Around the World with Anabelle: Hanalei, Kauai

By Anabelle Harden

The Banner is excited to welcome a new travel column by Anabelle Harden to our Features lineup. Every Monday, “Around the World with Anabelle” will bring you a taste of another faraway place. Enjoy!

From the soaring cliffs to the vast surrounding waters, the Hawaiian island of Kauai is nothing short of magnificent.  This past summer, my family and I spent two weeks on the island’s North Shore, in a small town titled Hanalei.

To start our trip off, we spent a lot of time on the beaches.  With warm turquoise waters and white sands, conditions were ideal for snorkeling.  There were beautiful corals, large sea turtles, small eels, and a broad range of fish, just to name a few.  All of the beaches on the North Shore are relatively close to each other; the tricky part simply comes in choosing which you would like to visit.  Tunnels is great for snorkeling, whereas a beach such as Hanalei is ideal for surfing.  I had the chance to take a surf lesson – I would recommend scheduling one in advance if you are a beginner, as it is a great way to start off.

Though surfing, snorkeling, and relaxing on the secluded sands are all great ways to get the most out of Hanalei’s beaches, tourists might want to also explore parts of Kauai’s green mountains, the Nepali Coast. We decided to do this by embarking on the Kalalau Trail, one of my most memorable hikes ever.

The drop-offs are steep and the trail sometimes narrows to one foot wide.  I would recommend hiking poles, good shoes, and lots and lots of water, as the heat gets extreme once you are high up and closer to the sun. The trail is very strenuous, and 11 miles in length (one way). In order to complete the entire 11 miles, one might need two days. My family and I decided to make the hike about eight miles round-trip: we hiked four miles up to Hanakapi’ai Falls, where we were able to swim in a freshwater pool underneath the waterfall.  The views of the Coast were incredible! We then hiked the four miles back down.

After a difficult hike like this, one must stop by one of Hanalei’s famous shave ice stands.  It is not your typical frozen treat: you’ll be craving it months after your departure.  I recommend getting some of their island macadamia nut ice cream to go along with it. If you would like to be both refreshed and nourished, there are local fruit smoothie stands as well as coconut stands on the sides of the dirt roads.

One last incredible experience we were able to have was visiting the famous Queen’s Bath, a beautiful tide pool located below some cliffs along a rocky shoreline.  The hike to get to the pool is short, scenic, and doable for all ages.  Next to Queen’s Bath is a deeper tide pool that opens up into the ocean, making it an ideal spot for cliff jumping.  I would recommend this jump for thrill seekers like me, but take care: there have been cases in which the pull of the waves carried people out to sea.

Kauai’s North Shore is a must. Rugged mountains, lush greenery, heavenly beaches, and spectacular sea cliffs: you’ll be enchanted.