We took a boat tour to see the Napali coast from sea. We met in the tour office to get registered first thing in the morning at 7:00 am. There were 14 people in the group and all of them were from various cities in the States, except the two of us. We were given a small dry bag to store all of the belongings that we do not want to get wet.
We boarded the zodiac boat, sitting on the rim inside the boat, without backing, and had to tug our feet under a rope and hold onto the rope along the seating, to ensure that we would not tumble into the ocean during the high-speed cruise. We were warned numerous times that we would get wet and were told to dress accordingly.
The view of the Napali coast was absolutely stunning. Some of the cliffs were over 3000 feet tall and were just one steep sharp drop off from the top to the sea level, as if someone had used a very sharp axe and chopped the face of the mountains off. We saw mountains and valleys created from ancient volcanic activities that have now been heavily eroded, resulting in many sharp ridges and deep gullies. There are waterfalls everywhere as well as numerous sea caves. A big school of dolphins swam next to our boat and all of us got so excited from the sighting. We tried to take some pictures but was impossible due to rocking movement of the boat as well as our seating positions which were partially blocked by the top cover of the boat. One thing we did learn about dolphins is that they mate whole day and every waking moment of their life. Given that a dolphin pod consists of one male and many females, I think being a male dolphin is either the best blessing or the worst curse!
The boat dropped us off at a secluded bay to snorkel for about an hour. We brought our prescription goggles so that we could see the fish. The bay was deeper than the beaches we had been snorkeled before but it came with many different types of fish, many were quite big in size. The boat tour also included a simple sandwich and a bottte of water. The nourishments were well appreciated after the exciting early morning activities without adequate time for breakfast.
We went back to our hotel to refresh and rest a bit before driving to the Hanalei Bay for dinner. Along the way, we also visited the Kilauea lighthouse, the most northern point of the Hawaiian archipelago. To our disappointment, the Hanalei Bay area was less equipped than expected and only had a few restaurants.
The hotel offered a compliment cocktail drink. We took advantage of the offer and sat in the courtyard restaurant to enjoy some singing and music from a local musician. Quite a relaxing night!
We ended the day, Kauai style, watching the starry night by the beach and listening to the wave crashing onto the shore. We even caught a glimpse of a shooting star!
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