I spent two weeks in Kauai for a business trip, and of course my wife joined me! She was able to explore the island far more than I, but here are some highlights from our excursions when I wasn’t working.
I arrived on Saturday and spent my first weekend exploring Lihue and Poipu.
A beautiful sunrise in Lihue. This was taken from the golf course, which I later learned you’re not supposed to walk on.
A seal on Salt Pond Beach. Signs were posted asking visitors to leave the seals alone.
I did not have much time for hiking or photos until Thursday night, when my wife and I did a picnic along Waimea Canyon Road after work. The sunset views were breathtaking!
We spent Saturday exploring the Waimea Canyon area more and hiking the trail after the Pu’u O Kila Lookout. The views leading up to the Pu’u O Kila Lookout were amazing.
This is probably my favorite shot from the trip. Absurdly beautiful view of the canyon: check. Drama from a fortuitous ray of light: check. Rainbow: check.
As we drove higher up, we found that the mountain was covered in clouds. This resulted in some dramatic views of the valley below.
The clouds would clear periodically.
As we began hiking further up beyond this point, the clouds fully enclosed us and we did not get to see very much. Moreover, the trail was extremely muddy due to the heavy rains from the weeks prior, which meant the hike was way more challenging than we’d anticipated.
After our hike, we enjoyed lunch at a festival in sunny Waimea.
We also spent quite a bit of time at the beach!
We enjoyed a sunset at the Fish Pond.
On Sunday, we joined up with some of my colleagues to hike along the northern coast.
We were tired from our hike yesterday and ended at this beach, whereas my coworkers continued onto an arduous hike to a waterfall. The waters were very choppy at this beach, which is not suitable for swimming.
After our hike, we stopped by the NāPali Coffeehouse & Art Gallery, where I had, without a doubt, the greatest mocha I’ve ever had. We eventually returned to Lihue for yet another beautiful sunset.
Ninnini Point Lighthouse
Tuesday morning was another treat. My wife drove me to Shipwreck Beach in Poipu before work to catch the sunrise. The skies were cloudy the entire time, so we gave up and headed back. Just as we were pulling out of the parking lot, the sun broke through the clouds. If only we hadn’t given up! Still, I was able to get some nice dramatic shots.
A shot of the moon I got later that evening.
The rest of my trip was not as eventful. My wife flew out on Wednesday, and I spent my downtime exploring Kauai a bit more.
I attempted a sunrise shot of Waimea Canyon. I didn’t have a tripod and unfortunately didn’t really get the shot I wanted. I also only brought a 70-200mm lens, which meant I was making a lot of panoramas.
There are chickens EVERYWHERE
I also got to hang out with some cats at TropiCats.
Kauai Museum
Beachrail Lines
Layover at Denver!
My two weeks in Kauai were a blast. It was a privilege to be able to do some cool work alongside great people, and explore Kauai with my wife. Kauai was even more beautiful than I’d imagined, and it makes me excited to visit the other Hawaiian islands sometime in the future.