Kaua'i Part 2 -- Waimea Canyon

One of the chief tourist attractions on the island of Kaua'i is Waimea Canyon, also called the Little Grand Canyon. Though not as big as its namesake, Waimea is another of those fantastic wonders of wind and water erosion. And unlike its namesake, Waimea is green!

These pics were shot from the main overlook and only give a taste of the real scope and grandeur of this place. Not as much green as usual, according to the locals because Kaua'i is experiencing a two year drought. 

When the DH and I were here on the cruise in January, it was raining and we couldn't see anything. We definitely picked the right day to visit the canyon on this trip. Of all the days we spent, this one happened to be the most sunny and clear!

We were also lucky enough to arrive at the same time two native Hawaiians were chanting, dancing and playing a gourd drum as part of a ceremony for the canyon. Unfortunately, my pictures were too far away to see the figures, but it was fascinating to watch.

Another major attraction on Kaua'i are its waterfalls, which are still going in spite of the drought. Here's a photo of one of the more accessible one, Wailua Falls. The trail to the top of the falls was closed so we had to settle with standing at the overlook. However, you can kayak up the Wailua River for a closer look, and two couples had done just that the morning we were here. You can just see the pool at the base of the falls on the far right. One brave guy left his kayak and swam right up behind the falling water. I can only guess at how spectacular that must have been!

What are some of your favorite natural wonders?

Kaua'i Part 1

Just returned home from a week long stay on the island of Kaua'i, called The Garden Isle and for good reason. It is loaded with lots of lush vegetation and some of the most wonderful fruit I've ever tasted!

We spent a few hours on Kaua'i back in January when we cruised around all the Hawaiian islands, but it was raining that day and we were disappointed at not being able to enjoy the scenery. We had no such problems on this trip! The weather was great.

One of the first places we visited was a place we stopped at in January. We were very impressed with "the Spouting Horn" as they call this very unusual blow hole on the southern shore of the island.

As you can see from the piccie, the shore in this area is filled with black lava formations instead of sand. Erosion has formed a shelf and holes near and below the water level. A couple of the holes are tunnels, and one in particular "blows" like a geyser when the waves send water through it. It also makes a deep sound when the air rushes back through when the water subsides, hence the name "Spouting Horn."

Of course there's plenty of the beautiful turquoise waters, too. Sea turtles also frequent this area, and the day we were there, we saw three of them in the clear water on the other side of the horn.

We also went to nearby Po'ipu beach for a little picnic. As you can see from the palm trees, the wind was quite brisk, and the water outside this little protected lagoon was pretty rough. Not enough to discourage a few local surfers, however. We had a very relaxing lunch and stayed in the shade.

I'll post more piccies in a few days, but for now I'll let you dream about tropical beaches. Maybe you have a few favorites? If so, please share where they are.

Six Sentences from The Wild SIght

Four years ago this week, my debut novel The Wild Sight hit the bookstore shelves! (Unfortunately that was the same week the economy went into the toilet, but that's a post for another day.)


So in honor of the day I "officially" became a published author, I thought I'd share six sentences from my first published work.

So here are 6 sentences from Page 66 of The Wild Sight. The hero, Donovan is having a confrontation with his father Dermot, whose speech has been affected by a stroke:

Shaken with memories, Donovan felt his own face heating up. "Just because you never told me doesn't mean I don't know." He bent down nose to nose with his father and uttered what he'd never dare before. "People whispered for years that she ran off with another man."

"Nuh!" Dermot cried, rearing back in his chair, his mouth twitching with fury. "Eee-jit!" he finally managed to fling out, then another string of nonsense syllables.

If you haven't read The Wild Sight, it's available in print and ebook from Amazon. (Aunty winks conspiratorially.)