Poipu

Shelley and I decided to get a morning coffee before we left the townhome in the morning. We walked over to Little Fish Coffee across the road from the Kiahuna Plantation.

On the walk we saw a couple nene geese and felt fortuitous. We were having a lot of luck seeing Hawaiian wildlife.

After waiting in a brief line when the coffee shop opened, we got our lattes and walked back to the room to have breakfast with our sons.

Once everyone had eaten and showered we got in the rental car and drove to LIhue for our tubing adventure.

Lihue

Tubing Adventure

We arrived about a half hour before our check-in time at Kauai Backcountry Adventures. We took a stroll down outside but couldn’t find anything of interest to us so we returned to KBA to wait for our tour to start.

When it was our time for the tubing adventure we were given our helmets and headlamps and boarded an open-air truck to drive into the interior of the island.

The tubing journey takes place on a former sugar plantation. Sugar was once a major part of the economy of Kauai and Hawaii as a whole. But starting at about the time Hawaii achieved statehood, competition with foreign markets made the sugar industry unviable due to the cost of labor and shipping.

What is left is the infrastructure that once allowed the sugar plantations to thrive, including irrigation canals that were cut through the center of the island. And it was to these canals that we were headed.

Before we arrived at the canals, we were driven to a scenic overlook where we were able to view the cloud enshrouded Mout Wai’ale’ale.

After taking some photos of Mount Wai’ale’ale and the surrounding landscapes, we continued onward to the launch point.

Wet met some additional guides at the launch point and once the entire group was aboard a tube, we started the float downstream.

The journey downstream travels through several tunnels and through some beautiful countryside. The guides were friendly and fun and they even sang happy birthday to me in one of the tunnels 🙂

My son Daniel took a shine to one of the female guides that was about his age. He was starting to enjoy the trip a lot more and was finding that there were quite a few very attractive, fun loving girls. And Evan had a lot of fun bantering with her as well at the start of the tour.

Once the float ended we exited the tubes and had a lunch of sandwiches and chips. Then we boarded the trucks again to head back to Lihue.

Along the way we learned some interesting facts about the population of feral pigs on the island. There are more pigs in the interior forests than even chickens, though people don’t often see them.

Pig hunting is a popular activity for the locals who will use dogs to track and corner the pigs, allowing the hunter to make a kill using a knife.

Koloa

After returning to KBA and returning our equipment, we decided to make a stop at Walmart for some additional supplies , then drove to Koloa in search of our first shave ice of the trip.

The Shave Ice at Fresh Shave was really good. They add ice cream to it along with tropical fruits to make a really refreshing desert. We knew after our first shave ice it wouldn’t be our last.

We drove back to the townhouse and changed into our Hawaiian shirts. Next stop a luau.

Wailua

Smith Family Garden Luau

I had a hard time choosing a luau for our trip. I knew we wanted to go to one and there were several to choose from. I considered the Auli’i Luau in Poipu right on the beach. It would have been close enough to walk to from the resort where we were staying.

There is the Luau Kalamaku near Lihue which is at a plantation and includes a train ride.

There is one at the Coconut Beach resort at a venue that was the same as the one Shelley and I went to in 2003 when we were in our twenties. It was the first luau either of us had ever attended. We had a great and memorable time at it.

In the end I chose the Smith Family Garden Luau. The reviews for it were consistently good despite it being a bit less expensive and meant for larger crowds. It is at the Fern Grotto area along the Wailua River which is a scenic area. And they cook the kalua pork in a true underground imu. Some of the others just provide the cooked pork from indoor kitchens.

We arrived and walked over to an area surrounding the imu pit where we were welcomed. There was a large crowd around the imu and I didn’t get any photos of the imu ceremony, although it was done in a traditional manner.

The host of the luau introduced himself and explained how the Smith family had for many generations run the luau that we were now going to experience. They explained why they were Smiths and didn’t have a Hawaiian name. Ultimately they provide probably the most genuine luau on Kauai.

Once the imu ceremony ended we entered the very crowded dining area. It was at this point, as we searched for seating at at table, that I began to have doubts about my decision. We usually prefer smaller groups and a more relaxed environment. This was a much bigger event.

After getting seated and with cocktails in hand, we began to get more comfortable. We chatted with other families and told our individual stories of our times in Kauai. We told them that two decades ago Shelley and I had come to Kauai while still dating, and now we had returned with our kids.

We got our plates of kalua pork and more drinks and and as many desserts as we wanted. Evan volunteered for the hula lesson and did a great job.

During a bathroom run Evan encountered some feral pigs outside and ran back to tell us to come with us to see the pigs. We wandered outside and sure enough, some feral pigs were lurking by some back buildings.

We met a native woman near the pigs and she told us about her own experience owning a pig as a pet. As expected the pig grew very large and she sadly had to let it go.

I had never realized how many feral pigs were in Kauai or just how much they were a part of life there. Certainly though, I enjoyed the kalua pork for dinner.

After our conversation we walked quickly over to the amphitheater for the show. The show told the story of the discovery of Hawaii and other Polynesian Islands, of Pele, and featured numerous hula dances and a fire dancer.

Overall, the reviews for the show are mixed but I think it was a good show and we enjoyed it. Yes, this is a family show and the performers are not professionally trained. But they do give it their best and clearly love what they are doing.

Every luau is different and I don’t think you can go to Hawaii and not go to a luau. I’m glad we went to one and next time we are in Hawaii we’ll go to another one.