We flew over to the Garden Isle to do another of my favorite activities, waterfalls! Actually it was on the bucket list for some of our friends who had never been to this particular watering hole.

Entertaining ourselves as we waited to board our twilight flight. We are easily amused.

Flying the friendly skies. Wrong airline.

Landed in Lihue, picked up our black jeeps, had dinner at a popular eatery and then checked in at Banyan Harbor Resort for the night.

Day 2
Woke up before the crack of dawn, packed our stuff and made a quick pit stop to pick up food for the day. Too early for poke.

Traversing the multiple stream crossings were a breeze now thanks to the improvements made on the Loop Road back in 2024-2025.

Capturing the sunrise being filtered by the trees.

It was a bumpy and muddy ride as we passed the Jurassic Park Poles on the roughly five mile unmaintained road. Contrary to popular belief, these are simply markers and are not leftovers from the original set. The actual gates were farther up the road and were demolished after the filming was done. No souvenirs for Hawaii.

Eleven clean shoes at the start of the trail.

Somebody was really excited to be here.

Our first stream crossing. One of many more to come.

Slipping and sliding through the mud.

Passing a flowering Nun’s Orchid on the trail, it was the first tropical orchid to flower in England as it’s native to Asia and the Pacific Islands.

“What you doing in the water, squatting like that?” Based on the popular myth, the stream water would be turning a bright blue, much like her shade of beet red.

Leaving the urine soaked water behind us.

Morning mist.

Kenny washing his face with the urine water. Oh wait, we are upstream, so he’s safe. Feel sorry for the rest of the group that were downstream.

Bible studies with the annoying church slut on the trail.

Matt looking for the waterfalls at the end of the tunnel.

Taking a break as we waited for the rest of the group to catch up. No bathroom breaks.

Approaching the first major waterfall of the day.

Checking out the gatekeeper falls on the trail. Nobody took a dip.

The rest of the group were enjoying the stream life.

Some of us explored a side waterfall. Slippery when wet.

Making my way back to the group as I was feeling lonely, wet and cold.

Roger showing off his rock balancing skills.

We contoured to the left of the falls to regain the trail.

Following the stream into the canyon.

Matt looking at a small waterfall.

So he decided to make a smaller one himself.

Kenny didn’t feel the need to add any more waterfalls.

Rock hopping and scrambling our way up the stream.

The waterfall walls began to constrict as we hiked deeper into the canyon.

We left the stream as we climbed up to get back on trail. Matt boosted the rest of the groups confidence as he said this is where he almost died. Climb on!

The steady stream of pulsating helicopters above our heads became more incessant and irritating.

Chico making his way up the slippery rocks.

Going through the gate. Almost there!

Going down the hill as we could see the Blue Hole for the first time.

Allison using both ropes as she climbed her way down the slippery rocks.

Exploring this water soaked and moss carpeted canyon that was carved from constant rainfall from what was once the wettest spot on Earth, Mount Wai’ale’ale. Pictures don’t give scale to the canyon walls that soar thousands of feet to the summit. Something that must be experienced in person through hiking or riding in a tour helicopter. This was the first time seeing this place for Chico, Edgar, Kenny, Marilyn and Sandra as well. It did not disappoint.

Drone view of our partial group photo against the backdrop of the canyon walls weeping with waterfalls.

This angle illustrates the reason why some people call it the “Blue Hole.” However, the weather was not cooperating by providing us with blue skies today. Instead it provided us with greyish-whitish skies and a steady diet of vertical-lift aircraft carrying tourists who only caught seemingly seconds of the Blue Hole. Hope it was worth it.

Getting close to the base of the falls.

Matt getting real up close and personal.

Time to take our leave of this natural waterpark that Mother Nature has gifted us.

Not so fast. Aida, Ferlino and Roger caught up to us and had to have their round of picture taking as it was their first time here as well.

Climbing our way back down to Wailua Stream.

Kenny showing us how it’s done.

Passing a stand of ornamental banana trees. Not to be confused with Orientals. We also crossed paths with a pair of hikers who had started late and assured us they could hustle to make it back out before dark.

Somebody was glad that we had brought webbing on the trail.

Can this picture go on the blog? I guess.

You go that way and we’ll go this way.

