Hawaii Tag 28: Da Kauai nur zu 20% mit dem Auto bzw. zu Fuss erkundet werden kann, muss man gelegentlich auf andere Hilfsmittel zurückgreifen.
That's why we booked a helicopter tour for today. It's supposed to take us across the entire island and past the Na Pali Coast. This stretch of coast is mostly only accessible by boat. A small part is reachable via a 15 km hiking trail. We'll do that on our next visit here to the island ☺
From Lihue Airport, we flew through Waimea Canyon to various craters. Thanks to the rain in the past few days, there were plenty of waterfalls to see. Scenes for Jurassic Park were filmed at one of the larger waterfalls, though that was a while ago =). We learned that Steven Spielberg is a big fan of Kauai and has filmed several movies here. The proximity to the studios in LA is, of course, another reason. (Edit: Jurassic World (2015) was also filmed on Kauai, which you can directly see in the movie if you've been to Kauai before).
To avoid straying from the topic, we continued on past Princeville and Hanalei Bay to the Na Pali Coast. The beaches there look beautiful from the air. One beach is known from Pirates of the Caribbean 4.
Impressively, the boss and founder of AOL owns the largest estate on Kauai. A ranch with cattle breeding, sugar, coffee, and banana plantations, and several forests. He is the richest man on the island and also one of the most influential donors.
In total, we'll be in the air for one hour, giving us plenty of time for photos and to enjoy the flight.
We landed well again and drove directly to the north of the island. That's on the completely opposite side, so to speak. About 2 hours away by car. However, it took us longer because we stopped at a few beaches and places along the way. For example, there was a great lighthouse in Kilauea, which, like all the others on the island, is actively used. You can enter the grounds until dark.
The Maniniholo Dry Cave in Haena State Park was interesting. You can walk about 20-30 meters into the cave. That's great when it's so warm.
We watched the sunset at the end of the highway, which leads to the 11-mile Kalalau Trail, the hiking path to the Na Pali Coast.
Dinner was in Princeville today, and afterwards we went back to the hotel.
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On my travel blog Wandernotizen I'll take you along on our family trips around the globe. Between wanderlust and everyday chaos, you'll find honest travel reports, tips, and plenty of material to ignite your wanderlust. 🧭 ❤️ 🏝️