This is our first trip back to Kauai since 2010 when we spent three full months in the island. It was a pretty laid back trip. We didn't even talk about what we were going to do while in Kauai until we were at the airport getting ready to board the plane.
The best thing about having lived in Kauai is that we had already experienced a lot of the island so we felt no pressure of having to do something because we'd never done it and didn't know if we wer ever going to return.
So we chose to do some of our favorite things and added a few new things along the way.
The Maha'ulepu Heritage Trail was something we had not done during our last visit. It is a fairly easy hike along the coast with amazing views. It starts on Shipwreck beach near the Hyatt in Poipu and goes on for a long way until you reach Gillin's Beach.
With the change of time zone we were up on the trail early in the morning during our first day. We began by hiking on a dirt road behind the Poipu Bay Golf Course. The vegetation was amazing. The same house plants we grow back home thrive outdoors in this environment and are as big as trees.
Eventually the dirt road dead ends into a sandy path up a dune. Once you reach the crest you have the jungle behind you and the ocean in front of you. You follow a narrow trail parallel to the top of the dunes and along the coast. The terrain changes from sand to lava rocks, to golf turf, back to dirt as you hike it.
In some spots we were able to hike down closer to shore and observe the waves crashing into shore. The sound is so loud and yet so relaxing. At the end of our hike we observed some horses corralled in the pastures across form the beach. They are the luckiest horses ever to live in such beautiful place and they probably don't even know it!
While in Poipu we had to stop and visit Spouting Horn. A blowhole where water shoots out every time the waves crash into shore making a hissing sound. 'According to Hawaiian folklore, a giant lizard once protected this area of the island. One day, a young man named Liko challenged the lizard, which threatened visitors to the area who came to fish or swim. During their battle, Liko thrust a sharp stick into the lizard’s mouth. Liko then jumped into the ocean, luring the lizard in the water. Liko then swam through a small lava tube in the rocks leading to the surface. The lizard followed Liko and got stuck in the lava tube, or blowhole. Today, you can hear the lizard's roar every time the Spouting Horn Blowhole blasts into the air.' (Wikipedia)
