Tuesday is the first organized tour of the Hawaii vacation - A ZIPLINE ADVENTURE.  

Its misting and overcast...so we kill time around Hanalei Bay and Princeville mall shoppes.  The ZipTour says they go out rain or shine.  Try the Lapperts Ice Cream which is supposed to be best in Hawaii. Great stuff...for $4-5 a cone...a more pricey treat, but expected on Hawaii.

We'd booked w/ the operator - Princeville Ranch Adventures - after TryKauai.com and other online consolidators offered a 15-20% discount and they agreed to give us this direct.   I wondered outloud if Lyn, who is afraid of heights, would do it and was told we could book 5 and then ammend to 4.  

Lyn decides en route to Kauai she'll decline...given illness , sunburn, etc. and this would be some good "alone" time to rest as the 3 girls and I went on tour.  Our lost luggage and Sunday travel had kept me from contacting Princeville live, but Monday a.m. I  finally make live contact to inform them we'll be 4 for Tuesday.  Strict policy is 48 hr cancellation so I jokingly tell Lyn to eat light Tuesday morning. ( Princeville managment agrees to discretionary refund  after we've returned to Chicago, but strongly reinforces this is a big exception ) .

The AdventuresKauai - Princeville facility is convenient located 15 minutes out of Hanalei off of Rte 56. The safety class is provided by our tour guides - Preston and Rhonda and OSHA regulated gear is issued. We are in a group of 12 ..very mixed....from Ash at 13 to a 60+ grandma going out with two 20-something granddaugters.  All weights and sizes. Definitely not exclusive to the athletic/fit. We are warned the spans are 900 ft across and up to 100 ft high, so Ash (85lbs) and a couple others may be too light , but there are retrieval methods which myself and another male guest may aid the guides in getting everyone across. Whether chosing Princeville - Adventures Kauai or others tours with proximity to south side of Kauai...check the weight restrictions as some locations may have limits if too light/heavy to cross safely.      Its dependent on the line speed, height-distance and wind conditions.

The 12 of us pile into an old Swiss Army transport truck and head across the highway and to the Ranch land ..about 5 minutes away.
There are eight lines that require little physical prowess other than to push oneself off. Even the "landings" are mild asthe guides do a good job of reciept .   The group crosses each span 1-by-1 with one guide going over first and the guests in single sequence ....double locked into the zip-pulley. We are able to spin, go backwards, tuck, and stretch across the scenic chasms which are cut out of the Princeville valley by old stream/creekbeds. The technical aspect of the tour may involve having to step down or push off of sequential levels so you get good momentum . We feel safe and take some great shots of the scenery.   The chance to have a guest get stuck mid-line is fun. We have 4-5 retrievals towards the end of the tour due to lost momentum or a missed hand hold upon landing. The guides have to strap into the line and the guests are enabled to hook into the railing and let the guide zip back out to the middle and then reel them in together.   The terrain is rugged / muddy, so we get some hiking in as well.   

Our group doesn't do the optional $25 "dip" w/ lunch at a small waterfall/pond. I think it's modest compared to other falls on the island & awkward to get wet and then dry off.  Being on a "ranch" we aren't convinced the water source & pool will be ideal or that the experience is worth the time to extend from a 3 to a 4 hour tour.

We take some great pics, some running zip line (POV) video footage we can reference on UTUBE and enjoy the tour. Rhonda and Preston are articulate, funny, and educational on aspects of the sport and the terrain/area. We tip our guides and head back to the little Annini Beach nearby for some hiking....giving we are a little smelly and in the right gear.
Our tour operator may be accessed with :

http://www.adventureskauai.com/

I choose Princeville because they were closest and I thought the rougher terrain and more "jungle" valley scenery would be ideal.

If staying on the south side of Kauai...others are :
www.outfitterskauai.com

www.justlive.org