Friday. My last day on the island, so I started early. Helicopter ride was at 3:15pm and lot's to see before that. So directly after breakfast (the Moco Loco again) I drove across the island to Waimea canyon road. The trip up the western rim of the canyon was almost like driving up from Innsbruck to Mittenwald. Except that it is much hotter on Hawaii of course. At 10am I was at Pu'u Hinahina about 1000 m above sea level. The air here was actually cool with a pleasant breeze. The view over the Waimea canyon was breathtaking as expected.
Waimea canyon may not be as big the Grand canyon nor as deep but it is much more beautiful.
As it wasn't as hot a I had feared I ventured a short trip down to the valley floor. However after about 30 min it got hotter and stuffier the further down I went so I decided to turn around before I got to deep down. The way back up was not as pleasant as the way down and I was very happy I had water with me. I think I drank the whole bottle in less than 20 min.
On the way down from the canyon I stopped at the Waimea Canyon Lookout to take a picture of the waterfall I almost reached on my hike. Apparently one can reach the top of the waterfall by traversing along the side of the canyon for about 2 miles from the lowest point in the trail I was on.
Well I was scheduled to see the falls up close from the helicopter later in the day so I wasn't to disappointed that I gave up on the trail.
After getting down from the ridge there was just enough time for a short visit to the Spouting Horn on the very south shore of the island. Which was kind of unspectacular (and very hot). So I didn't wasted any more time, drove back to Lihue and stopped over for a bite to eat and a pint of lager beer at the Kauai Beer Company. The beer tasted very much like the classical Munich beer. After that I was more than prepared for the highlight of my stay on Kauai - the helicopter flight with doors off.
Stay tuned for my account on this extraordinary experience...
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