There is a cold breeze blowing up my.....

So up early to get to the airport for our flight to the big island. All quite uneventful apart from the confusion with the security staff. Marjan ended up being in the priority line and I was with the plebs. No major hassle but it seems a little less streamlined than in Oz. Oh by the way I was frisked...it tickled....and on entry they took our fingerprints, so I am now on some database somewhere. The flights were smooth and on time. The car people tried to upsell us again. They could not believe two people of our obvious intellectual, if not physical, stature could fit into such a small car.

Maui

So we asked the best way to get to Saddle Rd. And were told twice by different people that we did not really want to go that way. Being me, I of course pointed Marjan toward Saddle Rd.. We almost immediately regreted the route and car. Getting to where we were going seemed to involve going directly up a hill, or mountain by Melbourne standards. Within about a mile or so we were 700 metres or so above sea level. The little car really struggled. Anyway once we were up at that level it evened out and seemed pretty good. In fact the road seemed very new, very broad and the travel quite smooth.

We had decided that on our way to our accommodation on the other side of the island we would visit Mauna  Loa. It is one of five volcanoes on the island and at over 4k is a massive beast. Saddle Rd drives between it and Mauna Kea, another beast. The road itself gets to just shy of Mt. kosciuszko altitude.

Pretty soon we were driving thorugh obvious lava country. Initially grassy fields with quite obvious lava flow underpinning, some dry wall fences, nice rounded volcaning mounds.....sound like the western district of Victoria to anyone. It sure looked like it. In many  places, and particularly as we got along,  tthe landscape was harsher with just plain lava fields in all sorts of rough and grotesque formations. Amazing looking really.

Some hillocks at the base of Mauna Kea

We made it ot the turnoff to Mauna Loa and it looked quite uninviting. I am not sure they want tourists up here. The road start is broken up and rough for about a mile before it gets to be a quite dcent single lane road. At 20mph it was slow going but that was OK. The scenery was amazing. Great views back to Mauna Kea and amazing moonscapes...well really earthscapes. I have seen similar in Lanzarote but the extent here is huge.

The road back to the main road and Mauna Kea

We did not encounter many other cars, which is amazing considering how incredible this drive is. We eventually got up as high as the cloud base and got a bit of drizzle. We got to the scientific base car park and walked up to the base, which is well short of the top but at 3.3k still pretty high. Eventually we required and providentially found.....some rest rooms.

There were two side by side. Whilst concentrating on my own affairs, I hear....there is a cold breeze coming up my........well it was hard to concentrate after that.

Marjan had driven up and I drove down. Seeing it was me I was stopping at every second interesting lava flow. A photographer could spend months here doing lava abstracts.

It was interesting how the zero plant life at the top graduated to some small plants and ferns and then a few bushes and eventually a few trees. We also spooked three goats who were grazing at about the 2.5k mark, but they ran off, like....well goats when we approached.

The saddle under the cloud cover

We got back onto the main road and from this point the road was essentially downhill to Hilo, about 33 miles of needing to apply the brakes to keep the car from speeding up. Had lunch in Hilo and called Chad and Sue who own the place we were booked into. It turned out that the power had not been restored, they had no water and had no idea when it would be back. They knew it would be a couple of days at least. They offered to give us a pass to the retreat next door to them, so that we could use their bathroom and to heavily discount the accommodation. We though it would be just too incovenient.

So we called the young waitress over and asked her to bring us over many more drinks (coffee, water, coke....many of) and hit the internet. It was a little awkward as it was really slow response and some of the sites we had used in the past did not provide direct contact details for the accommodation. That meant we could not be guaranteed of a quick response, and given that the aftrenoon was well on its way we needed immediate responses.

Anyway, with great calm we managed to come to a common agreement, or at least detente, and settled for the Marriot. Perhaps not five star but at least four and rather nice and right on the beach. I managed to get their price down somewhat to frequent stayer levels by telling them our little tale of woe and stressing the Australian angle ( just for that I am registered as Rifiel Sinchez). The one downside was that of course, it was back on the other side of the island. Back over Saddle Rd. Without stopping this time. Not even for another goat that did not spook, nor for a flock/herd/gaggle of donkeys (they have donkey crossing signs). Got there In time to check in, have a swim, check out the sunset, go to the local village for some supplies....we may be staying here, but we can't afford to eat here as well! 

Got back to the room and had a roast beef and salad sandwich on the verandah with a mango for dessert. And finally to sleep in a huge king size.....I could not find Marjan for a spoon during the night.

