On our first morning in Kauai, we drove about an hour from the ship to the Na Pali coast. I didn't know until I began my research for the trip how massive this rain forest is and that the only way to explore it is by foot or by helicopter. The first 2-mile stretch of the trail along the coast is designated for day hikers, and if they want to hike an additional 2-miles inland to a waterfall, they can without a park pass. Beyond that, you have to be outfitted for camping. I didn't believe the travel book that described this first segment of the hike as being strenuous and to expect each mile to take 1-2 hours. I figured we take 2-3 hours to do the 8-mile round trip hike to the waterfall and back and then we'd be on our way. Fortunately, we paid some attention to the warning in the book and packed a Subway lunch and enough water, and wore comfortable shoes. We ended up spending 6 hours on the trail, but it was a great adventure and so beautiful that even the slippery, muddy, rocky, steep trails didn't bother us.
A view of the coast (the ocean is on the left side)
The colors of the foliage and water were fantastic! Even the dirt was a distinct red-- my stained socks prove it!
It took us 1 1/2 hours to hike 2 miles to Hanakapiai Beach, where many of the day hikers have lunch and then turn back. A hand-carved sigm warned of swimming on this north shore of Kauai due to the strong undertow that had killed 83 hikers. The pool in front of me was a mixture of the salt water coming in from the ocean and fresh water running down from the waterfalls.
Derek is barely visible in the middle of the picture, at our picnic spot 
We decided to continue along the trail, inland to the waterfall . We only saw a half dozen other hikers during this segment of the hike.
It was great! We felt like we were adventurers in the rain forest.
After another 1 1/2 hours of hiking, our destination was finally in sight!Hanakapiai Falls
The falls were breathtaking...
...and so was the water! We both swam in the cold, freshwater pool, and Derek even convinced me to swim under the falls with him, even though it freaked me out to swim across the pool of unknown depth. He admitted after the fact that that kind of thing freaks him out, too, he just doesn't think about it. Something I never knew about him before!
And now, for the journey back! Once we had reached our majestic destination, it was hard to turn back and face the three hour trek back.
We collapsed once we finally reached Kee Beach at the trail head, 6 hours after we had set out on our little adventure. It was awesome! We were so physically spent that we felt like we couldn't have possibly done any more to really experience Kauai.
The falls were breathtaking...
...and so was the water! We both swam in the cold, freshwater pool, and Derek even convinced me to swim under the falls with him, even though it freaked me out to swim across the pool of unknown depth. He admitted after the fact that that kind of thing freaks him out, too, he just doesn't think about it. Something I never knew about him before!I read that the falls are about 410 feet high (from where we could see), and then they continue to tier upward for a total of 1600 feet! Amazing!
What made this even better was that there were only 2 other hikers there.
And now, for the journey back! Once we had reached our majestic destination, it was hard to turn back and face the three hour trek back.
We collapsed once we finally reached Kee Beach at the trail head, 6 hours after we had set out on our little adventure. It was awesome! We were so physically spent that we felt like we couldn't have possibly done any more to really experience Kauai. We were asleep by 8:45 that night.
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