Kauai Day 6

Day 6 we woke up early ready for a big day!  I really wanted to hike to these waterfalls, but it's a 8 mile hike.  I had talked to my doctor about it and he gave me the green light.  He said if I could run a 5k I would be fine hiking 8 miles.  I was so happy he said I could do it cause Darren did NOT want me to try and hike it until I talked to my doctor. 
So anyways, Darren went to some classes that morning then we headed to the Northside of the island.

Paul bought this net and brought it everywhere with him.  He was on the constant lookout for amphibians of any kind. And he asked almost everyone we walked by if they had seen any lizards. I think he found frogs, but no lizards or geckos.
 

So the hike goes for 2 miles along the Na Pali Coast- which is absolutely spectacular, then we turned up a canyon for 2 miles till we hit the waterfall.  The hike up the canyon was beautiful as well.

I love this picture, and the Dr. Seuss looking tree in the background.  We saw hundreds of dolphins in the water as we hiked along the coast.

After 2 miles we reached the beach, it was beautiful, but crowded.  There are lots of signs to not get in the water because of the strong riptides.  There was a sign that said, "this many tourists have drown here", and there was a notch in the wood for each person.  We counted 36.   Then we notice tourists playing in the ocean.  Duh. I think the sign should say, "sharks in the water".  LOL.  Then they would probably have no problem keeping people out of the water.

After resting a bit and letting Paul look for frogs in the fresh water we headed up the canyon, I had heard the hike was very difficult and muddy.  I think if your not used to hiking it would definitely be difficult, but it was nothing compared to some of the hikes I've done in Montana.  So I felt confident and great.  I did take a lot of water and a water filter.  My doctor said the 2 things to be careful of was getting dehydrated and overheating.  So I drank lots and lots of water, and payed close attention to my body heat. We had to cross the river lots of time.  We came prepared and wore Tevas, so it was not a problem.  I had bought Paul a good pair of Tevas just for this hike.

We made it!! It was actually kind of cold up there.  And the water was freezing.  So I sat and watched while Darren and Paul swam behind the waterfall and Paul tried to catch fish with his net.

 

Yeah! I had to take a picture to prove I hiked it 7 months pregnant.  I thought it was funny to pass people as we hiked.  I was curious to see if anyone would say anything about me being pregnant.  Everyone we passed would look at my belly, then look at my face, and their eyes would get real big, then they would just keep hiking without saying a thing! No one said a word to me until we were on our way down- and I had 2 people say something nice. After hanging out a while we headed back down. 

We had a great time.  I felt good the whole time, till the last mile and half.  It was the heat of the day and we were out of the cool of the canyon.  We were hiking along the coast and the heat was just beating down on us.  I suddenly felt like I was getting so hot.  So we sat in the shade and Darren poured cool water all over me.  It felt nice to be have him taking care of me.  After that we filled up our water at a spring and I got my hair wet and my tank top soaked in the water and felt so much better.  We had such a good time.  Paul did great the whole time and I was so proud of him. 

After the hike we got some lunch and then went snorkeling at Tunnels Beach and it was a really amazing snorkeling spot.  It was very shallow in one area- maybe3 feet deep, and the bottom was rock with tiny little holes in it.  There were tiny baby fish of all kinds everywhere!  When you would get close they would swim to their little holes in the rock and peek their heads out at you.  It was amazing! I had never seen anything like it.  They were so cute! I felt like I was in a cartoon.  Then we swam out deeper and saw all sorts of cool fish, and more sea turtles.  There are sea turtles everywhere in Hawaii!  I could have spent a whole day there,  but it was getting late and we were tired and hungry. So we headed home feeling fulfilled and happy. 

Kauai Day 5

On Wed. Darren didn't have classes, but wanted to go scuba diving.  Which I was fine with- I am happy for him to go.  So we got up early and I drove him to the dive boat and dropped him off.

Here they are getting ready.  Darren had a great time.  They did 2 dives.  He took our favorite underwater camera down to 80 feet and it broke.  After he found out it was only good to  30 feet.  Oh well, it has served us well. So that's why there aren't a lot of underwater pictures from this day on.

While Darren went diving Paul and I went and did a tour of Allerton Gardens.  I loved it.  It was beautiful, refreshing, relaxing, and over all good for my soul.  Our tour guide, Star, was amazing.  She seemed to love plants every bit as much as I do! What is Allerton Gardens? Well, here is a great description I copied from their website:

 

 

Allerton Garden (Lāwa`i Kai) lies between the Pacific Ocean and the McBryde Garden in the Lāwa`i Valley, on the south shore of the Hawaiian Island of Kaua`i.
 It is a garden paradise, transformed through time by the hands of a Hawaiian Queen, by a sugar plantation magnate, and most significantly by an artist and an architect. The endless possibilities found in this dramatic topography led to the creation of this masterpiece of garden art.
A series of garden rooms unfold between the Lāwa`i Stream and the cliffs of the Valley. The sound of water is in abundance in pools, miniature waterfalls, and fountains. Statues grace this former estate and resonate with a European influence.

Sounds awesome right?  It was.  Each different section of the garden they call rooms.  Each room was unique and had a different theme.   Did you know that 98% of our medicine comes from plants?  And rubber comes from plants? You probably knew that, but have you ever really thought about it? Rubber, is made from a PLANT?? Isn't that weird?  Plants are AMAZING! 

Trees are amazing too.  I believe trees and plants have spirits.  They are living, breathing things. 

Here is a hillside covered in flowers.

Here is Paul standing by a bamboo tree.  Our tour guide has taken a picture of her standing by it every week- for the last 4 weeks. First it was at her knees, then her shoulder, then a little above her head, then a lot above her head.  Bamboo grows 6-12 inches a DAY.  Yeah, that's right, a day.  See, plants are amazing.

This was Paul's favorite part of the tour- the Jurassic park tree!! This is the tree in the first movie that they hide in when the t-rex is looking for them. It was a magnificent tree.

More pictures of beautiful trees.  After the gardens we went and picked up Darren.  We went and got lunch at a Hawaiin Fish Market that people raved about.  It was the most authentic Hawaiin food I had the whole time.  It was ok. After that I think we took it easy that night and hung out at the hotel.