We drove out of the unmaintained road and switched Kenny with Mari at the airport. Post hike meal was at Hukilau Lanai where our group was split into two tables and checked out with fine dining prices. Overall despite some in the group getting lost, two hiking poles wrecked and Chico suffering a couple abrasions and cuts, the day went swimmingly. Our total mileage for the hike came out to a little more than four miles round trip, some others have quoted eight miles round trip. Whatever the exact mileage was, it sure felt like the latter one at the end of the day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ced84n5DHWs

Video by Edgar Gamiao of our Blue Hole hike.

Day 3
Checked out of our Airbnb, stopped at the local bakery that has been around since 1965 to fuel up for the day and drove to Waimea.

Looking into the Grand Canyon of the Pacific where the distant Waipo’o Falls could be seen.

Getting our bang for the buck out of our rental jeeps.

Matt grooming another Princess in the group.

We’re not getting muddy, right?

Our muppet group photo. Who’s who? Rijah Dat! Something got lost in the translation.

You guys want to see a better view? Rajah Dat!

Running commentary. Do you want my spikes? No. I have webbing. No need. It’s all for the gram, right? No. Does he have insurance? Yes. Can I get a ride from the airport? Yes.

There’s no “I” in team. In this case, I guess there is.

Group photo with the backdrop of the canyon that was formed over 4 million years ago when the shield volcano collapsed and the river and rain did the rest.

Synchronized spinning.

Ascending hikers have the right of way over descending hikers. It’s not always true, but normally?!?

Descending towards the falls. I didn’t have to yield to any ascending hikers.

Scenic spots.

Climbing down the direct way to the falls.

The girls standing at the top of the head-water falls before it plummets down the canyon walls.

Matt trying to thread his drone through the arch. Close but no cigar.

Getting all wet on the second of the smaller upper tier of the falls fed by Koke’e Stream.

Matt’s dramatic drone shots of the two-tiered 800′ waterfall.

On the way out, some of the group checked out the first of the smaller falls with a plunge pool. No plunging today.

Looking up into the pear or plum blossoms may result in a bug falling into your eye. Luckily our resident RN was able to fish it out of Mari’s eye on an out-patient basis.

We drove over to the lookout to take the typical tourist photos.

Spotting two feral goats climbing the rocky cliffs of the canyon. These invasive species were introduced in the 18th century by Captain Vancouver in 1792 on Kauai.

Goat see, goat do.

Running commentary. Those are idiots! I won’t disagree with you on that. One idiot is one idiot. Two idiots are two idiots. Four idiots are a hiking group.

Birds eye view.

Drone views of the canyon that plunges over 3,000′ deep.

The unofficial mascot of Kauai clucking their way around the parking lot and everywhere else, as the feral population exploded due to chickens being released during Hurricanes Iwa and Iniki.

We drove over to Lihue to eat at the local saimin stand that has been operating since 1952. It even received a James Beard award, believe it or not.

Cleaning our jeeps in Kapa’a, where we even had City & County supervision to ensure that we didn’t miss any spots before returning them back to the airport and catching our flight home. Thanks to Scotty for letting us wash our jeeps at his place. Mahalo to Edgar for booking the Airbnb and Chico, Edgar and Roger for getting the jeep rentals. Amazing weekend with a fun group that was made even better as the forecasted rain failed to make its appearance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoDUOkIHyeY

Video by Edgar Gamiao of our Waipo’o Falls hike.

Photos/Crew taken by Aida Gordon, Allison Banks, Chico Cantu, Edgar Gamiao, Ferlino Carinio, Kenny Lui, Marilyn Bermudez, Mari Saito, Matt Vidaurri, Roger Schiffman, Sandra Walter and yours truly. Not necessarily in order.

Note: I have been made aware that some hikers have been using my blog as a hiking guide and getting lost on the trails. Please note that this blog was made to document the hike for the crew(s) that did it. That is why some of my comments will seem to have no relevance or meaning to anybody outside of the crew(s) that hiked that trail. My blog was never meant as a hiking guide, so please do not treat it as such. If you find inspiration and entertainment from these hikes, that is more than enough. If you plan on replicating these hikes, do so in the knowledge that you should do your own research accordingly as trail conditions, access, legalities and so forth are constantly in flux. What was current today is most likely yesterdays news. Please be prepared to accept any risks and responsibilities on your own as you should know your own limitations, experience and abilities before you even set foot on a trail, as even the “simplest” or “easiest” of trails can present potential pitfalls for even the most “experienced” hikers. One should also always let somebody know of your hiking plans in case something doesn’t go as planned, better safe than sorry.

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