[jaysway]

Last month, I was fortunate enough to spend just over a week in Hawaii split between the Big Island and Kauai. The primary purpose of the trip was to meet up on the Big Island for a few days with friends who moved to Australia. They were attending a wedding in Maui over weekend, so we had the week to spend with them. One of our friends had been a teacher on the Big Island for a couple of years, so she acted as our tour guide and it was fun getting to see the places that had been important to her. We didn't do as much hiking as we wanted due to a variety of factors, including weather: we had rain and poor visibility soon after arriving at Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, and the summit of Mauna Kea was closed on the day we wanted to visit due to high winds (not even researchers were allowed up). Since COVID, access to certain areas are still restricted: the trail into Pololū Valley is now closed at the beach, and the road into Waipiʻo Valley is only open to local traffic. I enjoyed what I got to see on the Big Island, but I would love to go back to see the summits of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, and do more hiking in the National Park. For our last few days, we flew to Kauai. First, we spent a night in the Poipu area, enjoying the beaches and snorkeling a couple of times (this is a great place for seeing sea turtles). On our second afternoon, we did a helicopter tour of the island which was absolutely incredible. We visited Kauai on a budget many years ago and couldn't make a helicopter ride happen despite hearing a lot about how great the tours are, so it felt good to go back and finally see the island from above. We ended our time on Kaui by backpacking the Kalalau Trail, spending one night at Kalalau Beach. We did witness a group of mostly young people being dropped off illegally by boat to the beach. After returning home, I read that these illegal dropoffs are common, although more often in the summer months when the surf is calmer. This was a great trip, although I would love to come back and spend multiple nights at Kalalau Beach. Kauai is hands down one of the most beautiful places that I have been fortunate enough to visit . Funny story: we flew on an Alaska Airlines MAX9 the day after the door plug incident. Alaska inspected our plane and cleared it to fly, but within hours of landing we learned that the FAA had then decided to ground all of the MAX9s. Thankfully, this did not impact our flights home, but we noticed many other cancelled outgoing flights. Big Island

Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park

Mauna Kea

Snow near the summit!

Near the visitor center for sunset

I feel like I'm in the Bend/Sisters area

Pololū Valley

Waipiʻo Valley Lookout

Waialea Beach

I love all of the volcanic rock on the Big Island

Kauai Poipu area

Makawehi Bluff

Helicopter tour

The beach on the left is where we camped the following night

Hanalei Hanalei has to be one of the most beautiful places in the world. These views are either roadside, or are steps away from the beach parking lots.

Kalalau Trail, day one

Hanakāpī‘ai Beach

The Gate

Crawler's Ledge

Whales off the coast

Red Hill

Kalalau Beach, camping area

An experiment with Lighroom's AI-driven Denoise

Kalalau Trail, day two

[zimmertr]

Good stuff. I've been to the Big Island twice and Kauai once. Volcano is one of my favorite places in the world. Thanks for sharing the photos. I regret not climbing Loa the first time I went to Hawai'i. Do you know if the mountain is still closed above red cabin? I'd go back a third time for a shorter trip just to climb it...

[awilsondc]

I'm jealous you got to do the Kalalau trail! What a great place. I need to head back over there. Good looking trip!

[Shred]

My GF and I spent 10 days riding bikes around the big island early January. It was one of the neatest experiences of my life. So much so, that after a week of being home, we went back and rode around Maui and Lanai… now it looks like I need to go to Kauai! Thanks for the report and amazing photos. Looked like a great trip.👍 Here’s a long winded vid I hastily threw together of our bike trip. https://vimeo.com/905633420

[Nancyann]

Exquisitely beautiful photos! I visited most of those places ten years ago, brings back many fond memories!

[The Ghost of Bear 380]

Those helicopter tour pics are incredible! Thanks for the great TR!

[jaysway]

[GaliWalker]