Steve and Cathy's Blog

Today is an early start for our excursion Heaven and Earth – Helicopter & North Shore: 7:45 in Insignia Lounge.  We’re as excited as schoolchildren on their first day as we have been looking forward to this tour ever since Cathy’s brother John suggested we do this.

And adding to the anticipation is the first paragraph of today’s Oceania Cruises Currentsdescribes Kauai: “The Isle of Kauai (Pronounced Ka-wa-ee in Hawaiian or Kah-why in English), is the tropical paradise that dreams are made of: a land of towering ocean cliffs and impossibly green valleys, pristine rain forests and cascading waterfalls, as well as some of the world’s most photographed beaches.  The northernmost island in the Hawaiian chain is draped in emerald valleys, sharp mountain spires and jagged cliffs, aged by time and the elements. Centuries of growth have formed tropical rainforests, forking rivers and cascading waterfalls.  Some parts of Kauai are only accessible by sea or air, revealing views beyond your imagination.”  We especially note the last sentence and are especially grateful for John’s advice.

As soon as we get through the embarkation process, we proceed to our vehicle.  It is a 10-passenger van, which is perfect.  Then we meet our guide (He is pictured with Steve at the beginning of this post).  His name is Dome (pronounced Doh’ mee).  It does not take very long to determine that this is going to be a tour like no other because of the outsized, confident, happy personality of our driver/guide.  He is much more than a guide.  He is an ambassador and entertainer.

I am looking at my notes for the day and the subjects are all over the map and the notes so terse that I have no idea what I was writing about.  Such is the way that Dome charges from subject to subject.  But we are having so much fun that we don’t really care. To give you a flavor of the trip, I will just intersperse notes as we go along, just like our guide did. He told us to pay attention because there would be occasional quizzes. He was very cool.

• Duke Kahanamoku was one of Hawaii’s most famous citizens. He won a gold medal in the 1912 Olympics and is considered the father of modern surfing.
• You must try Hula Pie: Hula Pie is made with Kimo’s favorite macadamia nut ice cream piled high on a chocolate cookie crust and topped with chocolate fudge, whipped cream, and more macadamia nuts.

Our first stop is Sunshine Helicopters for what we hope is one of the high points of this entire trip.  Kauai is beautiful, but it is rugged.  As the oldest of the Hawaiian chain at 5 million years, nature has had more time to shape the volcanic island than others, and nature has done amazing work.  But accessibility is an issue, and especially so if time is as limited as is ours.  The helicopter tour will maximize our exposure to the island’s legendary grandeur.

We have arrived here quite quickly, and are sent immediately into the installation and shown seats.  Our first assignment is a thorough safety briefing presented by a young man named Freddy.

He is casual and sometimes humorous in his delivery, but he is very thorough and we know immediately that this is a professional outfit with professional pilots and ground crew.  The owner is a former US Marine helicopter pilot, as are some of his pilots.  Freddy was a submariner that did a tour in Groton CT. Our pilot is Trevor, the son of the owner.

We are seated exactly as we will be seated in the helicopter.  A few days prior to this tour, we got a call from Destination Services.  Sunshine Helicopter needs our approximate weight. Now we know why.  Proper weight distribution is critical.  There will be six of us passengers plus our pilot. Steve and Cathy finally luck out.  We are assigned the two front seats.

With the help of the ground crew, we board after donning our emergency flotation device.  Cathy gets in first, because she is assigned the middle seat.  Steve sits to her left.  All of us put on earphones so we can hear Trevor’s narration as we fly over Kauai.  Obviously we are strapped in.  Cathy quickly notes “Trevor is smokin’ hot!” and jokes that there is great scenery inside andoutside of the aircraft.

One helicopter lifts off and leaves the airfield. We soon follow.  We first swing over Insignia for a view of our home away from home.  We see a couple of gorgeous beaches and then head inland for the next forty minutes.  The views are spectacular and endless.  It is hard to take it all in.

The best known of all the physical landmarks in Kauai is Waimea Canyon.  Here is some information from Wikipedia: “Waimea Canyon, also known as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific, is a large canyon, approximately ten miles (16 km) long and up to 3,000 feet (900 m) deep, located on the western side of Kauaʻi in the Hawaiian Islandsof the United States. Waimea is Hawaiian for “reddish water”, a reference to the erosion of the canyon’s red soil. The canyon was formed by a deep incision of the Waimea River arising from the extreme rainfall on the island’s central peak, Mount Waiʻaleʻale, among the wettest places on earth.

“The canyon has a unique geologic history as it was formed not only by the steady process of erosion but also by a catastrophic collapse of the volcano that created Kauaʻi.

