Text 23679, 64 rader
Skriven 2012-04-13 09:01:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
Ärende: feb trip report 538
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There were some rumbles of thunder one day, so we deemed this
the time to view the island's water features. And two of the
goodies are right outside Lihue, within half an hour of each
other, so that made for a nice quick outing.

Wailua Falls is one of the more spectacular falls on the
island - it was featured, I am told, as the background of the
idyllic landscape that opened the TV series Fantasy Island.
A double falls of 80 or 170 feet drop, depending on how you
measure, it's absolutely glorious. You reach it from a turnoff
just northwest of Lihue (west of the airport), whence you wend
your way a few miles inland, the road dead-ending at the falls.
There are trails behind, but being oldish and not having the
proper footgear we passed on them. The best views are from the
road anyway, said the fox to the grapes.

Opaeka'a Falls is right off the highway and thus is much more
known and visited. It appears to me to be of a similar size to
Wailua, but my eyesight isn't so spectacular, either. Anyhow,
when the tour buses take their captives to see a typical island
waterfall, this is it. Parking lot, handicapped ramps, rest
rooms, definitely an accessible treat (but still a treat). Also,
there is a fine view of the Wailua River from the other side of
the road, for those who care to brave the crosswalk.

There are some really interesting antiquities in the neighborhood,
but the weather was soggy enough that we decided to eschew them:
some ancient heiau and a "sacred place of refuge" conveniently
near the Aloha Beach hotel at the mouth of the river.

Northward to where (we thought) a little rain and mist might add
atmosphere to the atmosphere and water to the waterfalls.

Duane's Ono Char Burger is on the way from Lihue to the
north shore; the previous day we had gone to check the place
out, but it had been closed. This time we caught it open; we
arrived pretty early, before the main lunch crowd and the
torrential rains, both of which came around by the time we
were done. The food itself is perfectly fine in the overdone
smushed burger way: I don't really see what people get all
feisty and defensive about their Smashburger, Fatburger, Five
Guys, In'n'Out, Whataburger, Sonic, Fudd's, their names are
myriad, their reputations stellar, their burgers overcooked.

The skies kept getting more lowery, and our hope of hiking down
the Haena beach to catch another view of the Na Pali cliffs
looked pretty dim. As the roads narrowed past Princeville
and Hanalei (linked in legend to Puff the Magic Dragon), the
weather worsened to the degree that shortly before Haena we
encountered what looked like a stream bursting its banks and the
less intrepid turning around. We decided to be less intrepid.

That supposedly most beautiful valley in the world that you
see from Princeville was completely engulfed in clouds and
worse, so we didn't get to see that. Instead, we took a quick
look around Princeville (not too wonderful in the rain and
anyhow not too interesting to me, late 20th and early 21st
century condo development, mostly) and repaired to C&J's, a
steakhouse in the local shopping mall, where numerous iterations
of the afternoon special, Kona Longboard, were consumed.

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