Na Pali

The hugest "thing" on my must-see list for Kauai was the Na Pali Coast. Originally, we scheduled a boat charter tour out to see the coastline on Tuesday, but that was cancelled due to high surf and currents through the channel. I guess the captain didn't feel that the trip could be made safely....hey, I'm all for safety on boats. Plus, I get sea-sick, so the thought of taking a trip like that on an extraordinarily bouncy day didn't sound like fun AT ALL. So, we happily rescheduled for Friday. On Wednesday, that trip was also cancelled. I spent a few hours on Thursday trying to reschedule the trip. Most of the charter tours also decided that the trade winds were too strong and that the channel was just too rough to make the trip. Finally, I found a company that was taking a 65 foot catamaran out to see the Na Pali coast and attempting to go out to snorkel by Niihau. I was so excited because this was the same trip I had planned on doing in the first place, just with a different company.
Anyway, on Friday morning, we met with the captain, who said that the surf was still intense....he gave us percentages on being able to do the things we wanted to do on this trip. He said there was an 85% chance he would make it all the way up the Na Pali Coast and a 60% chance to be able to cross the channel and go to Niihau. With those odds, we could decide whether we wanted to go another day (not an option for us because we had to leave that night to Oahu), get a full refund, or just GO and take our chances. The odds for Na Pali were good enough for me. And, although Niihau was exciting, the coastline was what I really wanted to see. I was not disappointed. The cliffs were beautiful.....more so than these pictures can possibly show. The sun was just over the tops of the cliffs, so there is a funny glare on the pictures...you just have to imagine the most lush green you have ever seen on top of the most jagged cliffs anywhere. These are the second tallest sea cliffs in the world........they are awesome and not to be missed if you ever visit Kauai.

Our boat captain decided two miles from the coastline that indeed, we were going to be able to make it to Niihau. The whole boat was excited.....I think a few were (rightfully) nervous. The waves were pretty "exhilarating" as our captain put it. It was perhaps the most bumpy boat ride I had ever taken, but the Dramamine "gods" were smiling on me that day. I didn't get queasy at all, which is highly unusual for me. I got car sick every day on the islands....so I though the boat ride would be horrible. IT WAS for some people, let me tell you. I have never seen so many "barf buckets" in one place before.....but I was FINE! (And that's all that really matters, right?) The captain even felt brave enough to pull our boat 1/2 way into the keyhole in the rock.

My other "to do" list for this trip included seeing whales and dolphins. We were also able to cross that off our "list". We saw MANY humpback whales.....so cool...their sprays would let us know they were there, then we were able to see them breach and flash their tails. I have been on a few whale watching adventures before and NEVER seen ANY whales, so this was amazing to see so many on ONE trip. We also saw a group of spinner dolphins....so cute! Julia loved that! And while we were snorkeling, we befriended a monk seal (endangered) near Niihau. We also saw sea turtles and tons of tropical fish.

Julia and Dad staying afloat in the rough sea.....with noodles. The currents were strong, as were the swells, so it was nice to have the comfort of the swimming noodles while snorkeling........

Unless you're Jourdan.....then you're way too cool for a noodle. He changed his mind after 10 minutes of fighting the current and swells. When it was time to re-board the boat, Jourdan and I spent 20 minutes trying to swim the last 30 feet to the boat. The currents were so strong that no matter how hard we kicked (with fins) we still weren't going anywhere....sometimes even backwards. We had a terribly rough ride back to Kauai. I had just dried off after eating lunch and standing out in the wind when the boat took a huge wave. It came up and over the top of the boat where the captain sits and dumped at LEAST 50 gallons of water over my head. I had JUST finished drying and put on my shorts and tank top............aaarrrgh!!!! I managed to dry again until someone barfed near me and I had to move outside to once again face the huge waves. I was just amazed that I didn't get sick at all with the huge waves we were taking on. The staff said that riding in a catamaran was much different that taking waves in a traditional one-hulled boat. Must be! It was a fantastic way to spend our last day in Kauai.