After spending yesterday on the North Shore, today we decided to tackle the South Shore. We spotted this double waterfall on our drive to Waimea.
We drove through the towns of Puhi, Lawa'i, Kalaheo and Hanapepe before reaching Waimea. I think we saw each town's post office, but not much more than that. Trying to find a coffee shop proved quite difficult. We finally found one in Waimea, attached to an art gallery and had to laugh at the level of customer service. The barista obviously doesn't get too many customers. She spent about 10 minutes making Matt's coffee…offering 1 shot or two, rice/soy/cow's milk, several different sugars, more/less ice, etc. You don't get that kind of service at Starbucks!
Once in the town of Waimea, we made our way up the mountain to the Waimea Canyon Lookout.
The road was less windy and treacherous than I thought it would be, though I didn't look down much.
The lookout was about 10 miles up the road at 3,400 feet.
The views were stunning!
This spot is called Hawaii's Grand Canyon and it sure was massive and majestic.
We saw and heard a few helicopters fly through, but otherwise it was very peaceful.
So much beauty to take in and I don't think the pictures even do it justice.
Back at sea level, we stopped at the Spouting Horn Blowhole. We were disappointed that it was fenced off, but the sounds and sights were still spectacular. I guess it has proven to be more dangerous than the Nakalele Blowhole we hike down to on Maui.
The Poipu shorelines were so pretty, but different than the North Shore.
We absolutely loved all of the chickens covering the island. One of our guides told us that chickens outnumber residents 4 to 1!
After a tasty polish sausage with mango relish at Puka Dog, we spent the afternoon snorkeling at Poipu Beach Park.
It was a family-friendly beach with snorkeling 10 steps into the water. We saw Butterfly Fish, Humuhumu-Nukunuku-Apuaa, Needlefish and Parrotfish mostly.
The tide pools were full of crabs, sea urchins and sea cucumbers.
We cooled off and watched Monday Night Football at 3:00pm at Brennecke's Beachfront Bar and Restaurant. We ate Kalua Pork Nachos and drank Pina Coladas and Lava Flows for an early dinner.
We passed through this cool tree tunnel on our drive through Koloa
and finished our busy day at Wailua Falls. These falls are 173 feet long with an amazing pool below.
