Island Hopping in Hawaii: Kaua'i & Oahu!

My travel writings are in journal form but consider these pages a valuable resource for budget travel, accommodations, and things to do in Hawaii.

Skip Kaua'i, go straight to Oahu.
Go to Victoria Place bed-n-breakfast, Kaua'i.
Go to Menehune Ditch/Waimea Canyon, Kaua'i.
Go to Na Pali, Kaua'i.
Go to Spouting Horn/Brennecke Beach/Poipu.


Well, where do you start when you missed your flight to Honolulu for no other reason but stupidity...That's how it started, but it definitely got better.

I was due to meet my mother in Kaua'i 24 hours after originally intended, but when I got to the airport in Kaua'i she was nowhere to be found. Instead, our friend Steve (a college friend of my mother's and virtual Kaua'i native), was there to greet me with the message: "Your mother missed her flight," (though not as a result of idiocy). She finally got in that evening and we headed to Hanapepe, a small town on the southwestern edge of the island, for dinner at the Hanapepe Cafe (featuring excellent gourmet vegetarian dishes). Good food, really cheap, but open only three days a week.

Victoria Place bed-n-breakfast

Our home away from home on Kaua'i was Victoria Place, a beautiful bed-n-breakfast run by Edee Seymour, a dynamic woman who knows everything about the island and makes the most incredible homemade breakfasts you can imagine. Edee is a delightful conversationalist who keeps your coffee cup full.

There are four rooms available, each with a different decorative theme (we stayed in The Shell Room), an eclectic and very full library, loads of resources on Hawaii, a swimming pool, and full use of all beach accessories (towels, suntan lotion, beach chairs, etc).

(Accommodations are about $85 per night and advance reservations are definitely required: Victoria Place, P.O. Box 930, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii 96765 Phone: 808/332-9300)

Poipu Beach

Victoria Place is also within easy driving distance to many points of interest on Kaua'i, including Poipu Beach--one of the best on the island for sunbathing-- and Waimea Canyon (a must see). Our first full day on Kaua'i it poured rain all day, so we ended up at KMart (so I could shop for clothes that actually fit me; sizes in Japan are fit for the equivalent of pubescent American girls). The next day we attempted the beach but within 15 minutes we were hovering under the pavilions on Poipu Beach with handfuls of other dripping wet wanna-get-tan white people. (In fact, every day we were on Kaua'i it rained, "the worst they'd seen it all year," of course). But we did get a few glimpses, half-days of sunshine, and desperate as we were we kept the beach chairs in the trunk so whenever the sun came out we'd just pull off the road somewhere and sit out there until it started to rain again!

Menehune Ditch/Waimea Canyon

We took the afternoon to drive up to Waimea Canyon, which is definitely better to see on a clear day, but nonetheless our views were spectacular (at least on the way up). The major lookout points towards the top end of the canyon, however, were pointless, as the further up we went the heavier the torrential downpours. The Koke'e Lodge is a great place to stop en route to the lookout points but be sure to get there well before 4 o'clock or you won't get to sit down for a cappuccino or browse the groovy gift shop. On the way up to the canyon we stopped at the Menehune Ditch, an ancient aqueduct which was supposedly built by the legendary Menehune. Part-legend, part-history, the Menehune were said to be a race of small people who inhabited the Hawaiian islands prior to the arrival of the Polynesians. There are many stone monuments throughout the islands which have always been attributed to these ancient "little people". There are also many petroglyph (ancient writing system) findings on these stone monuments and you can see a lot of T-shirts and souvenirs sporting the cool-funky petroglyphs.

Na Pali

The next day our friend Steve took us up to the Na Pali coast in the northeast. We stopped briefly to look down at Lumahai Beach (famous film site for South Pacific), before continuing to the northeast coast. The Na Pali coast is another place that's probably better seen on a clear day without an umbrella, but it was actually pretty cool to be there amidst the wild rain and wind, with the equally raging surf down below.

Spouting Horn/Brennecke Beach/Poipu

You should also check out the Spouting Horn, down to the west of Poipu Beach, and while you're in the neighborhood, have a meal at Brennecke's Beach Broiler at Poipu Beach Park. The sunsets are supposed to be the best on the island (when it's sunny, of course).

Other cool stuff

Other pluses on Kaua'i: A massage by Lucinda Baptiste at the West Kauai Massage Clinic & Health Center (located in the Eleele Shopping Center in Eleele--appropriately.) Her number is 808/335-3535; 1/2 hour massage--$30. Also look for Lilikoi pie, similar to our key lime but made with lilikoi, a Hawaiian fruit. You can get a perfect Italian dinner--though a little pricey--at Pomodor, down Highway 50 (around Kalaheo). Kaua'i isn't overly developed so things are really easy to see and get to from the road. Good cheap food and yeeha desserts at the Camp House Grill, also on Highway 50 at Kalaheo.

OAHU!


SHORTCUTS
Check out food/shopping.
Check out hiking.
Check out Pearl Harbor.
See the island of Oahu by bus.
Check out the hula show.

