Hawaii - Jeff Campbell [409]
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WAILUA
pop incl Wailua Homesteads 6650
Wailua makes an ideal home base, giving you a choice between oceanfront condos for a 24/7 soundtrack of waves, and upcountry B&Bs and vacation rentals surrounded by lush gardens and rolling hills. Other attractions include a whimsical kiddie playground, a gigantic Hindu monastery and the state’s only navigable river.
Orientation
Don’t look for a town center. Most attractions are scattered along Kuhio Hwy (Hwy 56) or along Kuamo′o Rd (Hwy 580), which leads mauka (inland). To get to Kapa′a or beyond, take the Kapa′a Bypass Rd, which runs from Coconut Plantation to north Kapa′a.
Sights
See the Kaua′i Heritage Trail (wailuaheritagetrail.org) website and map for an overview of major sights.
LYDGATE BEACH PARK
With safe swimming, beginner snorkeling and two children’s playgrounds, this popular beach park can entertain restless kids all afternoon. If you’re seeking a secluded, pristine beach, Lydgate might seem too built-up. But most families will appreciate multiple diversions. Remember, the shallow seawater pool is calm thanks to the protective stone breakwater, but beware of the open ocean beyond the pool.
A volunteer group (see www.kamalani.org) in 1994 built the multifeatured Kamalani Playground (at the north end), a massive 16,000 sq ft wooden castle with swings, slides, mirror mazes, a suspension bridge and other kid-pleasing contraptions. It built another wooden masterpiece, the simpler, two-level Kamalani Kai Bridge (at the south end) in 2001. Other amenities include game-sized soccer fields, a 2.5-mile bicycle/pedestrian path, pavilions, picnic tables, rest rooms, showers, drinking water, a lifeguard and ample parking.
To get here, turn makai (seaward) on Kuhio Hwy between the 5- and 6-mile markers.
STEELGRASS FARM
Learn more about diversified agriculture and cacao growing at this family farm (821-1857; www.steelgrass.org; adult/child 12 & under $60/free; 9am-noon Mon, Wed & Fri), which offers a unique chocolate farm tour. Steelgrass Farm’s two other crops are timber bamboo and vanilla, but the 8-acre farm features literally hundreds of thriving tropical species, which you’ll also see on the tour. It’s a fantastic introduction if you’re curious to see what thrives on Kaua′i – from avocados and citrus to soursop and jaboticaba.
The farm’s owners, Will and Emily Lydgate, are the great-grandchildren of Kaua′i minister and community leader John Mortimer Lydgate, the namesake of Lydgate Beach Park. The property was not an inheritance, as JM (as he was known) had no desire to acquire land or to profit from the sugar industry. Read more about the family’s intriguing history at the website.
With their farm as a thriving example, the Lydgates are trying to encourage a shift away from the monocropping and sheer capital outlays of large-scale, industrial agriculture – and toward small-scale farming and diversified crops. Steelgrass is meant to be a ‘teaching farm’ to experiment with workable crops such as cacao.
Contact the family for farm location and directions.
SMITH’s TROPICAL PARADISE
Other gardens might have fancier landscaping or loftier goals, but you can’t beat Smith’s for value. For $6 you can leisurely stroll a loop trail past a serene pond, grassy lawns and island-themed gardens. The setting can seem Disney-esque, with an Easter Island replica and tour trams, but it’s appealingly unpretentious and large enough to accommodate all. The Smith’s family-run luau (Click here) is held on the garden grounds.
KAUA′I’s HINDU MONASTERY
On an island virtually devoid of Hinduism, this one-of-a-kind Hindu monastery (822-3012; www.himalayanacademy.com; 107 Kaholalele Rd; 9am-noon) welcomes both serious pilgrims and curious sightseers. Set on 458 acres of buoyantly thriving rainforest above the Wailua River, the astoundingly green