Pleated cliffs, red dirt, and waterfalls

Gavin is tired of me dragging him out of bed early for activities, but we did one last early morning on this trip.  We got up today to drive back to the airport and take a helicopter tour of Kaua’i, including a landing at the waterfall featured in Jurassic Park (Manawaiopuna Falls).   The helicopter tour was about an hour and a half, and it was our first view of the sharp cliffs and canyons carved out of the north end of the island and through the middle, the Na Pali Coast and the Waimea Canyon.   Gavin got a window seat, but we both got stuck in the back row of the helicopter, and I was stuck in a middle seat with views obstructed by everybody’s heads.  <sigh>

Sunrise at the airport.

Our ride for the morning.

Ready to fly!

My view from the helicopter.

Waimea Canyon from above.

More of Waimea Canyon.

Look at all the little waterfalls!

The north coast of Kaua'i.

A green river valley. 

The Na Pali coast. 

"Pleated" cliffs. 

The Na Pali coast.

Jurassic Park falls was nice, about a 300-foot waterfall.  The helicopter pilot played the theme from Jurassic Park on our headsets as we approached. It was a good thing he played it, otherwise Gavin said he would have sung it for everybody.  :)

Maniwaiopuna Falls (Jurassic Park Falls)

Gavin and I at the helicopter landing place at Maniwaiopuna Falls.

After the helicopter ride, we decided to drive right to Waimea Canyon to see it from the ground, as it is hard to have size perspective when one is flying.  The scenic drive through the two parks (Waimea Canyon State Park and Koke’e State Park) that make of the canyon is full of lovely viewpoints.

Waimea Canyon from the ground. 

There were several lovely viewpoints along the Waimea Canyon Drive

That little waterfall in the left side of the photo is actually an 800 foot waterfall: Waipo'o Falls.  We hiked to it!

A closer viewpoint to Waipo'o Falls.

We also stopped to do a hike from the Pu’u Hinahina lookout to the Waipo’o Falls inside the canyon.  It was about four miles and not too strenuous, though it was mostly downhill on the way to the falls and uphill on the way back.  The hike also included a stop on a plateau inside the canyon with a vertigo-inducing sheer drop off on the side.

View from the end of the Cliff Trail, a short detour from our hike to
Waipo'o Falls.

Waimea Canyon Trail, a tree clinging to the side of the cliff. 

On a plateau inside the canyon.

Looking over the edge of the cliff.

Bright rusty-red dirt on the trail.

Gavin on the Waimea Canyon Trail.

The waterfall itself had nice little pools to get wet in, but we hadn’t brought any swimwear and the water was COLD!  We were able to stand at the top of the tall part of the fall and look over the edge.  Helicopters passed by for views of the falls and our group of 15 or so tourists lounging on the top of them.

We made it! This is just a small part of the Waipo'o Falls; the rest is
below us.

Panorama of Waipo'o Falls.

Gavin admires the view.

Looking over the edge of the falls.

View of the canyon from Waipo'o Falls.

After hiking, we headed to the end of the Waimea Canyon drive, ending at the Pu'u o Kila Lookout.

Pu'u o Kila Lookout with views of the Honopu Valley and the ocean.

Panorama of the Pu'u o Kila lookout.

After our scenic drive, we headed back to our tree house to get ready for a fancy dinner.  We headed over to the St. Regis Resort in Princeville to have dinner at the Kaua’i Grill, the top recommended restaurant on the island of Kaua’i in a massive resort that had basically taken over an entire peninsula of Kaua’i.  The restaurant had a large wall of windows facing the ocean, and was supposed to have a good view of sunset.  We had some tasty, fru fru expensive food, but it was delicious.  We couldn’t actually see the sun from this point on the island, but we got to watch the colors of the sky change and darken.  After dinner, we went to the less-fancy Makana Terrace restaurant in the resort that had actual outdoor seating facing the ocean.  We ended our night with tea, coffee, and fresh ocean breezes.