“Like the other Hawaiian islands, Kauaʻi is the top of an enormous volcano rising from the ocean floor. With lava flows dated to about 5 million years ago, Kauaʻi is the oldest of the large Hawaiian islands. Roughly 4 million years ago, while Kauaʻi was still erupting almost continuously, a portion of the island collapsed. This collapse formed a depression which then filled with lava flows.

“In the time since, rainwater from the slopes of Mount Waiʻaleʻale have eroded Waimea Canyon along one edge of the collapse. On the east side of the canyon, the cliff walls are built from thick lava flows that pooled in the depression. Over time, the exposed basalt has weathered from its original black to bright red.”

We fly over forests, waterfalls, fields, mountains, valleys and beaches.  It is incredible, and even these photos can never do the geography justice.  Music was playing in our earphones. Special memory for Cathy: George Harrison’s “Here Comes the sun.”  Trevor does an admirable job pointing out various features, and we can just tell by his descriptions that this is a man who loveshis job.  [As we flew over one section with FIVE gorgeous waterfalls I said “Oh my god!” and he turned to me and grinned. Very happy guy.]

We could have stayed up here all day, but that certainly isn’t in the cards.  After a total of fifty-five minutes, we come back down to earth.  We unbuckle everything, take off the earphones and are helped out of the helicopter.  One last photo of Trevor – for Cathy.

It’s back to land transportation, so we hop into our van and off we go with Dome.  There is a change in seating arrangements.  We were in the back row on the way to the helicopter ride, but the couple in the third (of five) rows is now in the back row.  They ‘offered’ us the forward seat, which we thought was very nice.  As the day progressed, however, it became clear that there were two groups on board: five of us who really enjoyed the back and forth with Dome and participated in all of his question-and-answer activities, and five that were exhausted by it all and just wanted information.

We had three stops for the next four hours, and, truth be told, they could have been anywhere, because Dome kept us thoroughly captivated by his entertaining way of presenting information, of which there was plenty.  My notes are terrible, because I couldn’t keep up with everything, and so many anecdotes. We would be driving past something, and it would remind Dome of another subject to launch into.  It was so much fun.

• When the sugar industry was king in Hawaii, five families owned almost all of the property. They “bought” it very cheap way back when Hawaii was still a kingdom.
• In 1992, Kauai was hit with Category 5 Hurricane Iniki that destroyed the coco palms on the island.
• There are mongoose in the Hawaiian islands. They were brought here to kill rats.  That hasn’t worked on Kauai because rats come out at night and mongoose during the day!
• Oahu is 97 miles away, and so they rarely get hurricanes.
• The State Flower of Hawaii is the yellow hibiscus.

So he would tell us all of these things, and in a few minutes would ask: “Okay, how many miles away is Oahu?”  The five of us would shout out: “97!”  “What is the State Flower?”  “Yellow hibiscus!” 

This patter went on all day, and it was thoroughly enjoyable.

Our first stop was Opaeka’a Lookout to look at Opaeka’a Falls. Opaeka’a means “rolling shrimp” in Hawaiian.  A very lush and beautiful area right near the shore.  Today we are lucky enough to be with Rich and Helma Rosenthal who are from Allentown PA.  Very fun people that add much to our day.

Our second stop is Kilauea Lighthouse, built in 1913 and shut down in 1976, replaced by an LED unit.  The prism that was placed in the lighthouse was manufactured in Paris and the light could be seen for ninety miles offshore.

At the lighthouse, we are 200 feet above the water.  Dome spots a couple of sea turtles for us to observe.  Then he tells us about the four seabirds in Hawaii that have a special physiology that desalinates seawater for them as they drink.  These birds are: Frigate Bird, Albatross, Shearwater and Red-Footed Boobies.  Dome points out frigate birds, albatrosses and red-footed boobies flying overhead. The albatross has a wingspan of six to seven feet. (The Frigate Bird is below on the left; the Albatross is on the right).

There is a small island just to the north of the lighthouse that Dome points out.  He tells us two things: that it is farthest north point in the Hawaiian Islands, and that most people look at two points and see two alligators.  Dome tells to rest assured, these are the only two alligators in Hawaii.

He hands out tiny shells to us at the lighthouse, and suggests a neat trick to show our friends.  Get a dark plate, pour white vinegar on to the plate.  Then place the shell on the plate flat side down and see what happens.

We have a delightful visit at the lighthouse and walk back to the van.  In a few minutes, we reach Anini Beach Park.  There are several vans on the same tour as we are on, but we are all on somewhat different schedules.  We arrive just as another group is leaving a nice open pavilion with picnic tables.  I help Dome get out the cooler full of sandwiches and soft drinks.

