First Day on the Garden Isle of Kauai.

Overlooking Taro Fields near Hanalei

Kauai is known as the Garden Isle. One of the peaks on this island is the wettest spot on earth with 451 inches of rain per year. Much like our home, all this rain makes it one of the most lush places on earth as well. Tropical is the perfect description.

Make the Jump for more story and pics!

Hanalei Bay from an overlook

Our first day was pretty much just exploring around to get a feel for where we were and where we wanted to go. We hadn't run into any local people to chat with yet so, we just decided drive. Occasionally following roads on the GPS because they simply looked like they might be fun. In the picture at left, notice the sea spray near the black rocks. Swells were close to 15 feet at this point.

West Tip of Hanalei Bay

From the west tip of Hanalei bay, this is what those same waves looked like. Again, notice the black rocks. :-)

This is not the kind of water or place you want to find yourself swimming in.

East Corner of Lumahai Beach

A little bit further around the point you find Lumahai Beach. The surf here is still deceivingly treacherous. The girls in this pic thought they had found a fun place to hang out behind the rocks and quickly found themselves soaked from a wave crashing over the rocks.

It is easy to think you are in a sheltered place, when in reality it is a very dangerous place to be because of what appears to be shelter. Thankfully the girls got out of the water safely, but it could have been a bad day for all.

It does take a good bit of work to get here, or in our case luck as we decided to explore a trail that looks like it was not often used.

But the hike was worth it. If you've seen the movie "South Pacific", this is where the girls camp was. Lumahai beach is very beautiful.

Since it does take work to get here, it is not often used. Giving you plenty of space and time to contemplate if you really want to go back to work or become a beach bum.

Next stop up the road was "Caves" where there are a number of caves you can walk in. Either caused by lava bubbles or the surf pounding on the rocks.

Most of the cave we went into you can stand up in. It seems to be a popular place to visit. We stuck around for a bit, headed to the end of the road on the north side of the island and headed back the other direction.

We finished up the day at Anini Beach just east of Princeville. While Jesse kicked back on the beach to work on his sunburn, Debbie grabbed her snorkel gear and headed out in the water. She found herself snorkling along side (but not touching) a group of four turtles feeding in the coral reef protected area. Awesome end to a first day!

We've got a LOT more pictures of this first day! Be sure to check them out in our gallery:
Kauai Day One