Kaanapali

Ron Niebrugge Hawaii, Photos, Travel 1 Comment

Kahekilli Beach, Kaanapali, Maui, Hawaii.

Kahekilli Beach, Kaanapali, Maui, Hawaii.

Finally, our first sunrise / sunset!  Clouds are helpful for a sky of color – we have just had too many of them.  Except for this evening in Maui on Saturday night.  We had just enough for a bit of pretty color.

I actually stacked two graduated neutral density filters for a total of 5 stops in order to bring out some detail in the foreground.

Rain Forest Highway

Ron Niebrugge Hawaii, Photos, Travel 4 Comments

Kalihiwai Bridge, Kauai, Hawaii.

Kalihiwai Bridge, Kauai, Hawaii.

As you drive towards the rich green North Shore on Kauai, the scenery just gets greener and richer.  This bridge reminded me on the canopy tours in Costa Rica, only this one was big enough for cars!  This was a classic stretch of road I just had to go back and walk in for a photo.

Kauai

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Nukoli'i Beach, Kauai, Hawaii.

Nukoli'i Beach, Kauai, Hawaii.

Janine at sunrise on a beach in Kauai.  See, I still know who my number 1 model is!

 

This is one of the things I loved about Kauai – huge areas of undeveloped beaches and land.  This was in front of the first place we stayed – here, you could literally walk or run for 3 miles before you came across another building, or at times even another person.

Hanalei Bay

Ron Niebrugge Hawaii, Photos, Travel 11 Comments

Hanalei Bay, Kauai, Hawaii.

Hanalei Bay, Kauai, Hawaii.

Janine and I were watching and photographing some surfers on the outer edges of Hanalei Bay earlier this week.  There was only one other person on the shore of this beautiful bay – the girl pictured above.  The setting was so perfect that I just had to find the nerve to ask if I could hire her to pose for a couple of minutes.  Fortunately, she agreed.

Kalalau Trail

Ron Niebrugge Hawaii, Photos, Travel 7 Comments

Janine on the Kalalau Trail, Na Pali Coast, Kauai, Hawaii.

Janine on the Kalalau Trail, Na Pali Coast, Kauai, Hawaii.

After flying over the amazing Na Pali Coast, we just had to hike it!  Unfortunately, without a permit, you are only allowed to hike the first couple of miles to Hanakapi’ai Beach seen below, but that was enough to give us a great taste.  I would love to come back and either backpack or kayak the whole thing.

As with most days we have had in Kauai, we had crazy weather.  We started out in a heavy rain.  I mean, like standing under the garden hose on full blast kind of heavy rain.  But, as you see here, we also had some nice sun.  Down on the beach we had sun and more heavy rain, then back to mostly sunny for the hike out.  When it rains, it rains hard but often only lasts a few minutes.

There are lots of warnings, and the trail can be fairly slippery when wet.  We were in running shoes, and that seemed to help, but it really was slick in places, often next to some extreme drops.

As enticing as the water was on the beach below, the waves were really pumping.  There was a sign at the beach mentioning that heavy surf and strong currents had killed many people there – in fact they had a hash tag tally carved into the sign showing the number of people killed – it was at 82!  That was sure effective – I did not want to become 83!

Na Pali Coast

Ron Niebrugge Hawaii, Photos, Travel 6 Comments

Na Pali Coast, Kauai, Hawaii.

Na Pali Coast, Kauai, Hawaii.

Another new one from my helicopter charter – wow this coast is awesome!

So, we didn’t have a room in Kauai for the last two days of this portion of our trip (which have now turned into 4 days) – we figured we would just wing it.  Well, winging it worked out well, we ended up at an amazing resort – the Westin Princeville / Starwood for just $110 a night for a studio with kitchen and washer and dryer.  We are about as close to the Na Pali Coast as you can get without camping – this is a really beautiful area!  The resort itself is also very nice.

So, how did we get such a deal?  By naming our own price on Priceline.  They break the island down to a few different areas – Princeville is one of them.  The top hotel type in this area on Priceline is 3 and a half star – although this place should be 4.  I did a bit of research, and so far, anyone who entered 3 and a half star, Princeville area is getting this resort, usually for about $110 to $115 per night.

Of course, there are no guarantees on the actual hotel with Priceline, and as the busy Winter season hits around December 15th, this property might drop off the list, or might require a higher bid, but it is worth a try, especially for a property of this quality.  And, to have a kitchen, and washer / dryer is a big bonus.  And, no resort fee, and free wifi in room!

Kauai Rainbow

Ron Niebrugge Hawaii, Photos, Travel 10 Comments

Rainbow over Kauai, Hawaii.

Rainbow over Kauai, Hawaii.

This was from an amazing helicopter trip over Kauai!  Doors off, flying through rainstorms and rainbows – what a great time!

Kauai Beach

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Nukoli'i Beach, Kauai, Hawaii.

Nukoli'i Beach, Kauai, Hawaii.

Since I pimped my Anza-Borrego workshop on Friday (it is now full by the way – thanks)! – I am falling behind on sharing Hawaii photos, so I decided to do a rare weekend post.  This was from sunset two nights ago.  The trip is going great – more to come.