We all sit down and Dome hands out subs, cans of mango or papaya juice and bags of potato chips.  Another van of Oceania guests arrives and sit at another table.  After we eat, Dome breaks out his ukulele and he entertains us.  The other tour group can’t believe how much fun we are having.  They are on a tour.  We are having a rolling party.  Dome sings four or five songs, and has us join in to sing them as well, including the Hawaiian Love Song.  It was a very nice location on a lovely beach but we did not explore because we were having so much fun with Dome.

He then lines us all up to teach us to do the hookie lau dance. Very amusing and fun. Guess who participated and who didn’t?

Alas, it is time for us to pack up and leave.  We start heading back south toward the harbor where our ship is docked.  We pass by a pretty exclusive property right on a beautiful beach.  Dome tells a story, and I paraphrase: “So Sylvester Stallone, he comes to Kauai sometimes, and he rents this house.  There is a nice beach there.  Now all the beaches in Hawaii are public and everyone can use them. There are no private beaches.  So these local Kauai teenagers are playing on the beach and making a lot of noise.  So Stallone comes out and tells them ‘Get off my beach.’  They laugh at him.  He’s not a very nice guy.  Thinks he’s a big Mukka Mukka as we say.  Did you know he’s short?  Yeah, he’s only about 5’6” tall.  Can’t tell that from the movies.”

Here is another story from Dome that is prompted by our passing a shell of a huge 2-story building that was a beach resort destroyed by the 1992 hurricane:  There are chickens running loose all over the island of Kauai.  Why?  Because when Hurricane Iniki hit Kauai in 1992, it busted up all the chicken coops that the Filipinos that live on the island whose families came to Hawaii to work in the sugar cane industry.  Their big sport is cock fighting, and all the chickens got loose.  That’s why there are so many feral chickens.

By the way, you can eat wild chickens.  But before you kill them, you need to feed them a diet of water and dry rice for seven days to cleanse them.  Then Dome tells us how to make delicious chicken and papaya soup.

Tourism is the number one industry in Hawaii.  On Kauai, coffee is #2.  Kauai has 4 million coffee plants and you can buy thirty kinds of coffee at the visitor center.

In 2006, it rained for 43 straight days.  Eventually it caused a private dam to breach and 400 million gallons of water got loose, causing incredible damage and seven deaths. The owner of the dam was indicted for manslaughter, but he got off with a very light sentence because of his political and business influence.

Honolulu has the second worst traffic in the United States after Los Angeles.  No traffic problems out here in Kauai.

No gangs on Kauai either.  In Honolulu, there are Chinese gangs, Vietnamese gangs, Tongan gangs, Samoan gangs and Filipino gangs. No gangs here.

No gambling either.

Kauai is the only county in Hawaii where you are allowed to drink alcohol on the beach,

There was a terrible tsunami in 2012 that did a lot of damage on Oahu.  No damage here on Kauai.  Why? Because of the tutus on the island. Tutu is Hawaiian for grandparents, and they pray all the time.  That kept the tsunami from hitting the island.

Here on Kauai, there is a special kind of communication called the “coconut wireless.”  It takes two hours from west to east for everybody to know everybody’s business.

“ Okay, where was the prism for the lighthouse made?”  “Paris!” “How far could the light be seen?” “Ninety miles!”  “When was the lighthouse built?”  “1913!”  “Okay, very good.  You are good listeners.”

This entertaining guy does this all day for us.  We are having a ball!   There is a little extra time, so Dome asks us if we would like to see a 500-pound wild boar.  We answer: “Of course!”

So he takes us to his house.  On the way, he explains that there is a Hawaiian Homestead program available to people of 50% or more Hawaiian ethnicity, and he is able to take advantage of it.  He has a very nice home with many chickens running around – plus a 500-pound wild boar he has named Omar that is kept in a fenced area.  He got Omar from a neighbor when Omar’s mother was run over by a car. We all have the opportunity to pet Omar, who is lured out of the bushes by rattling his food dish.  We never do see Omar’s face, because it is stuck in the dish eating all the time we are there.

Well, now it is time to return to the ship.  We get there by 2:30pm, which is a good thing, because All Aboard is 3:30 with departure at 4:00pm.  Steve asks: Why the early departure?  We have five full days to get to Los Angeles, our next port.  What’s the rush?  Well, whatever.

Steve wants to take care of one last purchase, so he goes to the shopping area about a quarter mile away.  Sunshine Helicopters has an office there and he wants to buy a MP4 of the flight we were on.  He finds his way there and Mike burns him a copy, and the purchase includes a photo of us in front of the helicopter as well as a 15-minute flight over the other islands where they operate.  He makes his purchase and walks back to the ship with Ed and Kathy and Paula and Sherry.

It’s time to leave, but our day has been so much fun that we are determined to return.  You would think that the helicopter tour of the island has been the highlight, but no, it was spending four hours with our wonderful guide – and now our friend – Dome. The ship slips out of the harbor quietly and we pass by the shore for one last look.  What a day.