Josh and I landed on Kauai Friday evening for our third trip to the island for a quick weekend away from Oahu. We were only an hour late (which is pretty awesome on an inter-island Island Air flight), but since everything on Kauai shuts down at 9:00 p.m., we had few choices for dinner. We grabbed food at Duke’s in Lihue and then checked into our hotel (Kauai Beach Resort).

The entire purpose of this trip was to take a helicopter tour of the island. In February of 2012, Josh and I hiked the Kalalau Trail along the Na Pali coast of Kauai. It was an ridiculous trip (for many reasons) and during those 22 miles there and back, we kept hearing all of the helicopters above us. We decided that we were coming back to Kauai and viewing our amazing hike from up above. We went back to Kauai in September of 2012 to do just that, but got rained out for our tour (shocking). However, I am happy to report that this trip was a COMPLETE success! We had the most amazing helicopter tour with Jack Harter Helicopters. We flew in a helicopter with doors off for a whole hour around the island. We had great weather and the views were incredible! It was by far the highlight of our trip :).

Taking off!

The Marriott Resort in Lihue.

Waterfall from Jurassic Park (also known as Manawaiopuna Falls).

Five waterfalls that pour into Manawaiopuna Falls.

Rainbow!

Waimea Canyon.

The Nā Pali Coast. Incredible.

The Kalalau Trail.

Kalalau Beach…the beach we hiked to.

The trail from above.

Hanalei Bay.

Weeping wall.

Looking back through the valley we just flew through.

Wailua Falls.

After the tour!

After our helicopter tour, we headed to Wailua River to go kayaking. We kayaked two miles upriver to Secret Falls (120 ft water fall). We hiked (much further than we thought) in extremely muddy conditions to the waterfall. I had flip flops on (horrible idea) and we were covered in mud by the time we left.

Along the hike to Secret Falls.

Rooster in the woods.

Covered in mud!

So peaceful.

Kayaking in action.

Action shot of Josh.

This cracks me up.

Almost done!

After kayaking, we went to view ‘Opaeka’a Falls. It was late in the day, so we didn’t get that great of a shot. But it was huge!

After quickly stopping there, we went back to the hotel and got ready for dinner at Hukilau Lanai. We sat out on the patio and enjoyed some amazing food after a terrific day!

Focaccia Bread

Poke Nachos.

Lobster Curry Bisque.

Caesar Salad.

Opah fish with risotto and vegetables.

Macadamia nut tart and cinnamon ice cream.