Our first 2 nights on land were spent in Waikiki. This is our third time here so we felt right at home and visited some of our favourite haunts. We were enjoying a beer at a beach bar we’ve been to before and the friends we met on the cruise came past. This led to a great dinner with them at the Cheesecake Factory. The next day Ruthie went shopping at her two favourite stores (TJ Maxx and Ross) and did some rapid damage while I had an Edward Scissorhands haircut.

Next stop the island of Kaua’i. We have flown so much that we’re now deemed “low risk” and our boarding passes have a TSA pre-check stamped on them. This is “so cool”. At the airport we can go through the security check without removing our shoes, (which is compulsory in the USA) liquids or electronics from our carry on. The security staff just call out down the line “we’ve got some TSA approved coming through” and we skip the queue. As we were quickly whisked through security and were watching those without shoes, belts, pants falling down etc, I was chuckling to myself, winner winner chicken dinner!

Kaua’i is the oldest and 4th largest Hawaiian Island and again was discovered by Captain Cook in 1778. It has breathtaking grand canyons, majestic mountains, constantly flowing rivers and beautiful beaches. Many movies or TV shows have taken advantage of this by filming here including John Wayne’s Donovan’s Reef, Elvis’ Blue Hawaii, Six days, Seven Nights, Gilligans Island, Fantasy Island, The Amazing Race and Dead Men Tell No Tales. Bethany Hamilton lost her arm to a shark attack when surfing at the age of 13 at this island and still surfs and lives here with her family. Check out the movie Soul Surfer for her story. 50% of the island’s energy comes from renewable sources which is really impressive. Chickens run wild everywhere on the island and are a protected species. In fact we’re reliably informed the only place you won’t see them on the island is the KFC car park. There is no natural predator to them and the roosters crow all day and night.

We walked from our resort past the port. I watched in amazement as the cruise ship “Pride of America” carrying around 2000 passengers turned around on a 5 cent piece to get out of the harbour. We continued on to the Menehune Fishpond overlook. The stonewalled fishpond built on the Huleia River is over 1,000 years old. The mountainous backdrop was used in the Raiders of the Lost Ark movie.

Another day and we decided to catch the public bus up to Hanalei Bay at the north end of the island. Now if we are to believe our concierge, Puff the Magic Dragon from the Peter Paul and Mary song lived here by the sea and frolicked in the Autumn mist in a land called Honalee. As the afternoon mist rolled in and we journeyed home I tend to believe it as the bus had many interesting characters on it including the guy who couldn’t decide whether to buy a quarter ounce or half ounce – definitely Puff the Magic Dragon! There were no chickens or livestock on the bus but plenty of other interesting characters. To me it seemed some mainland Americans have escaped here to live the simple life, not homeless but not asset rich either. We’ve since been told they work on the farms and live in tents. Hanalei Bay itself was surrounded by steep high foliage covered mountains and you could see the cascading waterfalls, the water dropping for hundreds of metres. The old pier at the end of the beach has stood the test of time. No wonder it was the backdrop for the movie, South Pacific.

We set off again on one of our legendary walks that turned into a marathon. We went in search of the lighthouse not realising there were two. Of course we found the one furthest away first. Kauai turned it on for us. Clear blue skies, light trade winds and everyone was out and about. We walked through several golf club resorts that were just mind blowing. These courses were designed by Jack Nicklaus. The gardens were lush surrounding the lagoons, every blade of grass seemed manicured and apart from the risk of losing your ball in the ocean there was no rough to speak of. The native birds (Nene) paraded themselves proudly and like everywhere else on the island there were chickens! The views from the lighthouse over the island and Pacific made the walk truly worthwhile. Ruthie got her fix of planes flying overhead too as we were right next to the airport!

Believe it or not, I suggested that we should do the helicopter flight over the island. Me! The fear of height specialist! Actually, I think it was the fact that when Kiki, our concierge, mentioned that there were already enough chickens on the island, I had no choice.

Amazing! If you’re ever in Kauai, it’s a must to do the helicopter flight. So much of this island is inaccessible by land. We flew over the Napali Coast which is bordered by sheer cliffs, some of which have a kilometre drop to the beautiful white sandy beaches and only reachable by boat. Unfortunately the whale migration season had finished but that would’ve just topped it off to see breaching whales from the air. Into the steep grandeur of Waimea canyon we flew and we could have been looking at a detailed work of art! The endless hues of red ochre and green foliage was extraordinary. I’m sure if I’d have stuck my hand out, I could’ve touched one of the many glistening waterfalls that seemed to go on forever. The Waialeale falls have nearly a 3000 feet drop and we saw the Manawaiopuna Falls aka Jurassic Park Falls which have a 400 foot drop. This area receives 440 inches of rain per annum so the falls are spectacular. Next we flew into the extinct Waialeale volcano crater amongst the clouds before following the pristine coastline back to Lihue airport. Our pilots name was Bogart and apart from the facts, he didn’t give away much about himself but I can imagine him as having flown choppers in Vietnam. No wonder Spielberg loves filming here, it truly is the land that time forgot. We are keen to re-watch some of these iconic movies as well as two new ones being released shortly starring Dwayne Johnson – a Disney movie Jungle Cruise and the next in the Fast and Furious series. The locals were very excited to tell us they were recently filmed here and almost claim Dwayne as one of their own as he was born in O’ahu.

We opted to take a guided bus tour to see whatever else there was to see. The only time this is offered is if a cruise ship is in Port. Our favourite Radiance of the Seas was here so we joined the cruise mob. We travelled to Opaeka’a Falls and the Wailua River valley on the east side, both with stunning views. We went past the shell of the Coco Palms Hotel which had been destroyed by hurricane Iniki in 1992. This hotel and its lagoons were used in the Elvis movie Blue Hawaii. In fact he loved Kauai so much he made 3 movies here. Next it was on to the south coast and here we saw the Spouting Horn, a spectacular blow hole and then Po’ipu Beach which is often rated amongst the top 10 beaches in the world. Yes, it was beautiful but I think I’m longing for my home beach. Although we told the driver we weren’t from the cruise and he picked us up outside the port he drove us back onto the port. We were quickly marched off by security but had a great day.

Our last day in Kaua’i was spent lazing on the beach under palm trees in front of the beautiful Marriott Resort. There are no private beaches in Hawaii, they are all public. We were having a dip in the Pacific, the North Pacific to be more specific.

Can you believe it! Three nights to go! Those nights are being spent at the Ilikai Hotel in Waikiki made famous by Jack Lord in the original Hawaii Five-O. The excitement of going home was really starting to hit. Then we learnt our little piece of paradise, Cape Paterson, had been hit by a devastating hailstorm. A low weather trough had settled over the town and it hailed non stop for a long period. 125mm (5inches) of precipitation had fallen in a 2 hour period. It was a once in a lifetime storm. There was substantial damage to many houses, the surf club, the local shop and to the best little watering hole on the planet, The Cape Paterson Tavern. I know the small tight knit community will band together and hopefully we can be of assistance when we get back if needed.

Our 2nd last night and the Hilton Waikiki put on their fireworks display for us (actually happens every Friday night). Hawaii was a wonderful way to break our journey home and enjoy some warm beach weather!