Frommer's Kauai - Jeanette Foster [6]
5 The Best of Underwater Hawaii
• Caverns: Located off the Poipu Beach resort area, this site consists of a series of lava tubes interconnected by a chain of archways. A constant parade of fish streams by (even shy lionfish are spotted lurking in crevices), brightly hued Hawaiian lobsters hide in the lava’s tiny holes, and turtles swim past.
• Hanalei Beach: Divers love this area because it has an ancient sunken valley with post-erosional cliffs. Hanalei Bay indents the coast a full mile inland and runs 2 miles point to point, with coral reefs on either side and a patch of coral in the middle—plus a sunken ship that belonged to a king, which means excellent diving.
• Oceanarium: Northwest of Hanalei Bay you’ll find this kaleidoscopic marine world in a horseshoe-shaped cove. From the rare (long-handed spiny lobsters) to the more common (taape, conger eels, and nudibranchs), the resident population is one of the more diverse on the island. The topography, which features pinnacles, ridges, and archways, is covered with cup corals, black-coral trees, and nooks and crannies enough for a dozen dives.
• Haena Beach Park: In summer when the water calms down, this golden sand beach becomes a giant aquarium, great for snorkeling amid clouds of tropical fish.
• Kee Beach: Where the road ends on the North Shore, you’ll find a dandy little reddish-gold-sand beach almost too beautiful to be real. It borders a reef-protected cove at the foot of fluted volcanic cliffs. Swimming and snorkeling are safe inside the reef, where long-nosed butterfly fish flit about and schools of taape (blue stripe snapper) swarm over the coral.
6 The Best Golf Courses
• Kauai Lagoons Golf Courses ( 80 0/634-6400): Choose between two excellent Jack Nicklaus–designed courses: the Mokihana Course (formerly known as the Lagoons Course), for the recreational golfer; or the Kauai Kiele Championship Course, for the low handicapper. The 6,942-yard, par-72 Mokihana is a links-style course with a bunker that’s a little less severe than Kiele’s; emphasis is on the short game. The Kiele is a mixture of tournament-quality challenge and high-traffic playability. It winds up with one of Hawaii’s most difficult holes, a 431-yard, par-4 played straightaway to an island green.
• Puakea Golf Course ( 86 6/773-5554): This former Grove Farm sugar plantation opened up 18 holes in 2003 to rave reviews. The course was in the middle of construction when Hurricane Iniki slammed into it in 1992, rearranging the greens from golf-course designer Robin Nelson’s original plan. The first 9 (actually the first 10) holes finally opened in 1997 to many kudos; Sports Illustrated named Puakea one of the 10 best 9-hole golf courses in the U.S. The final 8 holes were finished last year.
• Poipu Bay Golf Course ( 80 8/742-8711): This 6,959-yard, par-72 course with a links-style layout is the home of the PGA Grand Slam of Golf. Designed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr., this challenging course features undulating greens and water hazards on 8 of the holes. The par-4 16th hole has the coastline weaving along the entire left side. You can take the safe route to the right and maybe make par (but more likely bogey), or you can try to take it tight against the ocean and possibly make it in 2.
• Kiahuna Golf Club ( 80 8/742-9595): This par-70, 6,353-yard Robert Trent Jones, Jr.–designed course plays around four large archaeological sites, ranging from an ancient Hawaiian temple to the remains of a Portuguese home and crypt built in the early 1800s. This Scottish-style course has rolling terrain, undulating greens, 70 sand bunkers, and near-constant winds. At any given time, about half the