Wild gem of the Pacific

Less famous than its Hawaiiansister islands, André Raine visited Kaua‘i and found that it’s perfect for nature lovers… and dinosaurs, pirates and King Kong.

The helicopter buzzed through the narrow canyon, sheer cliff walls looming up on either side of us. The cool mountain air whipped through the open cabin, tugging at our flight suits, stray wisps of rain dotting our visors.

Kaua‘i’s character is tied irrevocably to its sheer wildness, with its heavily forested interior, other-worldly cliffs and stretches of uninhabited beaches- André Raine

At the far end, we came to a hovering halt in front of a dramatic waterfall, which plunged hundreds of feet down from a fern-covered gully into a wide pool, sending a glittering spray upwards into the flickering hues of a rainbow.

It all looked very Jurassic Park, and in fact this was where parts of the film had been made (along with other cinematic nuggets such as Pirates of the Caribbean, King Kong and the TV series Lost).

Being such a remote and relatively unspoilt island, jutting out of the middle of the Pacific Ocean, Kaua‘i really has the feeling of a land that time forgot, although Velociraptors are only in evidence during film shoots.

Kaua‘i (known locally as the‘Garden Island’) is the fourth largest island in the Hawaiian chain,with its population of 65,000 sprinkled along the coastal edges of its mountainous interior.

Several peaks tower over 1,500 metres, including Mount Wai‘ale‘ale which holds claim to being the wettest place on earth. With an average of 1,168 cm a year, visits to the summit are invariably rather damp and misty affairs.

The Garden Island is vastly different from its sister islands, lacking the towering skyscrapers and nightlife of Oahu, or the smoking active volcanoes of the Big Island.

Rather, Kaua‘i’s character is tied irrevocably to the sheer wildness of the place, with its heavily forested interior, other-worldly cliffs and stretches of uninhabited beaches, all of which attract a certain kind of visitor – one who is looking for somewhere to forget it all and relax among nature.

And the island has ‘nature’ in abundance. The endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal still hauls itself up onto the sandy beaches, even sprawling out on oft-visited beaches such as Poipu Beach where sunburnt tourists point and chatter mere feet away. Beaches are also often dotted with the occasional slumped form of a dozing Green Turtle.

Between November and March, the island plays host to thousands of Humpback Whales, which return to the waters around Kaua‘i to breed and calf. Standing among the noisy seabird colonies at the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge is a great spot to watch for them as they hurl themselves out of the water in great plumes of spray – while prehistoric-looking Frigatebirds circle ominously overhead.

The energetic forms of spinner and bottlenose dolphins speed gracefully under the deep blue waves, alongside myriad fish species, many of which are found nowhere else in the world.

While the island has suffered from the depressing waves of avian extinctions common throughout Hawaii (thanks to a deadly combination of introduced predators, habitat change and the pestilence of avian malaria), the upper reaches of the island, such as the plateaus of the densely vegetated and boggy Alakai Swamp, still hold populations of endemic birds with evocative names such as the bright red Apapane, the yellow ‘Akeke’e’ and the musical Puaiohi.

On high ridges covered in stunted forests and dense ferns, Hawaiian petrels and Newell’s Shearwaters breed (the latter a close relative of Malta’s Yelkouan Shearwater), their eerie calls sounding ghostly in the darkness of the night.

Although much of the interior is nigh on impossible to access, there is an excellent network of hiking trails, including the Na Pali coast trail which is widely considered to be one of the most spectacular hiking trails in the world.

Spanning around 18 kilometres of rugged, wind-sculpted cliffs, where hikers at times have to work their way carefully along narrow expanses with dizzying drops below, you couldn’t ask for more when it comes to stunning scenery.

The trail also meanders past waterfalls and several hidden beaches, each more beautiful than the last, before eventually opening out into the yawning mouth of the Kalalau Valley.

Most people attempting the whole hike do it over the course of several days, camping out each night in what has to be one of the most awe-inspiring coastal stretches in the world.

For those less keen on braving the trails, all of these natural marvels can be viewed from on high. Several helicopter companies ply their trade in Kaua‘i, taking visitors on a breath-taking tour of the island and giving them a bird’s-eye view of the immense Waimea Canyon (Kaua‘i’s answer to the Grand Canyon), glittering waterfalls, cliffs and valleys.

Just be prepared for sudden buffeting winds and the occasional rolling storm cloud which can appear out of nowhere, leaving one wondering where the valley walls are in relation to the misty clouds now obscuring the pilot’s vision.

This being Hawaii, it would be remiss not to mention that most Hawaiian of pastimes – surfing – which has had a place in Hawaiian culture since time immemorial.

While early missionaries did their best to eradicate what they considered to be a ‘hedonistic’ activity, surfing is thankfully still as popular as ever.

Humpback Whales hurl themselves out of the water in great plumes of spray – while prehistoric-looking Frigatebirds circle ominously overhead- André Raine

Like the rest of the Hawaiian island chain, Kaua‘i has some great surfing beaches, including the awesome Polihale Beach with its kilometres of un-spoilt sand and huge rolling waves set against a backdrop of dark volcanic cliffs.

It seems that almost everyone in Hawaii surfs, young and old – even the fire engines have surfboards strapped to the top (although I was informed that this was to help in sea rescues and not so that the firemen could stop to catch a wave if the mood took them).

As well as surfing, the island’s waters also give one the chance to snorkel, scuba dive, sea kayak or take a leisurely cruise along the Na Pali coast to soak in the weird and wonderful landforms (along with free booze if you are that way inclined).

While many visitors to the Hawaiian islands never make the short hop over to Kaua‘i, they are missing one of the hidden gems of the Pacific. Of course, that just leaves those beautiful beaches and pounding surf to those of us who have found the Garden Island.

Perhaps it’s better that way….