Kaua'i
Waterfalls and Canyons
Wailua Falls

We started our final day on Kaua'i exploring waterfalls and canyons.

First stop was the 'Opaeka'a Falls. Next, we headed to the Wailua Falls. This is where the first shots from the Fantasy Island TV show were shot. Actually, many movies have been filmed on Kaua'i including Jurassic Park, Six Days, Seven Nights, South Pacific, Blue Hawaii, and others.

Once again, we were dismayed by the abandoned cars, trash, and decay at the state parks.
From there, we drove along the east and south shores of the island to Waimea. This brought us to a highway turnoff that took us up around Waimea Canyon. Mark Twain had called this area the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific" when he was here nearly 140 years ago. The shades of red in the canyon are beautiful and probably look similar to what he saw then.
 
After stopping at several overlooks, we spent some time at the Koke'e Museum and the Lodge. Then, we drove on to the top of the canyon.
 
At the final overlook, we could see the ocean in the distance. We couldn't see the coastal trail, but we knew that it was there, that it would lead to where we'd explored on each end of the Na Pali area.
Kalalau Lookout

Now we drove back to the valley picnic area for lunch. Again, we took out our sketchbooks. This time the subject was a group of bantam chickens. These roosters, hens, and chicks can be seen wandering around throughout the islands. They spend most of their time in parking lots and picnic areas. Some people called them "Hawaiian eagles." The roosters crow all day and many people find them annoying. On the other hand, they come in a beautiful variety of colors like the one below.
That evening, we located another great Thai restaurant called Mema Thai & Chinese Cuisine near our hotel and enjoyed another quiet evening. I believe that we prefer sleeping to partying while on vacation.
Created by Annette Lamb and Larry Johnson, 12/00
 
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