Five essential Kauai experiences

BY ROBIN ROBINSON

The steep jagged cliffs along Kauai’s Napali Coast plunge straight into the sea. Looking down on them from a helicopter, a sense of deja vu washes over me. This is my first visit to the island, yet the rugged landscape is strangely familiar. Perhaps it’s because scenes for more than 90 major films and TV shows have been shot on “Hawaii’s Garden Isle.”

The largely undeveloped tropical wilderness — some 97% of Kauai is either set aside for conservation or used for agriculture — has had a starring role in everything from Raiders of the Lost Ark to Avatar, The Descendants, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, assorted Jurassic jaunts and many more.

During my recent visit, Fred Atkins of Gaylord’s Kilohana Plantation told our group of travel writers that another blockbuster — Disney’s Jungle Cruise — was being filmed nearby. Set for release in 2020, and starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt, Jungle Cruise is based on the Disney theme-park ride of the same name.

Hollywood blockbusters aside, with so much natural beauty and so little population — less than 70,000 people — Kauai is a rare place to decompress and embrace nature. Here are my suggestions for six great things to do on this unspoiled paradise only a 40-minute flight from Honolulu.

1. JURASSIC WONDER

With rainforests, cliffs, canyons and more than 80 km of white sand beaches, it is little wonder filmmakers repeatedly choose Kauai as a shooting location. Created by volcanoes more than five million years ago, on screen the island can look like everything from a tropical paradise to an out-of-this-world locale. A helicopter ride is a great way to grasp the diversity of this ancient landscape, and definitely worth the splurge.

Our 60-minute Deluxe Waterfall tour with Safari Helicopters took us over Waimea Canyon, often called the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. At 16 km long, 1.6 km wide and 1,100 metres deep, Waimea Canyon is a fraction of the Grand Canyon’s size, but it’s still pretty impressive, with densely forested mountainsides punctuated by towering waterfalls. The largest, Waipoo Falls, is some 244 metres high. We also flew along the Napali Coast for views of the cliffs and pristine hidden beaches at their base, which are only accessible by boat.

Safari’s Refuge Eco-tour covers the same area but also lands at a remote spot owned by the Robinson family, who have considerable land on Kauai and own Niihau, Hawaii’s seventh island, which is nearby. See www.safarihelicopters.com.

2. SAIL AWAY

For a waterside close-up of the dramatic cliffs and secluded beaches along the Napali Coast, take a cruise with one of several charter outfits.

We embarked at 8:30 a.m. for a five-hour sail and snorkel cruise with Holo Holo Charters. After a narrated trip along the coast, the crew anchored the catamaran at a sheltered spot so guests could swim or snorkel. Snorkel gear, flotation devices and reeffriendly sunscreen were provided, and one crew member did lifeguard duty while guests were in the water.

We saw some playful dolphins and depending on the time of year, you might see humpback whales.

A continental breakfast, buffet lunch and beverages were included in our package. Holo Holo also has sunset cruises, plus land and sea adventure tours. See www.holoholokauaiboattours.com.

3. HIKE TO A WATERFALL

Some of Kauai’s best hikes start in Waimea Canyon State Park. Trails range from family friendly beginner routes to strenuous hikes for experienced trekkers and include cliff trails, canyon trails and waterfall hikes. See www.hawaiistateparks.org/parks/kauai/waimea-canyon-state-park.

4. DIG A LITTLE DEEPER

The 32-hectare Allerton Gardens — part of the National Tropical Botanical Network — is a stunning example of why Kauai is called “Hawaii’s Garden Isle.”

Tucked into the Lawai Valley on the island’s south shore, Allerton is part garden and part art exhibit, with “garden rooms,” such as the Mermaid Room and the Bamboo Room, designed with exotic plants, fountains and other water features, and sculptures collected by Chicago philanthropist Robert Allerton on his travels.

Allerton and his adopted son John Gregg Allerton began developing the garden in 1938. Over the years many famous people visited Allerton, which National Geographic Traveler listed as one of its “50 Places of a Lifetime – America.” Today the public can visit on guided group or private tours.

Many films and TV shows have used the garden as a location. Jurassic Park fans might recognize Allerton’s Moreton Bay fig trees. The giant trees figured in the pivotal scene where Dr. Grant discovered a nest full of dinosaur eggs resting between the Moreton’s buttress roots.

See www.ntbg.org.

5. PAMPER YOURSELF

With more than one million visitors per year, Kauai has accommodations to suit most budgets – everything from five-star resorts to B&Bs.

We stayed at the lux Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort and Spa on Shipwreck Beach. It has spacious rooms and suites with private patios or lanais (Hawaiian for veranda), and swimming pools that blend into lushly landscaped grounds. In addition to a quiet adult pool with secluded seating nooks, there is a lava-rock-lined lazy river, secret caves and a 50-metre waterslide. The resort has several restaurants. Tidepools occupies a series of open-air, thatched-roof bungalows over a koi lagoon and is an atmospheric place for dinner while Hale Nalu, the poolside “surf shack” decorated with surfboards is a fun spot for lunch.

There is serious pampering at the Anara Spa, where locally inspired massage, facials and body treatments are the specialty. These include a warm stone pohaku massage, float therapy and garden massage, lomilomi massage or facial, and body treatments using Hawaiian botanicals such as pineapple, papaya, coffee, lilikoi (passion fruit) or awa.

See www.hyatt.com/en-US/hotel/hawaii/grand-hyattkauai-resort-and-spa/kauai.

ALSO WORTH CHECKING OUT

Gaylord’s Kilohana Plantation is a former cattle ranch and mansion built in the 1930s for Gaylord Wilcox, one of Hawaii’s sugar barons. The house and outbuildings have been converted into a tourist attraction: There is excellent al fresco dining on the lanai, a living-room beverage lounge with live music, and small shops in former bedrooms. Visitors can buy locally made rum at the Koloa Rum Company store on site. A vintage narrow gauge railway called the Sugar Train takes riders to gardens and an agricultural park, where some crops are grown. Gaylord’s also produces a theatrical luau that showcases local traditions such as fire dancing, hula and live music.

See www.kilohanakauai.com.

NEED TO KNOW

For information on visiting Kauai, see www.gohawaii.com/islands/kauai.

Published in the Toronto Sun