Day 7 - Maui to Kauai

Our last day in Maui and transfer flights to Kauai. Another lovely sunny day so have decided we would join the Americans in a morning constitutional along the beachfront walk; well we walked and they mostly ran; with the food they eat I guess this is the only way the slim ones manage to watch their weight. Surfs up today, not large by Hawaiian standards but impressive all the same; it seems strange to see an almost flat calm sea and then the waves start building around 20-30 ft from shore before cresting and breaking. As we are Starwood members we were allowed to check out of the hotel at 1pm rather than 11am which has meant we could go to the beach for a swim and still have time to shower and change. It was absolutely glorious on the beach. Bill went out near the rocks to snorkel but was unlucky and didn't see any fish though! Turtles are often sighted here but no sign of them either. I am still nervous of the breaking surf since my experience in Spain when I got caught in the undertow and couldn't get back to shore so I stayed really close to shore. The waves are so amazingly strong that they knock you off your feet really easily! After checking out we drove to Lahaina for a look around the town and to grab some lunch. We had been recommended to try Kimo's and we weren't disappointed; we had a lovely Mahi Mahi fish dish and a Hula pie to share courtesy of a hire shop where we had asked directions. Just as well we were sharing as I was huge! Basically it is an ice cream type cake on a black biscuit base and filled with nuts (macadamia I think), then smothered in chocolate sauce and whipped cream.

Lahaina is a very pretty town that looks very frontier like with pastel coloured buildings made from wood and wooden boardwalks. Most of the shops are art galleries, restaurants, gift shops or selling excursions, which contrary to what we were told at the hotel are much cheaper; not that we have had much time to go on any though. I would have liked to have done a whale watch trip as they guarantee sightings this time of year but will have to content ourselves with seeing them from the beach. We walked along the marina area after lunch and just by one of the dive boats there was a "small" shark. We had been told they were in these waters but there had not been any sightings and loads were swimming in the sea. Not sure I would have gone in had I seen this before I had swum!

Currently waiting for our flight to Honolulu and then to Lilhue in Kauai. Managed to get seats together on the first flight but we are 6 rows apart on the flight to Lilhue! These inter-island flights seem to always be chokka.

We finally managed to get seats together courtesy of the woman next to me who moved back to let Bill sit next to me; given the fact that we stayed on the same plane it made no sense to have us move in the first place!

Lots of turbulance - when the pilot doesn't release the cabin crew to serve the drinks you know you are in for a really bumpy ride! Lucky on arrival here too though as there had been thunder and lightning plus rain all day on Kauai but had stopped when we arrived. Caught the free shuttle bus to the hotel, the Marriot Beach Hotel and Spa; it's absolutely huge, 56 acres! The lobby area alone is bigger than the whole of our bungalow and garden put together. Anyway we asked on check in if we could have a room with a king size bed as we had had two doubles in Maui; unfortunately they didn't have one available but unlike the Sheraton on Maui the receptionist upgraded us to a pool/sea view and gave us $50 credit on our account; good start. The room is fantastic and the view…….