You can go on a tour up the Wailua River, but we chose to rent a boat and go by ourselves. We ended up with a canoe with kayak paddles, but it worked well.
And we got this crappy map for free. Our goal was to paddle to the trailhead for Secret Falls, hike to the falls, then kayak to the Fern Grotto.
Once we found the trail, it was fairly easy to follow.
There were some water crossings. This wasn't the worst, but I was too busy trying not to float away on the really bad one to get a picture.
We must be getting close - I think this smaller falls is the Queen's Bath. There was also supposed to be a King's Bath, but we didn't see it.
Wow! Uluwehi Falls, aka Secret Falls, is a beauty!
Hi there! Although there are chickens all over Kauai, they tend to gather at touristy spots. They know where the food is.
After we managed to find the boat again, we paddled farther upstream to the Fern Grotto.
The big boat that provides the tours to the grotto was leaving when we got there, so we had the place to ourselves.
The grotto is a natural amphitheater filled with ferns.
The ferns grow upside down from the ceiling of the lava-rock grotto.
After we returned our canoe, we got to tour the Kamokila Hawaiian Village for free, since that's where we rented the boat. Lots of peacocks and peahens there.
Love that picture of the ferns.
ReplyDeleteyou guys had a wonderful adventure!! Love those waterfalls---and the birds!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos and they brought back wonderful memories. I visited Hawaii in 1991 and took a day trip to Kauai. At that time, the Fern Grotto was a popular destination for Japanese weddings. In fact, they called it the "Las Vegas of Japan". You could rent a minister, flowers and witnesses for $400, IIRC.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely stunning!
ReplyDeleteBoy that is my kind of day, out on your own on the water paddling to a trail to a waterfall. Too funny the chicken picture.
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