June 9 Kauai

We had never been to Kauai before, so we chose the Discover Kauai ship's excursion, which would take us all over the island in the limited time that we had.

First stop was the Wailua River Fern Grotto.  We loaded onto a large barge-like boat with covered seating for about one hundred, but wasn't filled, and motored up the river.

 We outran the hordes of kayakers chasing us.

 Fern Grotto

 

 Entertainers who are part of the tour.  The guy on the left is Uncle Willie, who is locally famous for having a bit part in Elvis' Blue Hawaii.  

 Torch flower

 The excursion was on a 12-passenger van driven and guided by Steve.  Steve learned everybody's name in the first five minutes and maintained a Socratic dialogue with us the rest of the day.

 Monk Seal resting along the beach, digesting a night's worth of fishing

 Typical of the many homes we saw 

 Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge had seabirds galore

 and natural beauty

 and a lighthouse

 We had a picnic lunch at Anini Beach

 Steve hauled out a cooler filled with turkey & cheese sandwiches, chips and drinks.  Of the many lunch included tours we've taken on this trip (over 20 I would guess) this was the best.  Kauai North Shore Limos and Tours did a great job.  Quick, tasty, enjoyable, and wonderful scenery.  After 160 days sometimes you just need a sandwich and chips!

 In the background of this picture is the most feared animal in the sea -- the red backed white bellied tube sucker.  That's what Steve says.

 Overlook.  The black dots in the field are bison -- real American buffaloes.  

 Hanalei Beach

 Taro grows in water just like rice.  Some of the taro fields below are flooded.

 Waterfalls abound

 Wild pigs

 Typical sugar cane mill workers housing.  All of the mills have left Hawaii, along with sugar cane and pineapple growing.  

 This was the birthing rock for Hawaiin royalty back in the day.

 Opaekaa Falls

 And that's the river we were on early this morning.  The kayakers are still there.

 Arriving shortly after us, but spending the night, is the Norwegian Cruise Line Pride of America.  We'll be traveling on this ship in mid-December, so here was our chance to check it out.  Compared to Insignia, it looks massive.

 The Nawilliwilli harbor has a nice chicane built into it.  Even with it there were significant swells inside the harbor.  Insignia was rocking back and forth against the pier during our stay.

 For my sister.  Golf course right next to the harbor.  That's a green on the far left -- you don't want to overfly your approach.