Kayaking Na Pali: A Tale in Pictures

A few weeks ago we headed to Kauai to kayak the Na Pali coast with three other couple friends.

We arose crazy early in the morning, packed our dry bags and loaded ourselves into the back of an enormous flatbed truck.




We bounced along the coast in the wind and light rain but all was good as we watched the sunrise and got peeks at the Kauai scenery.



Once at Ha'ena Beach, our starting point, we dragged our kayaks to the water, loaded them all all our crap.



We had a lot of crap for just 48 hours.



Lifevests on and we're ready to go.



And we hit the water. Actually, Bryan and I literally hit the water. We got a nice push off the beach into the surf and immediately flipped out boat and found ourselves submerged. Hello ocean, nice to meet you! But quickly on the kayak, we got our paddling groove and moved along the coast.



This is good.



And this is where we're headed. So lovely.



Along the way we found a bunch of caves. This was a cluster of three. So cool and a bit eerie too.



Making excellent progress we enjoyed the scenery and had a great time.



The beach along the left there is Kalalau Beach. Our stopping point for the day. Kalakau has a nasty shore break and we experienced the full brunt of it. Kayak flip. Sunglasses and hat gone. Minor freak out of how bad it could have been. But what are you gonna do? We had all our limbs and our sense of humor.



We explored the beauty that is Kalalau.



And we set up camp in an enormous sea cave.




A nap and snack later, Bryan and I went exploring.



Ooh, lovely.





Then we headed back to the group to get dinner going. A nice little fire, a little wine and we were ready for the sunset.



And later, s'mores.




Off to bed for a rough sleep entertainingly interrupted by our friend's shrieks as a crab entered her tent and snipped at her toes. And then up to a beautiful morning.



We're headed out that way to finish the trip.



Approaching Open Ceiling, an insanely beautiful exposed cave.



Our friends taking in the beauty at Open Ceiling.




Some paddling, some floating, some silliness, and some snacks. And now we're approaching Polihale Beach where our adventure ends.



Another rough landing, a freshwater shower, and snacking. And then we load our stuff onto the same truck and have the bumpiest ride of our lives.


The End.

Moral of the story? Never pass up any opportunity in Hawaii. Beauty and fun is around every corner. Also, Bryan and I make a good kayaking team.