Hawaii and Kauai

We were looking for adventures on a Hawaiian island and we found what we were looking for on Kauai.
It all started when we were still at O'Hare and we found out that our plane had a mechanical defect and that we would miss our connection from LA to Kauai. After spending numerous hours on the phone we ended up spending the night in LA and so that we could take the first plane to Kauai next morning. This also meant that we would miss our planned helicopter ride, which would have been one of the highlights of this trip. Luckily, we were able to book it on another day that turned out to be way better than originally planned.
The coolest part of this helicopter ride was that the chopper had no doors and one could take photos with no reflection. It was absolutely amazing and I would recommend it to anyone who has no fear of height. The down-wash was incredible and it almost ripped the camera out of my hand the first time and the strap around my wrist saved the day. This way of seeing the island allowed us to explore locations that otherwise would not be accessible, such as the estate of the Robinson family.

Then we went tubing through irrigation flumes and tunnels dug in the 1870s. Ok, I agree that it was not very adventures, but it was very relaxing and one saw the island from a different angle.
After that went zip-lining with Koloa Zipline. This was our first zipline and I admit that it was a lot of fun. Our very professional guides told us so many interesting stories about nature, the former economy and movies that have been shot here on the island.
Hiking the Napali coast was more strenuous than I expected. Even though, it was nice and dry weather the hiking path was sometimes very slippery and somewhat challenging with our Merrells. The view along the coast was stunning.

Who would expect a mini grand canyon on an island. Well, that is what Waimea canyon is and a drive through this natural wonder is a pleasure and provides many lookout opportunities.

On Wednesday, we flew over to the Big Island were we met up with friends to enjoy more of the island's pleasures. Again, we took a helicopter tour, this time with doors and saw some unique places, such as the lava field.

A couple of weeks prior to our arrival the Kilauea volcano was erupting and entering the ocean at Kamokuna. We were not lucky enough to see the spout, but flying over the volcano was still very memorable.

Of course there are so many other things to discover here on the Hawaiian islands that we will be back another time.