Oahu and Kauai, Hawaii. These islands have way more to offer than expected.

A nice escape from rainy Vancouver! A great start since the trip was organised by the great “Eva Tours” so I only had to fly to Honolulu and join the program! Thanks Mrs. Travelplaner 😉

First stop Ohau for a day. We explored the island by climbing on Diamond Head and went snorkelling before we continued to Kauai.

Kauai is an amazing little spot with an incredible diversity in nature, landscape and scenery. We explored the coast line by bike and went to the famous Na Pali Coast on the next day.

What an amazing spot with thick rainforest, the Hanakapia`ai waterfalls and finally: mud again!!! Jiehaaa – felt like being “home” in NZ. The Na Pali Coast Trail goes along the coast line for 17km. Unfortunately you officially need a permit to do it and we had to little time for an overnight hiking trip. I was tempted to just run it in one day but… I guess I have to come back. It looks spectacular.

Next day we went to the Waimea Canyon which extends from the Na Pali Coast.

It’s amazing to see how the weather constantly hits the northeast coast and brings a lot of rain which is caught in the high shore mountains – and after that there is a desert-like canyon which is only fed by one waterfall directing the water from the upper wet plateau into the valley. What an amazing scenery.

And the end of the road gives an amazing view over the Na Pali coast. This is the last valley which the Na Pali Coast Trail crosses before its end in the next bay. Lucky to get some views in between the clouds.

In the morning I ran up the Sleeping Giant and in the afternoon we had an epic cruise around the Na Pali Coast – checking it out from the other side now. We left the harbour and after fifteen minutes I spotted a school of dolphins.

They accompanied us for a while and then took off again. Five minutes later the captain directed our attention to the horizon. Even though the whale season usually starts a couple weeks later we spotted the first two humpback whales. And what a spectacle – they jumped right in front of the boat for us. My first time!

The cruise continued with epic views over the Na Pali Coast and an amazing sunset.

After a nice little kayak trip and a bit more swimming and snorkelling it was time to leave for Maui.