Frommer's Kauai - Jeanette Foster [147]
Princeville Ranch Stables, Highway 56 (just after the Princeville Airport), Hanalei ( 80 8/826-6777;www.princevilleranch.com), has a variety of outings. The 11⁄2-hour country ride takes in views of the Hanalei Mountains and the vista of Anini Beach ($80). The 3-hour or the 4-hour “Waterfall Picnic Ride” crosses ranch land, takes you on a short (but steep) hike to swimming pools at the base of waterfalls, and includes a picnic lunch for $125 to $135. Riders must be in good physical shape, and don’t forget to put your swimsuit on under your jeans. The Princeville Ranch Stables also offers other adventures, ranging from the less strenuous wagon rides to a cattle-drive ride.
TENNIS
The Kauai County Parks and Recreation Department, 4444 Rice St., Suite 150, Lihue ( 80 8/241-4463), has a list of the nine county tennis courts around the island, all of which are free and open to the public. Private courts that are open to the public include the Princeville Tennis Club, Princeville Hotel ( 80 8/826-3620www.princeville.com), which has six courts available for $15 per person ($12 for guests) for 90 minutes. On the south side, try Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa Poipu Resort ( 80 8/742-1234;www.kauai-hyatt.com), which has three courts, available for $25 an hour; and Kiahuna Swim and Tennis Club, Poipu Road (just past the Poipu Shopping Village on the left), Poipu Resort ( 80 8/742-9533), which has eight courts renting for $15 per person per hour.
Chapter 8: Exploring Kauai
Kauai Attractions
Yes, Kauai has the best beaches in Hawaii, but don’t forget the rest of this beautiful island. Get out and discover for yourself why Kauai is called the “Garden Isle.” Walk back in history in the capital of Lihue. Make time to see Kauai’s incredible botanical world of manicured gardens, the geological wonders of Waimea Canyon, the incredible carved cliffs of the Na Pali Coast, and the enchanted rainforests of the wettest place on Earth. Book a helicopter flight, take a back-roads tour in a four-wheel-drive vehicle, make a pilgrimage to a Hindu temple located on a sacred Hawaiian site, drop the kids off at a children’s museum, or sign up for an expedition to Kauai’s famous movie sites. There’s a lot more to Kauai than its gorgeous beaches, so get out there and discover why visitors become enchanted with this magical island.
1 Lihue & Environs
Grove Farm Homestead Museum You can experience a day in the life of an 1860s sugar planter on a visit to Grove Farm Homestead, which shows how good life was (for some, anyway) when sugar was king. This is Hawaii’s best remaining example of a sugar-plantation homestead. Founded in 1864 by George N. Wilcox, a Hanalei missionary’s son, Grove Farm was one of the earliest of Hawaii’s 86 sugar plantations. A self-made millionaire, Wilcox died a bachelor in 1933, at age 94. His estate looks much like it did when he lived here, complete with period furniture, plantation artifacts, and Hawaiiana.
4050 Nawiliwili Rd. (Hwy. 58) at Pikaka St. (2 miles from Waapa Rd.), Lihue. 80 8/245-3202.www.hawaiiweb.com/kauai/html/sites/grove_farm_homestead.html. Requested donation $5 adults, $2 children under 12. Tours offered Mon and Wed–Thurs at 10am and 1pm; reservations required.
Touring Off the Beaten Path
If you are itching to get off the beaten path and see the “hidden” Kauai, Aloha Kauai Tours, 1702 Haleukana St., Lihue, HI 96766 ( 80 0/452-1113 or 80 8/245-8809; www.alohakauaitours.com), has a half-day, four-wheel-drive tour that follows a figure-eight path around Kauai, from Kilohana Crater to the Mahaulepu coastline. The tour, done in a four-wheel-drive van, not only stops at Kauai’s well-known scenic spots but also travels on sugar-cane roads (on private property), taking you to places most people who live on Kauai have