Frommer's Kauai - Jeanette Foster [134]
During the summer, Kokee Natural History Museum ( 80 8/335-9975) offers “Wonder Walks,” a series of guided hikes throughout Kokee State Park for a donation. This is a great way to learn more about the unusual flora and fauna in this high mountain area and to meet new people. Space is limited, so you have to call in your reservation. Hikers are advised to eat lunch before the hike and to bring light rain gear, water, snacks, sunscreen, protective clothing, and hiking boots. The hike leaves promptly at 12:15pm.
Hawaiian Wildlife Tours ( 80 8/639-2968; www.hawaiianwildlifetours.com) is environmental education in action. Biologist Dr. Carl Berg will take you out into the woods and down to the shoreline to see Kauai’s native and vanishing species, from forest birds and flora to hoary bats, monk seals, and green sea turtles. His personalized tours last from 1 hour to a week and are tailored around the season and weather, your physical abilities, and what you want to see. He leads tours to Hanalei taro fields to see wetland birds, to Crater Hill to see nene geese, to Mahaulepu to see wildflowers in the sand dunes, to Kilauea Lighthouse to see oceanic birds, and much more. Rates are $50 per couple, per hour.
Other options for guided hikes include Princeville Ranch Adventures ( 88 8/955-7669 or 80 8/826-7669; www.adventureskauai.com), which offers various hikes on 2,000 acres of private property, such as a 3-hour hike to a waterfall (plus another hour spent swimming) for $129; and Kauai Nature Tours ( 88 8/233-8365 or 80 8/742-8305; www.kauainaturetours.com), which offers a geological-history excursion, a tour of Kauai’s environments from the mountains to the ocean, and a Mahaulepu coast hike. All Kauai Nature Tours are led by scientists and range from $125 to $140 for adults and $95 to $115 for children ages 7 to 12.
THE POIPU RESORT AREA
Mahaulepu Shoreline Trail
The shoreline along Kauai’s south coast offers an easy 4-mile round-trip in spectacular scenery, ancient sites, petroglyphs, or, as Kauai geologist Dr. Chuck Blay says: “A heritage landscape revealing 5 million years of continuous history—a living museum, a research site, and a habitat for rare and endangered plants and animals.”
The Poipu Beach Foundation, with help from the Hawaii Tourism Authority, has produced a free interpretive map and guide to learn about the sites and features of this area.
The hike begins at Shipwreck Beach Park at Keoneloa Bay and ends at the remote Mahulepu Beach. The map and guide (along with the website) detail 9 different sites and 10 environmental features found only in this area. For more information check out www.hikemahaulepu.org, or for a copy of the guide, contact Poipu Beach Resort Association ( 88 8/744-0888;www.poipubeach.org).
The trail head begins on the east end of Shipwreck Beach, past the Grand Hyatt. It’s an easy 10-minute walk up to Makawehi Point; after you take in the big picture, keep going uphill along the ridge of the sand dunes (said to contain ancient Hawaiian burial sites), past the coves frequented by green sea turtles and endangered Hawaiian monk seals, through the coastal pine forest, and past World War II bunkers to the very top. Now you can see Haupu Ridge and its 2,297-foot peak, the famously craggy ridgeline that eerily resembles Queen Victoria’s profile and, in the distance, Mahaulepu Beach, one of the best looking in Hawaii. Inland, three red craters dimple the green fields; the one in the middle, the biggest, Puu Huni Huni, is said to have been the last volcano to erupt on Kauai—but it was so long ago that nobody here can remember when.
Zipping Through the Forest
The latest adventure on Kauai is ziplining. From a high perch, participants outfitted in harnesses and helmets attach themselves to a cable, which is suspended above the ground from one point