What will tomorrow bring....stay tuned! It is bound to be fun.

And then there was another storm.......with apologies to Anna

Dinner last night with Dani and her delightful family and friends was lovely. We got to enjoy some poke which is raw fish in a range of sauces. Very yummy and a great accompaniment to an evening of friendly sharing of experiences. We have felt so welcome and cared for staying here: an experience that no hotel could duplicate. Even the surrounding plants are pretty and aromatic.

Half way through the night the storm hit its peak with a quite loud and extremely close thunder storm. We were both woken by a particlarly loud crack and then the light came on as Dani had braved the weather to hustle us into her home for the night. Again her concern and care was heart warming. We felt much more than guests. Especially as she insisted we have her king sized comfy bed. 

The storm dissipated overnight and we slept off the rest of it before waking to a rainy day. 

We got going a bit late but headed out anyway to see what we could see on our last day. A bit of shopping for some sandals....closing the stable door methinks.....another attempt to go to the wildlife sanctuary, which was apparently closed for our safety.........you can see how dangerous it looks around the lighthouse........we were so grateful. Still managed to see a couple of interesting birds.

So we just drove around and dropped in where we thought it might be interesting. A picnic by the water...a visit to a couple of the interesting looking churches....a revisit to Hanalei where even more waterfalls were visible and the clouds made interesting patterns. A sort of no pressure wander really.

So really there is not a lot for the blog, so I might just finish the Kaua'i visit with some random impressions.

Tailgating has different connotation here: you drive the truck to the beach or a picturesque spot drop the tailgate and enjoy life. We see lots of families doing this of an evening at beaches. Last night a couple of middle aged blokes kept us amused by the Waimea River as they tried to complete coherent sentences after perhaps one too many. They were quite pleasant though and the spot was beautiful.

Speaking of pleasant, we have found the locals to be invariably friendly, helpful and interested. We also love that their driving is generally so relaxed and non-aggressive. After Melbourne drivers it is a joy to drive with such courteous drivers.

I think I may have mentioned elections before. Well as they get closer we have seen groups of people with election placards waving at people as they drive past. Apparently this is a local thing and a must. If you don't have people out there waving you cannot really be serious about wanting to be elected.

I have also mentioned the chickens. I now want to get a little more gender specific...the roosters here are crazy or do not know the thing about dawn. They crow at any time of day or night, they wander across the roads at will, they even try to steal your picnic. There are so many here that it is a truly unique feature of at least this island.

Finally safety. I always thought of the USA as a fairly litigious society, I am now thinking that this may be due to the opportunities. As an example, 

I have yet to see a motorcycle driver with a helmet. On bicycles I have seen two young girls with helmets and one older bloke with a work site hat, apart from that helmetless. When we went out on the open ocean in a zodiac there were no safety vests and the bloke who ran it suggested that when we stopped for a snorkle was not a good time to learn to swim. This is not a criticism, I always felt perfectly safe, just another one of those odd differences you see. Australia has truly become the nanny state on some of this stuff.

We are off to Hawaii, the island, tomorrow morning so we got an early dinner and checked out the sunset before settling in to pack (Marjan) and blog (Raf). Excuse the phone photo quality here.

See you on the big island!

Rest day

We are having a bit of a rest day today. Partially on advice partially based on driving around a little and encountering plenty of rain and wind. So managed to get to the coffee plantation and have an iced cofee and then a little further on it was coming down hard so it was pointless to continue. The weather, whilst wet and windy is not expected to be too dangerous to those who take care. Our plan is to be among the sensible. Strange but true.

So todays blog will be a bit of a mish mash as no specific activity has clarified the internal mish mash.

Firstly a recap from yesterday. Marjan clearly stated that if she had looked at these photos closely she would not have gone on yesterday's walk. 

The waterfall

A close up of that ridge...look for the walkers...that is the slippey gravel we came down

But Marjan did get there

...and enjoyed looking at the other side, hard to get the perspective, but let me assure you, it is NOT the Werribee Gorge.

A couple from the local area. The Kekaha beach

And an itinerant tourist

And now I inflict a couple of attempts at minimalist photographic art. Presumptuous, pathetic, perfunctory, perverse, pitiful, prosaic, puerile.......perhaps. Perhaps...personally pleasing.

The final word. I hate...yes loathe US currency. It is quite hard to manage for strangers. The notes all look the same, the coins do not have clear values on them and I am sure I tipped someone $100 the other day. I do not have the presumption to say aussie currency is better. It is just easier for the short sighted and distracted.

