Kaua'i

A short 30 minute flight took us to Kaua'i, the northern most island in the Hawaiian chain for a two day stay. Kaua'i is the oldest of the Hawaiian Islands and is known as the Garden Isle. The landscape here is varied with beaches, rain forest, desert, mountains and plains.

On arrival we picked up our hire car (a shiny red Mazda 3) and headed to the west. After passing through Waimea (the first place in Hawaii visited by Captain James Cook in 1778), we ascended 3,400 feet to the Waimea Canyon Lookout.

Waimea Canyon is a spectacular canyon, approximately 16 kilometres (10 miles) long and up to 900 metres (3,000 feet) deep in places and is called the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific". It was formed from the Waimea River fed by the high rainfall on the island's central peak, Mount Wai'ale'ale.

Mount Wai'ale'ale (1,569 metres/5,148 feet) is one of the wettest places on Earth with an annual average rainfall of 11,700mm (460 inches to you old-timers)!

Continuing north we reached the end of the road at the Pu'u o Kila Lookout. Out trusty guidebook said it offered "one of the greatest views of the Pacific". We got clouds.

Reading on the guidebook said to wait a while and the clouds will clear, and they did. The Kalalau Valley opened up below us bordered by the steep green cliffs of Na Pali.

Inspired by the scenery we decided to tackle the 1.6 kilometre (1 mile) trek to the Pihea Vista. Things started easy but conditions quickly deteriorated to a steep muddy, slippery trail. Great views on the way but to be honest, the views at the end were a little disappointing. We somehow managed not to fall over (others were not so lucky) but ended up a little muddy.

Overnight we stayed in Wailua, the traditional home of Kaua'i' royalty.

An early(ish) start and our first stop was the picturesque Opaeka'a Falls before we headed towards the north shore. The east and north coast are peppered with gorgeous beaches all the way. Stopping at few of them on the trip north, we followed the road to it's end at Ke'e Beach.

It was a little busy here so we headed back to the Kilauea Lighthouse which is perched on a bluff that is the northernmost point of the main Hawaiian Islands.

Time for a swim, while looking for a beach we did a quick side trip to Wailua Falls before heading back to Secret Beach, one of the most beautiful beaches we've seen. It's a little hard to find (hence the name - thanks again guidebook!) and the steep climb up and down are a bitch but it's worth it.

Feeling refreshed and relaxed we headed south towards the airport at Lihue stopping in Kapa'a for a quick drink.

Another ridiculously quick flight saw us back to Honolulu. Tomorrow is our last full day.....has it really been 4 weeks?!