Upcoming Kauai Trip

leahe

This is not a "where have you been" post yet, but will be in just a few short weeks and I will post my spoils after. For those of you that have been to this particular island would you share with me the places that I really shouldn't miss? The only one I know for sure so far is Wailua Falls. I am going through a couple of books and they have good information, but photographers just have a different eye. The trip will be from March 10th-16th. When I went to Maui in 2005 I only took my point and shoot so I want to redeem myself in Kauai. Thank you so much for your help.

Tao Zero

We were there last month. I didn't get a chance to visit the Na Pali coastline but I here it is a great place to visit. I found that Maui had a lot more photo ops than Kauai did. There just isn't a lot there. We visited a lighthouse on the Northern most point of the island, don't recall the name. The North shore is a great place too if you are into hiking. If you have the time and energy there are a lot of photo ops throughout the hike.

Daniel

ed_h

Hi
i lived on Oahu for my first 25 years, if you can get to Niihau try and do it. we never landed there but sailed by a few times, it would be different.
Ed

http://www.niihau.us/

leahe

Thank you both for offering up a couple of locations. I would love to take a day trip to Niihau, but I don't know if that location will be doable this time. The Na Pali coast sounds like a great place to hike around. Just so much to see and not enough time. I can't wait!

Liquidity

leahe wrote:

This is not a "where have you been" post yet, but will be in just a few short weeks and I will post my spoils after. For those of you that have been to this particular island would you share with me the places that I really shouldn't miss? The only one I know for sure so far is Wailua Falls. I am going through a couple of books and they have good information, but photographers just have a different eye. The trip will be from March 10th-16th. When I went to Maui in 2005 I only took my point and shoot so I want to redeem myself in Kauai. Thank you so much for your help.

Leah,

Try to get the following guidebook:

http://www.wizardpub.com/Kauai/kauai.html

The book does a very good job about telling you all about the Island and where to go.

The Na Pali Coast is really beautiful. Koke'e State Park has numerous trails and a wonderful view of Waimea Canyon.

Liquidity

Tao Zero wrote:

We were there last month. I didn't get a chance to visit the Na Pali coastline but I here it is a great place to visit. I found that Maui had a lot more photo ops than Kauai did. There just isn't a lot there. We visited a lighthouse on the Northern most point of the island, don't recall the name. The North shore is a great place too if you are into hiking. If you have the time and energy there are a lot of photo ops throughout the hike.

Daniel

The lighthouse is called: Kilauea Point Lighthouse.

The Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge is right there. We did not stop there, but if you are into birding, you can probably see some birds there.

leahe

Thank you Wil for the book recommendation. That is actually one of the books I am reading. It is my favorite so far with the information it provides. I definately want to see that lighthouse now, too. I'm glad you mentioned it.

ajroahkni

Wet & Dry Caves
These are lavatubes at the north end of the island (Haena, past Hanalei). Some have filled with water, one is completely dry & walkable. I'm sure it would make for a very challenging photo study.

Brendan

Even though it's a total tourist spot, the lookout near Princeville is nice:



Smith's Tropical Garden is a nice place for flower macros, and there are lots of pretty tame birds. We did the hike to Hanakapiai Beach, but had to turn around as we were dehydrated and exhausted (still recovering from the wedding at that point). It's very scenic, but a bit cluttered -- no sweeping open vistas.

Waimea Canyon and the top of the road all have great photographic opportunities.

Here are some more photographs from my trip, if you're interested: click.

Hope this helps,
—Brendan

leahe

John and Brendan, thank you for the recommendations! All of those areas sound intriguing as well. I'm sure I'll wish for a longer stay.

Brendan, those are beautiful shots. I love the macros. You have a great eye for the way light falls on the subject.

ajroahkni

I forgot to mention Waimea Canyon, the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific" which should be a great HDR challenge.

ChrisJ

I would highly suggest a helicopter ride on Kauai. We used the company which gave an open door view, and it was incredible (unfortunately, in my pre-digital camera days).

leahe

You guys ROCK! My list keeps growing. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

twz22

leahe wrote:

You guys ROCK! My list keeps growing. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

I stayed on the north coast when i was there. absoultely awesome. the best advice i can give is drive until the road ends - both ways around the island - and hike from there.

Watch out for the chickens...

feel free to check out my shots - let me know if you want any specifics.

http://zolandzfamily.smugmug.com/gallery/3531254_8hoxM/1/199664910_hUYK8

leahe

Twz22, thank you for sharing your link. It makes me even more excited. Beautiful sunset shots and I love the shot of the shadow of the tree on the beach. And, yes... I was strongly warned about the chickens. Kind of funny and scary at the same time.

twz22

leahe wrote:

Twz22, thank you for sharing your link. It makes me even more excited. Beautiful sunset shots and I love the shot of the shadow of the tree on the beach. And, yes... I was strongly warned about the chickens. Kind of funny and scary at the same time.

the shadow shot is one of my favorites - thanks for the kind words.

kd2

I'll wave at you from over here on Oahu. Go visit everywhere that everyone has already mentioned. Just do it all. Be mindful of the weather and the waves. If the forecast is for heavy rains during your visit, pay attention to road closures and such. We had some very heavy rains a few months ago and that beautiful Hanalei Valley was flooded (as were other areas). We're at the tail end of our winter (rainy) season, but you just never know with the crazy weather we've been having. We had a tornado here two weeks ago.

I hope you enjoy your visit to our lovely state!

Blufox

Kauai

leahe wrote:

For those of you that have been to this particular island would you share with me the places that I really shouldn't miss?

Na Pali Coast and Waimea Canyon were two of my favorite areas! The entire island was great when we were there (1989). Enjoy!

Larry