Kauai - Waimea Canyon

The next day we took our rental car in the other direction - along the south coats and then into the interior, specifically to drive up and into Waimea Canyon.

By this point, we had noticed that there are feral chickens EVERYWHERE on Kauai - well everywhere except inside the hotel grounds. We finally became curious enough to Google as to why all the chickens.

There are chickens on many tropical islands. On Kauai, however, there are no predators. You'll see mongooses scampering about on Oahu and Maui - but not on Kauai. In addition, the chickens are protected. (That aside, the birds - now a mix of guinea fowl and escaped domestics - are renowned to be tough to eat. (Look up the joke about the recipe for Kauai chicken.)



Below is a hen tending to her chicks. This is at the lodge/restaurant area in Kokee State Park - reached at the head of the Canyon.

Here is a typical view from the scenic drive overlooking the Canyon itself.

A short drive beyond the restaurant and museum is the Kalalau Lookout - providing a fabulous view of the Napili Coast. If you watch the intro to the Hawaii Life TV show, you'll see a photo taken from this lookout.

Something we were not expecting was to see another island off Kauai. Amidst the haze you'll see the island of Ni'ihau. This is known as the 'forbidden island'. This is a privately owned island - although there are tours allowed on a limited basis.