Kauai- Day Two, Chickens

 Aloha Again!
       It is I, your faithful Kauai guide! I am still having a blast on the island- and I have so much more to share with you from yesterday (I would have updated then, but I was exhausted)! First of all, I've been waking up every morning these last three days at 7am to document the sunrise (@7:18) outside our bad ass hotel room, and I thought it was high time I share one of these photos with you! 

Breathtaking, no?I think so, which is why I've been dragging my sorry butt out of bed to see it every day. Those of you who know me, will know that being awake is not one of my strong suits.
       Every day, after we watch the sunrise, my parents and I sit and chat about what we're going to do for that day. Yesterday, we decided to play it by ear. We thought we might check out a near by waterfall that a guy selling coconuts at the farmer's market told us about, and maybe go to the beach or do some driving around. So, off we went in our rental car (highly recommended, by the way. Kauai is small, but there isn't any great public trans.) to Opaekaa Falls! We drove up a winding mountain road to a scenic viewing point, and what did we find?

Flock of hens

       Well... chickens. Lots of brightly colored chickens, and roosters. Now, I had heard that Kauai has wild chickens milling about all over the place, but we had yet to encounter any until yesterday. Since then, we've seen at least 50 different chickens wandering around. Apparently, years and years ago, domestic chickens were brought to Kauai, and their cages were destroyed during a big storm. The chickens set out into the wilderness, and with no natural predators, 12 months of summer, and bountiful food they multiplied and bred with native birds to create what I like to call "Rainbow Super Chickens"! And boy were they noisy!     

                                                                    
       Ever since our first encounter with the Chickens, my dad keeps muttering about how he's going to hide in the bushes with a burlap sack, so he can catch and eat chickens whenever he feels like it. My mom and I keep trying to remind him, that he would probably get chicken worms in addition to being arrested.
       Oh yeah! We also saw the waterfall! It was pretty far away from where we stopped the car, but we were told that trying to hike down to it could be dangerous because there are no trails. I'm sure there's a way, but we didn't stick around to discover it. Fortunately I have quite a mighty camera lens with me.

Close up of the falls

The falls cascades into the Wailua River- which used to be reserved for Hawaiian royalty. In modern times it is a popular kayaking River... hmmm perhaps this is where we will have our kayaking adventure?
       After stopping at Opaekaa Falls we decided to take a drive further up the road. It took us through some beautiful forest scenery and into several residential neighborhoods where chickens wandered freely, and people were growing bananas and coconuts in their yards. The road ended in a pretty little grassy park. We turned around around to find a beach, as it was getting particularly hot. Earlier in the day, we had rented scuba equipment from Snorkel Bob's (a small chain of snorkel rental stores in Hawaii) but since then I've discovered that you can get a better deal on renting from Nukumoi Surf Company (http://www.nukumoisurf.com). We took our gear to the infamous Poipu Beach on the South shore of the island to test it out.

Poipu is split into two lagoons

      Poipu is certainly the epitome of the typical tropical beach. White sand, swaying palms, gorgeous ocean views, etc. However, it was slightly crowded. It was also an obvious tourist destination. Now- we are tourists here in Hawaii, but if you're looking for something a bit more genuine to what the native people experience- perhaps Poipu is not for you.
       We went snorkeling on the right side of the beach (on your right when you face the ocean) and there were swarms of beautifully colored fish! I wish I had a waterproof camera to show you, but I just can't bring myself to take icky grainy photos with a cheap disposable. The coral was less spectacular than the fish- the underwater landscape was a bit gray with little splashes of pink and white here and there, but the experience of snorkeling is always fun.
       When I resurfaced I found that the local lifeguard had roped off an endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal! These are the largest native Hawaiian mammal, and its rare to see them! Hawaii is very proactive in maintaining and trying to preserve their unique environment, so whenever a seal is spotted on the beach, it is roped off so people won't disturb it. The seals look a lot like the black volcanic rocks littering the shores of Kauai's beaches.

Close up of seal (also in photo above)

 
When we'd had our fill of the beach, we did some shopping for souvenirs at the Kukui ula Village shopping center, and headed out to explore more of the coastal countryside. We drove through a cute little town called Waimea where we had dinner (nowhere worth mentioning). Then, on our was back we stopped at several scenic spots to take photos and enjoy the scenery! We also found a local beach where people were surfing and enjoying themselves in the sunset!

Local girl skim boarding

Local guy holding skim board

Surfer emerging from the waves