Kauai, Hawaii
March 14-17, 2010
By Marlene Goldman
As my pilot navigates the contours of Kauai’s sweeping canyons and sculpted cliffs, its jagged splendor takes shape some 1,000 feet below.
From sunny Lihue, Island Helicopters lifts off in the direction of the lush Hanapepe Valley to the tour’s main stop, Manawaiopuna Falls, a remote spot only accessible by air. Steven Spielberg made the 400-foot waterfalls famous in Jurassic Park, hence its nickname Jurassic Falls. The helicopter lands near the base of plummeting cascades, and my pilot asks if we want our umbrellas before the short walk to the base of the falls. We all decline, but barely halfway there I am already feeling its intensity—first a light mist and all too soon a drenching spray.
It’s easy to see why Spielberg chose this idyllic spot, and as I savor the last moment of the falls, we load back up and head for the Olokole Canyon, the gateway to Kauai’s famed Waimea Canyon, which looks even more humbling from the air than from land.
The crescendo builds as we fly northwest for views of the cathedral cliffs of the Napali Coast. Our pilot guides us around, and sometimes through, storm clouds. It’s well worth braving mild turbulence and bursts of rain, especially as we approach the coast, its endless lineup of auburn-hued ramparts contrasting with the azure of the waters below.
We turn south toward the sun rather than the threatening skies to the north, and conclude at Mount Waialeale, the wettest spot on earth. The mountain’s crater-like valley reveals countless cascades tumbling down sheer cliffs, a scene only visible on select days when there is not too much cloud cover on the mountain.
Island Helicopters can accommodate groups with multiple flights a day in its six-seat helicopters, either on the 85-minute falls landing tour or on 60-minute flights minus the landing.
To say the island resembles a movie set is more fact than cliche. Aside from Jurassic Park, the film and television industries have tapped Kauai for generations. Think Elvis’ Blue Hawaii, South Pacific, Fantasy Island, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Avatar.
I learned the entire history of Kauai’s Hollywood heritage on a five-hour outing with Hawaii Movie Tours, visiting sites all around the island in conjunction with watching film footage on the bus.
Our guide knew the ins and outs and relayed humorous anecdotes about the films. Tropic Thunder was the most expensive production on Kauai, at $165 million. Ironically, that film was supposed to be set in Vietnam, while a film called A Perfect Getaway, about a murder on Kauai’s Kalalau Trail, was actually filmed in Puerto Rico.
A tour highlight for Elvis fans was a stop at the former Hollywood retreat Coco Palms, also the set for parts of Blue Hawaii and the home of Kauai’s last reigning queen, Queen Deborah Kapule, in the mid-1800s. Rebuilt in the ’50s as a resort, we first watched film scenes of its heyday, when it attracted the likes of Bing Crosby and even the Shah of Iran. While it boasted 95 percent occupancy for 35 years, today it is crumbling and out of use. When Hurricane Iniki struck in September 1992, the Coco Palms was shut down indefinitely as repairs proved too costly. The former resort is only open to visitors on the movie tour.
Everyone on Kauai is gearing up for the next movie project, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, which is scheduled to begin filming this summer. The buzz around the island is in anticipation of the arrival of the film’s star Johnny Depp.
No Kauai experience is complete without getting in the water. As I learned, even when it’s raining in the interior and north, Poipu Beach in the south is likely still seeing sun. Highlights include sunsets on the beach and sightings of the endangered monk seal, a frequent visitor to the Sheraton Kauai Resort, the meetings-friendly property where I stayed. My final morning at the Sheraton, a monk seal sprawled across the sand unfazed by the activity around him.
I grabbed flippers and a snorkel from Sheraton’s activity shack and spent an hour snorkeling at Lawai Beach, a strip of sand near Poipu Beach, where the calm waters attract amateur snorkelers of all ages. Even close to shore, there is an impressive array of tropical fish, from purple and pink parrotfish to yellow and black angelfish.
Then I ventured on a drive east along the Royal Coconut Coast toward the North Shore, with stops at Kilauea Point Lighthouse, Anini Beach Park and finally Hanalei Bay. The St. Regis Princeville Resort, another standout meetings property, served as a warm respite from the soaking rains outside.
I indulged at the resort’s Halelea Spa my final evening with the Maile Massage, incorporating self-heating seashells from the ocean and a massage cream made from the maile leaf vine native to Hawaii. I topped off my Kauai visit with an exquisite dinner at the resort’s Kauai Grill, courtesy of Michelin awarded chef Jean-George Vongerichten.
As a final adieu, the clouds parted on my last morning and gave way to a double rainbow arching over Hanalei Bay, a befitting end, Hollywood style.
