After a healthy breakfast we set forth to see Akaka Falls, but only after carefully triple checking that it was not one of the falls we had seen from the helicopter. Fortunately, we hadn't, and the falls were definitely worth seeing. Actually, there were two falls, Akaka Falls and Kahuna Falls. There were clear signs indicating the path to follow, a circular path passing the falls counterclockwise, but in our own unique way we devised an alternative route, during which we met a lot of people. Including two people we had met the day before on the helicopter flight. The Big Island wasn't that big after all!
One of the reasons we visited the falls was the promise of plumeria flowers, Cindy's favorite flower. We were not impressed by the abundance, since we only found three, hidden in some bushes and quite decrepit looking, and we weren't even sure they actually were plumeria. Despite the lack of flowers, the views of the falls and the surrounding forest were breathtaking:
After getting some bananabread and water for lunch, we got back into the car and drove to the northwest corner of the island. From there it is possible to see Maui, and after staring long and hard we finally caught a glimpse of it. It was much easier to see the cows.
Our final tourist attraction on the Big Island were the petroglyphs. They were next to a mall, a luxury resort and a golf course. Apparently most of the petroglyps have been there for centuries, but it seemed that some of them had been rather recent additions. We are no petroglyphologists, but the ones in the picture seemed genuinly old to us.
Next it was back to the airport to return our car and get on the plane. We had to change planes in Honolulu, so we have actually visited three Hawaiian Islands. By half past eight we arrived in Lihue, in the dark, thus leaving the surprise of what the island looked like to the next day. We picked up our spiffy convertible, and drove to our hotel with the starry night as our roof. That first night on Kauai, we stayed in the Coconut Beach resort, which has a great location but was otherwise a bit disappointing.
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