Probably that will be all the activity from today. Nothing planned except to stay out of the wind and rain and have dinner with Dani and family.

We split up

Well we split up for the morning.

Marjan visited the local beach, read, chatted to Dani and some other stuff I am sure. But basically a laid back morning.

Well sort of laid back as she got me to my boat at 6:30 am. She is a gem!

Before I start, a word about our accommodation: I have been known to, on rare occasions, to split an infinitive, exaggerate ever so slightly. Dani's shack is more than a lean-to though less than a house. It is perfectly described and we chose it knowing what we were getting. There are dozens of lovely resorts and hotels here. We chose this place because that is how we chose to travel. So do not feel concerned about lack of comfort, there is none. We are where we chose to be.

The Napali Riders run a zodiac up the Napali Coast. I joined them. I ended up at the pointy end, which in a zodiac means you bounce up and down lots. So a low score for comfort. However this was one of the few boats out because of the hurricane, so top marks for getting the weather absolutely right. A glorious day with calm seas.

The Na Pali Coast is one of the highlights here and seeing it by air and now boat has been terrific. Of course being as this was a smallish boat, we not only got to see the coast but actually get into it. Several times our captain took the boat into caves. Caves with waterfalls across the entrence, caves with no roof and an island in the middle( the old roof anyone?), caves with waterfalls inside, caves with birds and bats, and in one stunning move a cave where we came out of a different door.

All good. We even stopped for a snorkle which was fun with Anna's camera.

When Marjan and I met up again we lunched, shopped and decided to make the most of the calm before the storm. Another visit up the Waimea Canyon. We did the Canyon trail a four mile (or 3.6 according to some, but we think 4 is more realistic) hike through jungle, along incredible cliffs to see........a waterfall. Of course this is the waterfall from our firts day in the canyon, so you can get a feel for it. See photos six and seven in that entry. With the bare ridge to the left of the falls a quite hairy late part of the walk, and the location of the photographer in 6 and 7 the beginning of the walk.

On the way up we found some running water.

The walk was mostly downhill, so the legs got a good workout. We both hated the last bit, which was a steep downhill along the side of the canyon with loose sandy gravel and very little grip. Ughhh!!!!.

At any rate the little watefall was cool and inviting.

The big waterfall was hard to see without falling down several hundred metres, but the views we stunning. And the rock formations either odd or created by a daredevil.

On the way back, going slow due to the constant uphill, we ran into four spanish women who had not even got a hotel they came right over to the park because they had heard that it was closing tomorrow due to the hurricane. We also bumped into an elderly couple who put us to shame...still we have no shame.

The trip back up did not seem as daunting as we had feared, so we made the time to visit a couple of   Outlooks ( not lookouts they are outlooks....and the light switches are on on the up position)

Finally when we got back Dani tried to make us feel useful by tying down some stuff and putting other stuff in the shed. They had been getting hurricane ready all day. We sort of felt guilty. 

Intrepid adventurers

We started our day out yesterday at the very respectable hour of 9 am. All we knew was that we were booked on a kayaking trip to a lovely bay with our host Dani, who works as a private guide as well as running her Air b'n'b. We should have got a bit of a hint as to her plans when she asked if we had river shoes, which of course we didn't. We packed light this time.

As Dani loaded up her truck with kayaks and a paddle boards, the other couple who were joining us on our adventure arrived. A delightful young, fit looking Californian couple who have been camping out and hiking in the canyon for the past few days. Dani is an incredibly fit, tanned mother of 5 grown up children who is 1/2 my size with about 20 times my energy. And then there was us.

The journey to Kalihiwai bay took about 1 1/2 hours and the weather changed completely from grey and stormy looking on the west coast to blue skies and calm waters on the north shore.
Our destination was a very picturesque bay, fringed with palm trees  and a river outlet. Our plan was to kayak  upriver, then secure our kayaks on the riverbank and walk upstream to the waterfall.
The land is privately owned so we had to walk in the water rather than along the river's edge so that we weren't  trespassing. This is where the river shoes came in . We were both wearing borrowed shoes. The view on the way up river was amazing, green, lush tropical jungle, hibiscus flowers floating the water, with the sound of wild roosters crowing in the background. Raf and I had some issues with steering and coordinating the paddling, so we initially zigzagged up the river rather than heading straight up the middle, but eventually we got a bit of a rhythm going.

