Kauai County, Hawaii - Day 5

Every Hawaiian adventure, for me anyway, must include whales. Or at least TRY to include whales. I love these majestic creatures - as some of you may know (tattoo?) So, even though the whale scene isn't as great here as it is on Maui, we still took a whale watching tour because, why not? Worth a try and being out on the ocean on a beautiful day overlooking the Hawaii coastline is a lovely way to spend the morning!

We did get lucky and saw a few whales! Nothing spectactular - no breaching - but we did see a few whales swimming at the surface of the water and shooting air through their blow holes and, we saw some fluking. If you're not sure what fluking is, it's when the whale takes a deeper dive and the tail rises vertically - the famous whale tail. Unfortunately, that whale tail usually indicates that they are not coming back to the surface again until they need air. And they can hold their breath for a long time. That's not the only a fluke means though.

Stock photo of a whale fluke

The whale tail symbolizes protection and good luck: The Maoris, the indigenous people of New Zealand, believe that the first man came to New Zealand on the back of a whale. The whale delivered him safely to his new home, where he would grow to live and prosper, and therefore whales are commonly seen as protectors, and as bestowing good luck. Whales in general are considered symbols of wisdom, harmony and a connection to nature. They are gentle, amazing animals. I love them.

That's my arm donning my newest tattoo of a humpback whale <3 I got this one in April 2024.

Besides a few whales, we saw a ton of Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins. They were adorable! They are tiny little dolphins with long beaks compared to other species of dolphins. A baby spinner is about the size of a football! They were following our boat and definitely giving us a show! Some of the smaller ones were doing spins and flips that almost said "look at me! look at me!" like an excited child knowing they were being watched. It was such a feel-good moment that lasted quite a while. They would have kept following us, I'm sure, but it was time for the boat to kick into high gear and head back to port.

After our boat tour, we had lunch at the Kauai Island Brewing Company for lunch and then headed to Salt Pond Beach Park. Since we were close to Waimea Canyon, a drive I didn't want to take and Jon did, Jon left me to bask in the sun at the beach while he drove up the canyon. He gets too antsy when sitting around on the beach anyway. Why, you ask, didn't I want to go? Well, I'm a very anxious person when it comes to driving on coastal roads, up a mountain, with crazy high drop offs and tons of switchbacks. Just not my thing! Did a few in my lifetime and I'm done :D So, he drove up and enjoyed the views and I hung out at the beach. It worked out for all!

Salt Pond Beach is a BEAUTIFUL beach located in the city of Hanapepe. It has a safe area blocked off for swimming and snorkeling, a lifeguard and lots of amenities. I would not pass this up when in Kauai for you beach lovers. Fun fact about Hanapepe: The fictional town of Kokaua in Disney's Lilo & Stitch was inspired by the town of Hanapepe. There's a big mural of Lilo and Stitch in the small downtown area of town :).

Jon's pics of Waimea Canyon: Waimea Canyon, is known as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. It’s a large canyon, approximately ten miles long and up to 3,000 feet deep, located on the western side of Kauaʻi. Waimea is Hawaiian for "reddish water", a reference to the erosion of the canyon's red soil. I'm sure the pictures don't do it justice at all but I'm ok with that! It looks really hot up there too, doesn't it? No shock here but it's cooler up there actually - but only by a few degrees :)

A quick word on the brewery - they are conveniently located near Port Allen where we took our catamaran excursion so they are in a very ideal spot. The very reason we chose to go there for lunch after our boat tour. But this makes for a very busy location as well! We were lucky - our wait wasn't too long but they were short staffed and the service suffered for it. We felt rushed (which is fine, we wanted to eat and move on anyway) but a little neglected as well. And we sat right next to the line of people waiting for a table (which kept getting longer and longer) so that made us feel even more rushed. I'm not too picky though - the food was good and went on to enjoy the rest of our day. There's another location in Koloa as well which I would definitely to in the future.