KAUAI in our book is the Oldest most Beautiful and visually Stunning Island in the Hawaiian Chain…it’s had some time to settle in and erode as well, creating some of the most AMAZING RIDGELINES ON EARTH! Kauai is truly the Garden Isle.

Kauai is an outdoorsman’s playground. If you seek the best Hiking, the best outdoor activities and best camping around, Kauai is for you! If your intentions are to come here and just drink Mai Tais on the beach…Forget it! You come here to seek adventure, to test your skills from fishing, kayaking, hiking, camping, horseback riding, scuba diving, ziplining and everything else under the sun.

At approximately six million years old, it is the oldest of the main islands. The highest peak on this mountainous island is Kawaikini at 5,243 feet…The second highest peak is Wai’ale’ale near the center of the island, 5,148 feet. The wettest spots on Earth, with an annual average rainfall of 460 inches is located on the east side of Mount Waiʻaleʻale. The high annual rainfall has eroded deep valleys in the central mountains, carving out canyons with many scenic waterfalls. On the west side of the island, Waimea town is located at the mouth of the Waimea River, whose flow formed the GREAT Waimea Canyon, one of the world’s most scenic canyons, known to all as the Great GRAND CANYON of the Pacific at 3,000 feet deep. The Na Pali Coast is the center for recreation which including Kayaking, Boating or Hiking past amazing Mountain Ridges,  Beaches and Hiking trails.

In 1778, Captain James Cook arrived at Waimea Bay, he was the first European known to reach the Hawaiian islands and Kauai was the first island he visited. He named the Hawaiian Islands after his patron the Earl of Sandwich. At the time the Hawaiian Islands had been called the SANDWICH ISLANDS.

During the reign of King Kamehameha,  the islands of Kauaʻi and Niʻihau were the last Hawaiian Islands to join the UNITED KINGDOM of HAWAII Their ruler, Kaumuali’i resisted Kamehameha for years. King Kamehameha twice prepared a huge armada of ships and canoes to take the islands by force, and failed; once due to a storm, and the other because of an island wide epidemic. In the face of a third attempt to take Kauai and Ni’ihau by Kamehameha, Kaumualiʻi decided to surrender and join the kingdom of Hawaii without bloodshed in 1810.

Now with some great info and history out of the way…Lets look into what you will be doing when you visit Kauai as there are an endless about of things to do for those who seek adventure in the ocean, valley’s and Mountains…from Queens Bath, to Tunnels Beach, to Wai ‘ale’ali Crater, to Wailua Falls and Kayaking the Wailua River to even Hiking the Pinnacle of Hiking on the Na Pali Coast Kalalau Trail…all 11 Miles back and forth…if you are seeking Adventure then Kauai is the island for you and we talk about it all during our Lucky We Live Hawaii Podcast…KAUAI…The Garden Isle.