This Is Just The Beginning...: Hawai'i: Day 5

DAY 5 - Beach day! Finally, we were going to seek out various beaches along the north side of the Kaua'i and LAY on them! In actuality if you were coming to Kaua'i for beaches, you would most likely stay on the south side of the island, near Poipu. The land is more flat and the south side gets less clouds (more sun) and less rain than the north side of the island. However we chose to stay in the north for the beauty of more lushness and mountains! Of course there are beaches all along the north side as well, just not as visible from the road (or as easy access). We looked in our handy-dandy travel guide and selected a few choice beaches to seek out. All which required some type of short hike or walk.

Hideaways Beach- The name of this beach obviously entails it is not going to be on the side of the road. After parking, we found the now familiar "caution" sign and followed a trail lined with ropes, pipes, and occasional wood steps to the bottom.

Beautiful! We stayed at this beach for the first half of the morning. Caleb snorkeled a little, while I enjoyed the scenery.

No, this isn't the same path, although it was starting to look familiar. This is another trail which led us to "Queens Bath." Queens Bath is a natural pool made by ocean water spilling into a hole within lava rocks which line the shore. Once we got to the bottom of the trail, we walked across the lava rocks, passing "Queens Bath" and made our swimming/snorkeling/sunning farther from others who were visiting the bath.

This is a sign at the end of the trail/beginning of the lava rock. This area can be quite dangerous at high tide in the winter/wet season, as a lot of areas can be during that time of year. Luckily for us, we planned our trip during "dry" season (although it sprinkled a little everyday) and so it was safe to enjoy the baths!

This particular "bath" is the actual "Queens Bath." There were many others enjoying the water and swimming while we were there, just luckily I got this at a time many were not in the pool.

We walked farther, away from the small crowds of people, and found this little area to get into the water.

This is where I visualize Ariel from Little Mermaid enjoying the sun. While Caleb snorkeled, I would keep watch of the tide on this rock, yelling "Big Wave!" whenever a larger wave would come and crash into our area. Eventually, we had to move as the tides kept coming stronger and soon my watch rock was completely covered in water.

We found an even better place for Caleb to snorkel! This area was more similar to Queens Bath, as it was more of a pool surrounded by the rocks.

We spotted a turtle!

We didn't have to hike for this beach! Just had to park illegally on the road and hope not to get a ticket! Then walk through private property and you are there... Tunnels Beach!