Day-9 – To North Coast and Hanalei Bay

Today we are going on an excursion to the north coast up to Hanalei Bay before coming back.  Also, tonight we are headed to a luau so we need to be back by at least 4:00 pm so we can get ready.  The sunrise is mostly clouded over but about an hour later we do have this view.

As we drive north on RT 56 we can see the mountains on this side of the island, very sharp, but with growth up near the tops.  Unfortunately, you have to look beyond the power lines.

When we decided to take this tour we also had the choice of going on a movie tour.  The movie tour went to various sites where movies were made.  This location along RT 56 was used in the movie Jurassic Park when the group in the jeeps first sighted dinosaurs eating from the tree tops.

Again imagine this view in a scene in the movie Jurassic Park, but without the road in the background.  The trees in the foreground with the flowers on top are African Tulip trees.  I can see why this site was chosen, it is a very pretty sight.

We continue on our drive and after passing Kilauea we turned to go to the Kilauea Point Lighthouse.  The light house is on a peninsula and was closed down for repairs so we couldn’t go to it.  Eather way, we have a really good view of the lighthouse from this vantage point.

To the right of the overlook is another smaller peninsula that looks to be a rookery.  There are quite a few birds on the cliff in addition to the birds flying around. 

Here’s Carmen at the view point for the lighthouse. 

Before we leave Carmen gets a good close-up of the lighthouse.  It looks like it would have been a neat place to explore and what a view from there.

One of the views we have as we drive to our next stop.  I think we were around the town of Kalihiwai.  This is a nice coastline.

We pass a banana plantation or maybe not a plantation, but they are growing banana.  The blue bags keep the bananas from bruising. 

Our next stop is Anini Beach Park.  From here we can see the lighthouse at Kilauea Point. 

I love this classic view; sandy beach and palm trees. 

Walking along the beach I spied this itsy-bitsy crab.  It is only about a ¼ inch wide; very small.

Some of the driftwood we found on the beach.  Some of the places we have visited this driftwood would have been taken for various crafts and furnishings.

I found this broken coral in the surf and put it on this stump.  It looks like a piece sign and thought this location was pretty serine.  Piece baby!

A few miles down the road we come to the Hanalei Valley Lookout.  From here we can see down into Hanalei Valley.  You might know the song by Peter, Paul and Mary: Puff the Magic Dragon lives by the sea and frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Hanalei.  Well this is that Hanalei. 

In the valley is this ranch that has several bison that they are raising.  I haven’t seen any bison burgers in any of the restaurants so I wonder if they are raised for personal use. 

From the vantage point of the valley overlook we can see Hanalei Bay in the background.  The road continues around the mountains on the other side of the bay.  Beyond the point is the town of Wainiha.

Getting ready to leave I see this unusual flower.  I just love the wild flowers on the islands. 

We drive down in to Hanalei and the bay.  Here the beach curves around the bay and looks pretty inviting.  If you have seen the movie “The Descendants” with George Clooney, this is the beach where he was spying on the man that had the affair with his wife and followed him to a house – also on the beach.

The Hanalei Pier from the beach where by-the-way is the beach where they filmed “South Pacific” and the scene where they sang “Gotta wash that man right out of my hair”.

Again looking at the pier and the far end of the bay you can see the cloud cover is getting thicker and dropping.  The road continues around the bay, but this is as far as we go and will soon return to the hotel

We stopped at the local (outdoor) tourist mall and saw this t-shirt and found it appropriate, even though the rooster or chicken is not the State bird.  The saying reads “The official bird & alarm clock of Kauai.  Chicks dig me cuz I stay up all night!”.  Love it, didn’t get one.

After having a small lunch at one of the food restaurants we walked around the mall.  Here is one of the more colorful food establishments at the mall, but we didn’t eat here. 

I’m not sure but I think this is some kind of orchid.

There is a food truck here also, look pretty good.  I like the directional sign post with part of the fruit menu on it.

We leave Hanalei and the bay area making our way back to the hotel.  We can see the mountains and fields some of which look like they are growing taro in the back.

Passing the Jurassic Park movie site again, only this time we are on the right side of the van.  I get a good wide angle shot of the field.  Imagine you drive in on a jeep on the right and see dinosaurs eating the tree tops.

Before too long we are back at the hotel and since we have plenty of time to get ready I decided to take a look at the beach here at the hotel.  Well, I guess I will not be lying on the beach getting a tan here.  Still it is a nice view. 

We head back to the room and get ready for our Luau tonight at the Smith’s Tropical Paradise.