Thursday, August 25th
Thursday morning found us docked in Nawiliwili, Kauai, a port we'll remain in overnight. After yesterday's obscenely early morning, we were glad to have the chance to sleep in; our excursion did not leave until 12:30. Today's chosen adventure: ziplining!
Kauai is a less commercially developed island, and truly had a different feel to it. More relaxed, outdoorsy, maybe even primitive. The relatively untouched landscape made for lovely scenery as we drove to our put-in point. You can certainly understand why so many movies are filmed here. The locals are very proud of that fact, and kept reeling off the names of film after film. I can't remember them all (should have been taking notes!), but Jurassic Park and Raiders of the Lost Ark were among them. I did recognize the mountain range from the opening scenes of M*A*S*H!
The forested setting for our zipline adventure was on private land, and, thus, not open to the public. We felt like we had special privileges as we made our way down lanes lined with Cook Island Pines, through gate after gate, and into the heart of the rain forest. Kauai, we learned, is home to the wettest place on earth, Mt. Waialeale, averaging 488 inches of rain per year!
There were twelve of us in our daring group; just how daring was the question. After a lunch of yummy wraps and pasta salad, we put on our safety gear. Our guides were extremely safety conscious, a fact I was very happy about once we started soaring through the air! We each had a lower harness we stepped into like pants. That was attached with a heavy-duty clip to an upper body harness. A rope was attached to it all with a sturdy carbine. That rope eventually was securely attached to the pulley, and tested before take-off, at each zipline we used. Helmets completed our look, and boy, did we look tough!
After we were all geared up, we headed off to our warm-up zipline. This one was 100' long and 60' in the air. It started at a boardwalk in the forest, spanned a ravine, and ended next to a stand of giant bamboo. The point of this run was to get us used to the idea of sailing through the air - and to size up how comfortable we all were with the idea. Turns out there wasn't a wimp in the group! We thought this one was pretty exciting - until we got to the next two!
A suspension bridge was part of our hiking trail en route to the next line. Turns out the guides were still sizing us up, checking to see who could handle being even higher off the ground than we were before. Clever, weren't they? The view from the suspension bridge was awesome! It definitely felt like a rain forest.
Zipline #2 and 3 were above the trees. This second one was 800' long, and accessed by climbing up a ladder onto a platform that was 8' feet or so off the ground. At this point, we were on a cliff, looking down over the tops of trees. What an amazing view! This run ended with more picturesque foliage, including guava trees growing there in the wild.
Suddenly, I realized I could take video with my camera. I filmed Larry, then let the camera video the view as I flew through the air! Wow! What a rush!
Our third run was 1800' feet long, and even higher up. It started from a tower 15' or so above the ground, and actually featured a double zipline run, enabling us to race one another.
Our guides showed us how to not only let go, but turn upside down while soaring over the treetops. Sarah and Emily started at the same time, and both swung upside down. As a mother, I must say I was sure glad those safety harnesses held!
Larry and I weren't quite so brave when we raced against each other. Letting go was as feisty as we got. The dismount at the other end was actually the diciest part. We actually had to climb down a 10' aluminum ladder onto a (high!) platform. And, although two of us zipped at the same time, only one person could get down at a time. That meant that one of us (moi) got to dangle in the air while waiting to be retrieved. Kind of a surreal feeling...
We arrived at our final destination after a hike deep into the rainforest, through stands of bamboo, and over a stream leading to a hidden pool.
Suddenly, there it was! It was as if we had happened upon someone's secret tropical swimming hole. What a lovely setting! Ginger was blooming next to a small waterfall that cascaded into the pool.
Having left our safety harnesses behind, we stripped down to our swimsuits and got ready for our water zipline. This short line required no harness, consisting simply of a handle to hold onto before letting go and dropping down into the water. Cold at first, it was really refreshing after our hike down from our last zipline.
This natural pool was surrounded by rocky cliffs covered with vegetation. So lush, green, and exotic. And so hidden away on this privately-owned land; it was like our own secret getaway. Very cool!
An exciting adventure in a gorgeous, unspoiled, tropical setting with great guides to lead us along the way. I'd definitely do this again!
