Turtles | TravelMyBliss

On Thursday, while Dusk and Rinda went off in the morning to hike a little of the Kalalau Trail along the Na Pali coast, Bill, Machelle, Michael, and I decided to pay a visit to the Kilauea Lighthouse. Kilauea is a small town on the North Shore only about 15 minutes away by car from Hanalei. The lighthouse sits on a point which is the northernmost point in Hawaii. The area surrounding the lighthouse and a small island off the point have been designated a National Wildlife Refuge, primarily for birds. We lucked out with the weather as it was windy, but mostly sunny, when we visited. There were spectacular views up and down the coast and we saw lots of birds and enjoyed a few small exhibits.

A frigate bird (I think)

Looking toward the aptly named Secret Beach

It was quite windy on the point but that is what you would expect when facing the open ocean. We enjoyed watching the waves crash into the cliffs creating dramatic explosions of seawater. Bill even spotted a sea turtle way down below in the water. It was quite a large one. Then Machelle spotted another that was a bit smaller. There were hawaiian geese wandering about as well as some red footed boobies across the way on a hillside. We saw some young wedge-tailed shearwaters hanging about their nests and looking all fuzzy.

This is where Bill spotted the turtle

I love my zoom lens!

After we left the lighthouse, we stopped in Kilauea town to browse in a couple of shops and have a snack. I have been enjoying the local arts and crafts. The beauty of the surroundings here cetainly inspires some lovely artwork!

On the way back toward Hanalei we detoured to Anini Beach and got in a little beach time. Anini is a lovely sand beach with an offshore reef that creates a protected lagoon in which to swim and snorkel. We saw a kite boarder setting up his equipment which was of particular interest to Michael as he has dabbled in kite boarding and would like to do more. It was very windy, so when the kite boarder took off, he went ripping across the water straight out the break in the reef, and played in the waves, all of which were quite advanced maneuvers. Michael and I went in snorkeling. It was not really the best snorkeling as the water was a little choppy, the visibility wasn’t all that great, and there wasn’t a ton to see. However, the highlight for me, which made it all worthwhile, was that we found a turtle and I was able to follow him for a bit. Snorkeling with turtles is one of my favorite things to do!

Beautiful Anini Beach

The Kilauea Lighthouse in the distance.

The kiteboarder setting up.

That evening we had some semblance of a sunset which was a nice change of pace. Dusk and Rinda had enjoyed their hike, though Rinda was a little banged up from a fall during their river crossing. Fortunately it was nothing serious, just some scrapes and bruises. We walked into town for some happy hour Mai Tai’s and cooked ourselves some dinner back at the house. All in all it was an excellent day.

Dear gentle readers and loyal followers,

I know it’s been a long time since I have blogged but I thought I would do a little writing since I am inspired by my beautiful surroundings. It was a busy summer with house projects taking up our time but now we are on a special trip with friends. We are in Kauai, also known as paradise! It is the first time I have been to Kauai. Previous visits to Hawaii included the Big Island and Maui, but now we find ourselves on the Garden Isle. We arrived yesterday after an uneventful flight from San Diego. Alaska Airlines had a direct flight and all those Delta miles I acquired from our trip to Africa last year got us a couple of free tickets. I have a big birthday coming up in December and I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate it than by lounging in paradise with dear friends. Hence, we find ourselves here.

As usual I did lots of research while planning this trip and settled on the following itinerary. We spend the first 3 nights in Poipu on the South shore in a 2 bedroom, 2 bath vacation rental at the Poipu Plantation Inn. Then we move to a house in Hanalei on the North shore for 8 nights. We have close friends with us for the entire trip and another couple also joining us for 5 nights in Hanalei. It should be a merry time!

Michael and I arrived yesterday in early afternoon and zoomed through arrival and bag retrieval. I had researched various car rental options and ended up choosing Budget with a USAA rate. Though this was slightly more than the cheapest Thrifty or Dollar rates through discounthawaiicarrental.com, I had heard horror stories about long lines and poor service at those two and wanted the better vehicle model that Budget offered. It worked out perfectly! There was virtually no line and we ended up with a slightly bigger vehicle than I had reserved – something that will actually be useful. The vehicle is clean and quiet and newer than ours. Michael and I headed straight to Poipu to check in to our rental. Even though it was only just after 3pm, the office personnel were gone and had left us an envelope with keys and instructions. Our unit is just about what I expected. It is not the most modern or plush in the area but it is perfectly sufficient, clean, and has everything we need.

After dropping our bags and changing into shorts and t-shirt, we walked down to the beach which is only a short way from our digs. You can see the water from the lanai.

Though there were sprinkles of rain we walked along the beach and enjoyed the sea air, warm temperatures and rainbows!

Soon we felt the need of a frosty beverage and found our way to Brennecke’s Beach Bar & Grill. Mai Tai’s and pupus are a great way to slide into vacation mode! The sunset, though not the most spectacular we’ve seen, was nothing to sneer at.

Later that evening we went back to the airport to fetch our friends. They were pretty tired, as were we, but we managed a celebratory drink back at the condo before fallling into bed.

This morning we took our coffee down to the beach, opted for a breakfast burrito, and took a nice long walk along the beach and coast. We saw Hawaiian monk seals napping on the beach and sea turtles – my favorite!