Once we could  go no further in the kayaks, Dani secured them on the riverbank  and we headed up on foot, on very slippery rocks. We managed to stay upright most of the time. But a coupe of tumbles and one broken shoe later we arrived at the falls. They were breathtaking. A triple level waterfall, with a pool at its base and no-one  else but us to be seen. Apparently the only other access is via horseback tour, so it's not known to tourist at all. Just locals. We swam across the pool, sat under the waterfall and felt the serenity.

Feel the serenity

The return trip seemed quicker and easier, as return trips usually do. It helped that we had the current working with us rather than against us. We still managed a couple of tumbles but only bruised egos.

Then lunch under the trees on the beach before the next part of the adventure. We were going to kayak out of the river, into the bay towards open ocean, then around the point to a place called Mermaids Cove. Again Dani checked with me to make sure I was okay with a 'bit of a scramble" up the rocks. "No worries " said I blithely.  I was more worried about the kayaking in the direction of the open ocean bit, given that we have a hurricane coming and everyone has been saying how quickly things can change. But I was willing to defer to local knowledge and forge on ahead.

We almost made it out of the river into the sea without a problem, until the first wave hit and we capsized. Of course  we were just demonstrating the incorrect way to exit a kayak and the incorrect side to be on said capsized kayak so that when the next wave hits, the kayak knocks you over. Again.
Anyway, back into the kayak and heading out to the point. We managed to avoid all the rocks and then we saw the cove.  We had imagined a nice sandy beach with a bit of a snorkelling trip at the other end. What it was in fact, was a small rocky cove, no beach, entering into a sea cave with a blowhole inside. We were given instructions on how to get out of the kayaks and up the rock face between waves. Dani made it sound pretty straightforward. It was all going quite well until I tried to get out of the kayak and capsized it. Again. Luckily years of guiding and bringing up teenagers has made Dani very calm, so no panic ensued. We all made it up the rocks without further mishaps.

So then we see the entrance, and I use this term loosely, to the cave. It is in fact a 10 foot drop into the  pool in front of the cave. Everyone else took the leap, Raf included. I backtracked down the rockface,  slipped quietly and gracefully into the water and swam into the pool.  There is only so much intrepid adventuring I can take in one day.

The next swim was through a narrow rock opening into the cave itself. Again this had to be timed between swells of water, which seemed to me at this stage to be getting larger and more frequent.
Once we made it into the cave, it was incredible. It was filled with water, so we were still floating, but at the back of the cave was a blowhole. I have stood next to many blowholes, but i have never been swimming  in a sea cave next to one.  Very awesome.

Going in

Please do not complain about this. This was what the cave looked like when the blowhole blew. By the way regards to the clever lass who loaned me her underwater camera......whoohoo Anna.

We spent a few minutes in there then swam out again through the rock opening into the cove, with the ever increasing swells coming through the entrance. Up the rock face again, and across some rocks to have a look at a little bay around the corner which looked delightful, with yet another triple waterfall but which was only accessible with a hike and a...........and this  is where the sensible half of the partnership lost it with the iPad. So the slighly less sane but taller one takes over.

Then way out.

Suffice to say this place was at the base of a cliff on which Ben Stiller has his house and we found a pair of socks. After some really complicated manouvres to get back into our kayaks, We headed back  to land and tried very hard to line up the surf and the entry to the river. Yep! we flipped her again. Still we were laughing as we come up. By the way Damian and Nina( young, fit, athletic couple) flipped theirs too. It was tough. So tough we had a ten year old give us a push off to get on our way to the landing.

Truly an awesome day. We both did stuff we probably would never have thought to do and it was good. 

On our way home Dani invited us to view the sunset with her church group at Salt Pond Beach. We did, we were also invited to eat with them and joined in their after meal bible games and sing along. OK, all you cynics can stop now. No, it is not normally us. However we were invited and accepted so openly and warmly that we had a thoroughly enjoyable time.

OK that was yesterday. I will try to catch up on today during the evening.

Five 0

OK some people go to Paris, stay on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées and do a cooking class, some go to to South Africa on a private safari ranch and rough it in luxury tents with the big animals, some go to Bali and surf every day, even to Byron Bay for the yoga. Marjan and I go to suburban Kekaha, stay in a lean-to in someone's backyard and turn the tap on for the local cat when it jumps in our sink. Is this travel or are we stupid?

By the way, why do local politicians (it is coming up elections here and the signs are everywhere) never mention party affiliations? Also why do locals queue for gasoline everywhere you go? More on this later.

