Kauai Beaches
The
beaches we most enjoyed, Tunnels
Beach and Poipu
Beach, were on the north and the south sides of the
island. The east side had formidable waves, probably just
right for surfers, but not us. The west side is not
recommended because of intermittent undertow.
On
the north side is Tunnels
Beach, at the west end of the road. (The road
that goes around the island ends there -- it doesn't go through the Na Pali cliffs area on the northwest side of the island.) Tunnels
Beach is called that because when you are swimming along just under the
water (with goggles or snorkel and mask), you find yourself
traveling down large unroofed tunnels between lava rocks.
This area is full of turtles and lovely fish. The sand beach is a great one. It is less sunny here than at Poipu--it rains at least once a day. But it's not a rainy place by any means.
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Other beaches on the north shore near Hanalei, such as Anini Beach and Princeville Beach, are great too, at least in the summer. In the winter, the surf gets very big on the north side. The picture above is of Princeville Beach, looking west toward Tunnels Beach and the Na Pali cliffs. On the south side is Poipu Beach, a sheltered beach cove best for small children. It's a stress-free environment for parents, too, because the waves don't come into the cove. In fact, there are beaches all along the south side that are swimmable. |
Are you interested in finding sea glass (that's old broken glass, ground smooth by the sea)? Then you should look for Glass Beach in Port Allen, where an old dump yields lots of the stuff on a good day. A Washington Post reporter described getting there this way: "You take the Port Allen exit off the highway, then turn down a street past some warehouses, then follow a very rutted dirt road to the water." The unlabeled beach has some gas tanks to one side, she mentions.
Here's a tip for beachgoers: remember that you are close to the equator and your skin can't stand as much sun exposure as you are probably used to. You can wear a shirt in the water, use sunscreen, and limit the amount of time you are at the beach during the middle of the day.
We swam at
some coves near Poipu Beach, including one just to the east known
locally as Boogie Board
Beach. This steep beach has surf crashing in and
is not for the faint-hearted. However, my nine-year-olds who were good
swimmers enjoyed bobbing around in the surf. Alongside them were bobbing dozens of
endangered turtles, including a white one.
What our family really loved was right under our noses at the beach, in the water with us--the beautiful fish. Wearing just a mask or goggles, we could watch those colored fish. .
We met a
couple of endangered Hawaiian Monk seals. One was just dozing
on the beach. But the other one...
These are types of fish we saw at Kauai beaches.
A Close Encounter
I sat on
Brennecke Beach west of Poipu, leisurely watching my
children and other distractions. Out of the corner of my eye
I saw a swimmer next to my son Paul. I turned to look right
at them and discovered a seal, just two or three feet away from
Paul, age 9. These non-aggressive Hawaiian monk seals occasionally
mix with humans, as now, on the small cove beach with perhaps 10 or 15
people in the water. But humans are forbidden to
bother these endangered seals in any way.
"Paul, Paul, look, a seal!" I called to him. He turned and found himself nose to nose with the seal. I don't know who was more surprised! The
Hawaiian monk seal
seal took a good look and ducked under. I ran down the beach to alert my daughter. "Hannah, Hannah, there's a seal!" I cried. The seal obligingly followed me, in the water, down the beach to where Hannah was. He gave her a good close look (and a wink?), and then he ducked under again and headed out of the cove.
Tidal pools
There are tidal pools at Poipu as well. We found crabs there.
Nathan, Hannah, and Paul look for crabs next to Poipu Beach