The Na Pali Coast

The Na Pali Coast is Kauai's northwest corner, a wild collision of waves and rock in the winter as the northern trade winds push the sea into cliff walls. Along with the family of Oldest Kid, Mrs. Werbenmanjensen and I took a boat tour along this raw coastline. (You can hike much of the coast, but from the water it looked like it might give even a Scotsman some pause.)

Our guide told us that when Captain Cook saw this coast, he couldn't believe people actually lived here. The Hawaiians did, however, sculpting the narrow valleys and rocky precipices into thriving agricultural communities. In some cases, he said, they used the gorges nearest the coast as their farm fields and hiked daily from their homes over the mountain using a system of ladders to work the fields.


Words can't do this place justice, so I won't waste too much time trying to do so.





In addition to the awe-inspiring terrain, we also saw a school of spinner dolphins and a pod of humpback whales. Both were too challenging for this photographer to capture.