A Day on the Wailua River

The Wailua River cuts directly through the middle of Kauai and is one of the few ways to see the center of the Island - we decided to spend the entire day today on the River. We woke up this morning and headed to Wailua Kayaking Adventures in Kappa. We had booked a tour with them to Kayak a few weeks ago and learned that they also rent Paddle Boards. Eric and I first went paddle boarding in San Diego last summer and I loved it!  We went there in the morning and told them we were going to do the Kayak tour in the afternoon and they gave us a discount on the Paddle Boards since we would only have them for a few hours.

We headed to the river since the water was calmer there than in the Ocean. We paddled around for a while and even attempted to paddle out to the Ocean from Wailua Bay. Unfortunately, it was pretty windy by the Ocean and we didn't want to brave it with our paddleboards, so we headed back up the river. Paddling on the river was a dream. The Wailua River is exquisitely beautiful. Everywhere you looked you could see green. It was magical.

We had about 2 hours on the river before we had to head back for our tour. 2 hours was the perfect amount of time - we were tired by the time we finished, but still had enough energy for a kayaking adventure. We've never kayaked before, but we caught on fairly quickly. Our guide was named Kathleen and she was easily one of the most interesting, genuine people I've ever met. You only had to talk with her for a few minutes to know that she LOVED everything about Hawaii, especially the animals and plant life.

We kayaked 2 miles to get to a trail to hike to the Secret Falls. The hike was only about a mile and it was gorgeous. We were in a rainforest and everything was green. Our guide pointed out a few birds that are only on Kauai. They love people. It was fascinating because she would call for them and they would come to her. They were beautiful birds! Throughout the hike, we crossed a stream and ran into a smaller waterfall. We also saw some gorgeous foliage including the Elephant Ear Leaves and the "Green Room," which looked like a fairy castle. The hike ended at the beautiful waterfalls. It was seriously take-your-breath-away gorgeous. At one point in Hawaiian history, only the Queens could bathe at the Water Falls. The last King of Kauai also had his home near these waterfalls. It's easy to see why they would want to be close to them.

Eric and I took a few pictures and then decided to go for a dip in the pool around the waterfall. The water was pretty cool, but we adjusted quickly. Our guide told us she would take photos if we got in, so we got a few pictures and were getting ready to come out and she told us to go under the waterfalls. It was a surreal experience being behind the waterfall. It was so much fun.

We hiked out and Kathleen showed us where the last King of Kauai's home was. We also saw petroglyphs carved into the rocks. Our guide picked up "Hamburger Seeds" and handed them out. I loved them - I thought they were adorable. We finished the hike and headed back to the River to Kayak back to the marina. At the marina, there was a peacock wandering around. Kathleen brought bread and let me feed it. It was a gorgeous bird, its feathers were almost shimmering. The feathers on its back reminded me of a mermaid. Overall, the kayak and hiking adventure took us about 5 hours. By the time we were finished we were very hungry, so we headed to the Shrimp Station for dinner where Eric had shrimp tacos and I had garlic shrimp. It was delicious. We can't wait to see what tomorrow had in store!