Polynesian Hostel Beachclub

My mother headed back to the East Coast and I went solo to Oahu. Got an easy Waikiki Express shuttle from the airport ($7 or $8) to the Polynesian Hostel Beachclub, located at the far end of Waikiki Beach near the Honolulu Zoo and Kapiolani Park. For $15 a night I shared a dorm with 3 other people, which of course has its major drawbacks (not to mention the bunk beds are miserably creaky), BUT this place is 1-1/2 blocks from the least crowded of the Waikiki beaches, 1/2 block from the vast expanse of Kapiolani Park, and all conveniences (food/shopping) are within easy walking distance. It worked for me. Not to mention the staff is really cool, there's a common room with a different video shown every night, free tea/coffee 24 hours, use of beachmats and snorkel gear, laundry facilities, and even a barbecue once a week. I made a reservation two months in advance but they didn't have my name when I got there and I still got a room with no problem. I heard there are better hostels in the area (i.e. Interclub Hostel Waikiki) for the same price, but I preferred to be away from the crowds-- which are mostly Japanese, and since I live in Japan I wasn't in the mood to fraternize. (Polynesian Hostel Beachclub: $12-$15 for Shared room; $28.95 for a Single; $37.95 for a Double; and $45 for Private Studio. Address: 2584 Lemon Road, Waiki, Hawaii 96815. Phone: 808/922-1340 Fax: 808/923-4146 Email: dbhawaii@lava.net

Food/shopping

I found my first full days of hot, burning, give-it-to-me sunshine in Oahu. Every day was a beach day, and every meal I went to Denny's. Denny's rocks. Denny's was truly my home away...(Man, this girl is pathetic, you must be thinking, but after being deprived of hash browns and pancakes and salads with bleu cheese and chocolate milkshakes and omelettes and grilled cheese sandwiches and all that nasty fat cholestorol vein-clotting American crap food for almost two years--it was like being a kid in a candyshop (or whatever it is kids get excited about these days, electronic game shops or something). So I at at Denny's for breakfast, lunch and dinner a couple of days, then I branched out and further fulfilled my eating fantasies at Red Lobster, "for the seafood lover in you." I also did some more shopping at the Ala Moana Center, which was under construction but could possibly be the world's most complex, obnoxious, huge shopping mall--there's just too much stuff and you have to leave a trail of breadcrumbs to figure out where you came from in order to get back.

Hiking

The hike up Diamond Head is more worth it than the guidebook sounded (and you really do need a flashlight for the tunnel, so don't ignore that advice). It's about 25 minutes up to the summit--depending on your stamina--and the views from the top are, well, killer. You can see Honolulu down below, of course, but the surfside view is the best. Diamond Head towers above Kapiolani Park so it's not easy to miss and you can see it from just about anywhere on Waikiki Beach. Another good hike was the Maunawili Trail, which one of the hostel staffmembers organized. I don't think it was listed in my guidebook so I'd strike it up as a good trip to make. You take a bus to Ala Moana Center, then catch the #55. Ask the driver when to get off; it's about an hour's ride out of the city. The hike begins with a 20-25 minute walk through a beautiful residential area, and then you reach the trail signs and begin the climb to the falls. It's not too strenuous, but really muddy in parts, three streams to cross, and a few torturous climbs. The mountain views and tropical foliage en route are worth it.

Pearl Harbor

I also visited the USS Arizona memorial in Pearl Harbor. For those unfamiliar with its significance to Americans, it is a narrow white memorial building perched atop the sunken Arizona which was one of many ships bombed in Pearl Harbor during the surprise attack by the Japanese on December 7, 1941--an event which ultimately launched the United States into the war. As you stand inside the memorial and look down into the murky waters at the water-worn and eroding ship beneath, it's difficult not to think about the 1,177 men entombed below. Their bodies remain there as a memorial to their patriotism. You can get to it easily by taking the #47 or #20 bus towards the airport--it'll drop you off right in front of the memorial. You should definitely get there early a.m. (I arrived at 8 o'clock and got in the second group of the day, but there were masses of people already there and lining up for later tours. There are only a limited number of tours per day.) By the way, it's free-- a major plus for budget travellers.

Seeing the island
After I did the memorial I hopped on the #52 Circle-Island Route--an approximate 4-hour trip if you don't get off and on too much. I though it was worth it (bus far is $1.00 each time you get on) just to see almost all of Oahu without having to make too much effort. You'd be amazed at how different the rest of the island is from Honolulu. As soon as you get about 30 minutes out of the city there are vast expanses of open countryside, valleys and mountains, and once you reach the north and windward shores, there are miles and miles of nearly deserted beaches slapped by aquamarine waters.

The Kodak Hula Show
And how could I go to Hawaii without seeing a hula show--there's a free one in Kapiolani Park every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 10 a.m. The Kodak Hula Show has been around for years, and some critics would say the women who perform aren't very attractive, and it's all too touristy, or whatever, but before I heard any of that I went and enjoyed it: an 1-1/4 of free, genuine hula, performed by men and women in traditional garb. Hold onto your coconuts when they do the Tahitian-style dances...If you want a taste of those more "sophisticated" shows, just walk along Waikiki Beach in the early evening and stop in to sample different hotel attractions. They usually have performers and musicians playing on their beachside terraces.

So there you have it. Aloha, mahalo, sayonara.

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