Day 19 Kauai - Haena State Park

August 10, 2022

The alarm clock rings at 4:45 am.....

Yawn.... Who came up with this vacation program? 😅😜

We all have a hard time getting out of bed today.

The kids don't want breakfast yet, so I pack everything we need for breakfast and lunch in our large cooler box.

At 5:50, we leave our apartment in what seems like the middle of the night and drive through the Tree Tunnel to the "main road", towards Lihue.

Past the airport - it's still pitch dark - we continue north. Today, the Haena State Park is on the agenda. Luckily, I managed to book the first two timeslots with a car. It was another nerve-wracking experience when I sat at the laptop at exactly 12 o'clock, clicked on my desired date, and after 2 minutes of loading time, the page announced that NO tickets were available anymore (only shuttle bus or "on foot").

But I already know that from other booking sites. The tickets stay in the shopping cart for 15 minutes, and if they are not purchased, they go back on sale. The same happened today. At 12:15, I refreshed the page and - voilà - I was lucky and could book my timeslots. Yay!!!!

Just for fun, I try again 10 minutes later - everything is already booked. Crazy! If you don't know that you have to book exactly minutes and days in advance, you have no chance of visiting the Haena State Park. You can't just drive here on a whim - at least not during peak season!

But I am well informed and have planned every day and excursion in advance - so I'm not flexible, but on the safe side to see and experience everything.

After a 1.5-hour drive, we reach the start of the Haena State Park on the north coast - in the rain.

That would be a disaster if it continues to rain. Our friends who were here a week ago and hiked the Kalalau Trail to Hanakāpī‘Ai Beach experienced the same problem - in pouring rain. They were soaked to the underwear, covered in mud, and immediately left the Haena State Park after the trail because it was raining non-stop.

That would be a shame because we have a similar program but definitely want to go swimming after the trail….

But today, the weather gods are on our side. A few curves further, the rain stops, and the sun shines. Shortly after 7 o'clock, we reach the parking lot at the end of the winding road and the destination for today in the Haena State Park.

We are among the first cars to arrive here today and park in the front row. But the parking lot quickly fills up, and together with other tourists, we walk over the wooden planks through a "water garden" where plants grow in various basins. We continue through the forest and then reach the restroom building and the lifeguard tower at Ke'e Beach. A few meters further, the Kalalau Trail starts. Here, too, we are greeted by a collection of signs, all of which actually advise against continuing. Dangerous cliffs, unpaved paths, Danger, etc....

Well, that doesn't shock us now, because we only want to walk to the beach.

The sun shines in the blue sky - perfect weather. Actually... because at 7 o'clock in the morning, it's already too hot for me to hike. But well, there's no other choice, let's go before it gets even hotter - and it gets very hot very quickly!!!

The trail is actually really beautiful if it weren't for the many steep ascents and climbs. It constantly goes up and down like a roller coaster, and after every turn, we hope to finally see the beach - and we are disappointed - up and down again....

On the internet, the distance was given as a 2-hour hike (round trip), but we only manage the one-way hike in just 2 hours. However, we consciously decided to walk slowly and take our time.

We started at 7:30 and at 9:30 we climb over rocks to reach Hanakāpī‘Ai Beach. It turns out to be tricky to reach the beach because it's not possible to walk through the water without getting your feet wet. A tour group ahead of us tries to find a way over the rocks through the water, but everyone ends up with at least one foot in the water, and one woman even slips and ends up in the water up to her waist.

We decide not to cross the river but to climb on the rocks parallel to it through the "jungle" on the mountain slope. There are already some worn paths here, and when they end, we have to find a way over the rocks. But that works quite well, and we reach the beach with dry feet.

In the fall/winter, Hanakāpī‘Ai Beach is one of the most dangerous beaches in Hawaii because waves often suddenly reach the rocks and take everything that is not firmly rooted in the ground with strong currents into the sea. On the internet, I've seen some videos that have made me so uncertain that I announced to the family in advance that you absolutely cannot swim here....

Well, now we're sitting here - without bathing suits - and everyone else is frolicking in the turquoise-blue waves or in the river that winds its way through the beach into the sea.

Dang....

The family is naturally thrilled why I didn't let them bring their bathing suits. We have 2 towels with us, but no swimwear....

Well, take off your shoes and at least dip your feet/legs into the cool water. Oh, it's so wonderful!!!

I walk with my son along the river and explore the caves along the way. Then the river flows into a cave, whose entrance is very low and narrow. Some brave tourists climb into the cave, but I'm not so comfortable with that. When I walk around the mountain with my son, we see that the river flows out of a huge cave entrance on the other side. Here we dare to go in and walk into the big cave. Spooky!

The daughter is also excited about the cave and takes pictures.

As we walk back to the husband, who is sitting in the river with his pants on, he just points at his watch. If we want to have something left of the day, we have to go back. Oh, what a shame - we'd love to stay here for half the day....

Reluctantly, we start the journey back at 10:30. It's significantly warmer by now, and I try not to think about the many steps waiting for us.

The return journey seems to drag on, and I sweat like crazy. It's just my kind of weather - too hot to move....

We didn't bring enough drinks because we have to share the last bottle on the way back. Oh, I'm thirsty and just want to jump into the sea!

After endless paths uphill and downhill, we finally reach Ke`e Beach again at around noon at 12:30. We have to walk back through the forest and the plant installation to the parking lot, get our swimwear and the cooler box with drinks and lunch snacks, and go back to Ke'e Beach. We sit down at one of the picnic tables and eat and drink. After that, we change into our bathing suits and snorkeling gear and go into the sea. However, it is a challenge to reach the water without burning our feet. The sand is hot - very hot! I run into the water like crazy. Ouch, that hurts. That's intense, even though the sand isn't black.

There's quite a current in the sea, and we have to be careful not to be pulled out into the ocean. We see a few colorful fish, but otherwise nothing we haven't seen before.

After drying off and changing, we see the lifeguard driving along the beach in a beach buggy with signs in his hand. Hm, what's there to see???

We walk along the beach and then see a huge monk seal that has crawled onto the beach and is now lying down to sunbathe. The lifeguard puts up signs around it, saying not to get too close to the monk seal and to leave it alone. While we obediently do that, a woman with a small child walks past the signs and unabashedly takes a selfie with the monk seal. The husband immediately reprimands her, and she takes notice and goes back behind the barrier. Unbelievable, how dumb can you be!? We see more monk seals in the sea, but they don't dare to come to the beach.

We continue driving at 3 pm. We actually wanted to snorkel at Tunnels Beach, but we don't really feel like it anymore. Our son would rather go swimming or play in the waves - but there are no waves here today. We continue to Hanalei Bay and make a stop at Hanalei Beach.

The beach is huge, and a small river separates the sea and the beach here as well, which is very popular with the younger children at the beach. I am now chilling on the beach chair under the parasol and watching the family splashing around.

Tiredness is slowly setting in. Getting up early and driving this morning has tired me out.

We leave at 5 pm. We make a short stop at Hanalei Valley Lookout and Kilauea Lighthouse, where we take a photo from the outside.

We actually planned to visit more beaches in the north, like Anini Beach, but none of us feel like taking another detour or visiting another beach. We are exhausted....

On the way home, we stop briefly at Walmart and buy cereal, milk, drinks, small items, and some fruit. Zap - another $60 gone....

I probably won't get used to the prices here....

We reach the apartment at sunset, but no one wants to walk to the beach for "sunset watching" anymore. We are all exhausted. We fall into bed tired, only to be woken up by our son: he has severe ear pain and can't sleep.....

Oh no......