We set off early for our helicopter flight. I did not sleep well because of the heat overnight so I was dozing through the spiel until I heard the words "in case of a water touchdown". The adrenalin kicked in right away. They apparently do the seating based on marital compatability and butt size. Marjan got seat 1, I got seat 7. Marjan got to sit next to Joffrey our pilot, I was being clipped in the behind by the tail rotor.

The weather was not great, with a little cloud about, particularly on the heights. As we took off we got the Hawai five oh theme...corny but fun. Through all that it was still a worthwhile and awe inspiring experience, particularly for Marjan in the front. Waimea Canyon and the Na'pali Coast were absolutely awesome from the air. A whole new perspective. 

Lower canyon with Waimea in the background

Three hundred metr drop

Spot the other helicopter

What we particularly liked though was the mystery of the cloud topped valley leading to Mount Wai'ale'ale. The highest point on Kaua'i and the 'wettest place on earth' ( a short digression....no it is not. I always thought it was in India and looked it up, various sources confirmed it. This is one of the wettest places on earth, or the wettest place in the USA but NOT on earth.....whew, just had to get those yanks off my back). The chooper could not make it up over the mountain to see the crater that is now a swamp as we hit the clouds and they became our ceiling. But the scenery was very King Kong (now we also saw that, yes that, King Kong mountain, it along with Jurassic Park and Hunger Games scenery is on Kaua'i). At any rate it was terrific and bugger the expense. The children will just have to do it harder.

So after the chopper we had a coffee and morning tea to get our land legs back. Bought some decent cheese (it was Manchego...say no more!) and headed off for a beach crawl. Ke'e beach to start. This is right on the edge of the Na'pali Coast and fringed by reef. No snorkles so we just swam, watched the other tourist doing the burning sand shuffle to the water, and checked out the chickens looking for scraps. We had a couple of swims in between a pleasant picnic in the shade. Marjan jumped me and splashed water in my eyes. As if the helicopter back row was not bad enough. That woman!

Then on to Lumaha'i beach where I swam in the river and we watched a couple of frigate birds hovering above us. A great kid's  beach with very calm river beach front and a wilder surf beach.

We then decided we would like to see more frigate birds but the Kilauea wildlife sanctuary was closing in 30 mintes so we decided not to stay ( County officials start work at 7:45 so they go home early too). Instead we went to Moloa'a Bay to stare at the shorefront real estate and have a swim without having to worry at the mortgage. Neat hey.

On the way back we stopped at the good supermarket again for some fish. It was crowded, I mean really crowded. A huge line in front of every register, people carting off huge loads of canned food and water. We decided to risk talking to a yank and asked if this was normal. After all who can tell? It's the storm he said. Some people are panicking he said. He personally had 24 bottles of water and one bottle of whiskey. Be OK he said, no need to overreact, I am just here because I have the grand kids staying. That explained the whiskey.

So whilst everyone stocked up on emergency supplies we stocked on on two pieces of Mahi Mahi and a lime. 

When we got in the car we tried to find a news radio station. We could not find one so we settled for Alice Cooper playing our kind of musak. We were immediately calmed and felt much better about dying on Kaua'i. We got back to our lean-to and hijacked the internet from the people who live in a house. It told us that we have Hurricane Iselle bearing down on us Thursday and if we survive that on Sunday Tropical Storm Julio is going to sing up a ....well you get it. By the way I am due to go out in a rubber dinghie on Thursday and we have a flight booked over a volcano on Sunday. People who live in lean-tos should not throw cats out at night.

Marie Anne and I have begun to take this seriously, we are practicing being mean to other people. Luckily for us it all comes naturally. We were made to feel much better when the owner of the lean-to came to tell us we were all in this together, and if absolutely necessary she would let us doss in her garage........all jokes aside, Danii our host has made sure we are aware that her house will be ours if needed and that we are part of her family's emergency plan.

Having said all that we still plan to go kayaking tomorrow. Apparently waterfalls in the river are part of the plan....walking to said waterfalls I hope and not kayaking over them. Still with us, who knows?

A couple of late extras. The mahi mahi and lime was delicious but we have nothing left to eat after the hurricane. Also, people point at laugh at our little car. A little girl waved, when I waved back her Mum said she thought it must be full of munchkins. One bloke hung his camera phone out his window to take our picture. Small cars amuse yanks. Yanks amuse me. We all win.

No photos till tomorrow as we are planning on skyping some of the soon to be poor but bereft.