Waimea Canyon is a good two hours from our hotel, so we arrived at Kokee Park in the afternoon. The drive was super windy and through desert, mountains and all with tropical plants and trees thrown in. We weren't quite sure what to expect as far as where to hike but we knew we couldn't miss seeing the canyon itself, very similar to the Grand Canyon. It was breathtaking!
As we were looking at all of the trail maps and trying to determine exactly where we wanted to hike, Jeff came up with the best idea ever! We took 4x4 trails with our car so that we could cover more ground and see more things. We would hop out of the car and hike down or up trails that we wanted to see, or where we heard running water to catch a small waterfall
or a stream as it crashed over the boulders.
We drove close to the summit of Wailea where the Na Pali coast hits the back of the park. Huge cliffs descend into a beach thousands of feet below. The summit is just over 5,000 feet. The Na Pali coast is the only part of the Kauai coastline inaccessible by car, the only way to see it is on foot or via boat.
We saw several waterfalls within the canyon views but only a few that the camera could grab very well. Most of the helicopter tours of the island bring you up through the canyon so you could see and hear them throughout the park.
There is also a missile base up near the summit, it brings you right back down to earth when you see the huge satellites and missile silos. Crazy! It would be a pretty view if you had to work there every day though.
Poor Jeff, we were all exhausted and fell asleep on the long drive back to Princeville.