ZB ZB
Live now
Start time
Playing for
End time
Listen live
Listen to NAME OF STATION
Up next
Listen live on
ZB

Mike Yardley: Nature’s splendour in Kauai

Author
Mike Yardley,
Publish Date
Wed, 25 Nov 2015, 9:09PM
Waimea Canyon (Mike Yardley)
Waimea Canyon (Mike Yardley)

Mike Yardley: Nature’s splendour in Kauai

Author
Mike Yardley,
Publish Date
Wed, 25 Nov 2015, 9:09PM

Confession time – I’m a closet Jurassic Park junkie, which was the principal motivator for tripping around the smallest of the major Hawaiian islands. Beautiful Kauai is like Hollywood’s readymade movie set, absurdly endowed with dramatic and soul-rinsing scenery. From pleated cliffs to yawning chasms, and draped with a mantle of lush emerald vegetation, it’s no wonder the dinosaur movie franchise wasn’t alone in being bewitched by Kauai’s backdrops.  The island has featured in numerous recent blockbusters including Pirates of the Caribbean, Mighty Joe Young, Godzilla and King Kong.

But it’s the long legacy of Jurassic Park and its sequels that lives on in Kauai, thanks to its winning landscapes playing a multiple-starring role in the films. I headed up the fabled Kuhio Highway to Hanalei, on the northern Coast, to Limahuli Garden. ( It was here that a victim of an unseen predator was loaded into a container.) Set in a verdant tropical valley, Limahuli Garden is back-dropped by the majesty of Makana Mountain, overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Ancient Hawaiians constructed agricultural terraces out of lava rock, and planted important food crops like taro here. Open daily for tours, it’s a gorgeous space to get a flavour for the flora of Kauai. Also on the Kuhio Highway, I stopped by the waterfront town of Kapaa, which was transformed into the outdoor cafe at ‘San Jose, Costa Rica’, the movie plot to smuggle out dinosaur embryos in a shaving cream can, played out.  In the movie, Jurassic Park was based on the fictional island of  ‘Isla Nublar’ and  the green slopes of Kauai’s Na Pali Coast and its forbidding cliffs loomed large in the panoramic shots. They are a truly striking sight, which also doubled as “Skull Island” for King Kong. Accessing these steep-sided valleys is not easy.

 But if you’re up for an intrepid hike, the 18km long Kalalau Trail introduced me to an awe-inspiring landscape of virtually primeval vastness and splendour. You’ll walk through several hanging valleys where the tinkling streams haven’t managed to find a way down to sea level.  The most challenging portion of the trail wends through abandoned coffee plantations to the Hanakapi’ai Falls and the highest clifftop point on the trail, Pa Ma Wa’a. Then it’s on to the ravishing Hanakoa Valley where I marvelled at the ancient taro terraces, before clinging to the trail’s perilous sandstone cliffs to be rewarded with the celestial view of Kalalau Valley. 

For a complete change of scenery, don’t leave Kauai until you’ve oohed and aahed at the rugged grandeur of Waimea Canyon, nicknamed the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific.” It was created by an earthquake that nearly ripped Kauai apart. The gorge is 3000ft deep and there are a series of sweet lookouts edged around the rim.

After throwing yourself at Kauai’s captivating natural draws, scaling cliff-tops, surveying canyons and blazing a trail through the verdant hinterland, some personal pamper time is more than justified, and the Grand Hyatt Kauai is a sinfully indulgent address. Strikingly handsome, this quintessential Hawaiian low-rise resort, is tucked into the cliffs overlooking an unblemished coastline. Exuding classic Hawaiian ambience, this fantasy-island-style megaresort boasts five acres of meandering fresh and saltwater swimming lagoons with a generously sized waterslide, nestled in artfully landscaped tropical grounds. Brimming with aloha spirit, the meticulously manicured grounds are studded with coconut palms, lit with tiki torches at night, with lawns leading down to the beach and the crashing Pacific breakers. 

You’ll love the accommodations, with vivid design touches and a gold-and-green palette with cushions splashed with flower motifs and custard-coloured chaises. You can expect white-marble-tiles, a rain shower, a mahogany terrace with traditional Hawaiian-print linens.  Every room boasts a lanai (balcony ), with most enjoying an ocean vista.  

If you’re keen to enjoy a traditional luau, it’s staged every Thursday and Sunday, with a lavish Hawaiian buffet and uplifting Polynesian revue. The resort positively pops with dining temptations, featuring eight restaurants and three bars. Be sure to dine at Tidepools, repeatedly ranked as one of the romantic restaurants in the United States. Floating above a koi-filled lagoon at the base of a waterfall, the dreamy thatched-roof bungalow setting is where you’ll savour contemporary Hawaiian cuisine, with the critics raving about the fish and steak dishes.  Grand Hyatt Kauai rolls out a variety of seasonal packages and special deals including their current 25th anniversary  promotion. Bag a deal that best suits you. Jump to kauai.hyatt.com

Mike Yardley is Newstalk ZB’s Travel Correspondent on Jack Tame Saturdays. 11.20am

 

Take your Radio, Podcasts and Music with you