Apparently, a visitor was killed on this beach at the end of Anina Beach, a desirable beach only 15 minutes from Princeville. This was sad to see.

Kauai doesn’t have many highways and certainly nothing that remotely appears to be a freeway. Once we exit the planned community of Princeville, we have the option of heading to the right on Kuhio Highway, which continues past Hanalei until the road ends at Ke’e Beach on the Napali Coast where we spotted the Hawaiian monk sea

Tom and I had seen this “wet cave” as we neared the end of the road in the Napali Coast. Swimmers aren’t allowed to enter this cave.

Or, if we turn to the left at Kuhio Highway, we can continue on to Lihue where the airport is located and then on to one of a few highways that continue through Poipu at the southern tip on the map, ultimately heading to the west where again, the road ends.

Of course, there are many side roads entering residential areas, farms, ranches with much of the island consisting of undeveloped areas, including beaches, mountains, valleys, and hills.

The rip currents in many of the beaches are dangerous resulting in the death of a tourist almost every day, based on news reports.

If one were to drive from the top north, west of Princeville to the far southwest, it may take less than three hours providing road construction and traffic is at a minimum. That’s how small this island really is. 

The huge waves also pose a risk for swimmers who may not be familiar with navigating the currents. Even experienced swimmers and surfers fall prey to these risks.

Reality dictates that driving through many of the small towns along the way results in numerous delays, especially in the resort towns. Let’s face it, with the gorgeous beaches on this island, most towns along the coast are in fact resort towns.

It was overcast and cloudy when Julie and I visited this beach.

In yesterday’s post, we described mine and Julie’s visit to the town of Kapaa as shown on the map on the east coast near the center. It took 30 minutes to get to Kapaa. Had we driven further south for another 15 minutes, we have made it to Lihue.

There are hundreds of varieties of trees on the island.

After Tom and I traveled almost the full perimeter of the island on February 19th, we both agree that we’ve especially enjoyed the north and east coasts of the island, as opposed to the south beyond Poipu. 

The cliffs at Tunnels Beach on the way to the Napali Coast.

Although the southern area of the island has numerous attractions suitable for adventure-minded visitors and those seeking beautiful scenery, there’s hardly a spot on the island that isn’t scenic. Even on the interior of the island, exquisite scenery is available at every turn.

We stopped at a local Farmer’s Market on the way to Kapaa a few days ago. We purchased a root of turmeric, a huge bunch of Swiss chard, two huge bunches of green beans, and an enormous avocado, all organic and non-GMO.

By the time we depart Kauai in a little over two months, without a doubt, we feel we’ll have seen most of which is suitable for our type of exploration, excluding what remains of the exceedingly rough terrain desired by adept and experienced hikers, which doesn’t include us.

We always try to buy from local farmers as much as possible.  A few days ago we went to the local Princeville gas station where on the inside they sell grass-fed beef at excellent prices from the Princeville Ranch. On Friday, we’re touring the ranch with the owner, hoping the share photos and the story of farming grass-fed beef in  Kauai.

We’ve definitely experienced some rough terrain but, with our desire to avoid injuries, we’ve kept those types of treks to a minimum. With nightly reports on the news, almost every night we hear of tourists succumbing to serious injury or death on many of the dangerous trails being swept away into the ocean at various points of interest, such as at the Queen’s Bath which we recently visited.

As for Julie and me, we continue to scour the north and east side of the island easily keeping us busy each day.  She loves the beaches and has also taken off a few times on her own to explore and lounge on a beach to relax and read a book while I’ve stayed behind take care of household tasks, grocery shop, prepare meals, workout and work on photos and the next day’s post. 

Many popular beaches are in a covered area, providing some protection for the swimmers.

Today, we’re off to Kilauea to finally visit the lighthouse. On several occasions Tom and I have stopped by, yet to actually take the tour when the lines were too long. Julie and I are determined to wait it out until we get in. Hopefully, we’ll return tomorrow with photos from the actual tour.

Tonight, we’re dinner guests of our new friends Bev and Sam whose property we toured on “movie night” a few weeks ago, posting many photos of their amazing property a day later. They’ve since invited the three of us for an evening at their home. We’re looking forward to a wonderful evening!

Have a fulfilling “hump day.”

                                            Photo from one year ago today, March 18, 2014:

The tourists usually arrive on Thursdays and Fridays to spend the weekend shopping in the souks and dining in the Big Square (the Medina). For details from that date, please click here.