\

Today we had something happen that was slightly out of the ordinary. We were on an air tour around Kauai with Airventures Air Tours, when out of the depths of the ocean underneath us appeared a pod of massive Humpback Whales. The pilot saw them and made a massive figure eight around them so people on both sides of the plane could see them.

Not that long before our whale encounter we checked in at the Airventures hanger in the Lihue commuter terminal. Upon arrival we were greeted by their receptionist and then taken out onto the runway and seated in the aircraft. The plane was very comfortable with 3 rows of 2 seats next to each other and one seat in the back. I was lucky enough to get the copilot seat so in addition to having my own side window like everyone else, I also had a good view out of the front windows.

As soon as we lifted off from the tarmac in Lihue I began to snap away shots out the window with my camera. The first place we passed was the "private" coastline of Kipu Kai. After we passed here we moved on to the coastline of Poipu before we veered inland to get a better look of the Waimea Canyon.

The Waimea Canyon was absolutely amazing. While you're on Kauai you definitely need to schedule some sort of outing to see the Waimea Canyon. I've hiked all over Waimea and done my best to see all I can from the ground and I have yet to find a vantage point from anywhere on the ground that rivals what you can see from the air. There is one place where we saw an entire sequence of waterfalls making their way down the cliff. Another where we could see the canyon split and a side canyon go off into the distance with waterfalls cascading down the side of the valley. The Waimea Canyon was a great place to warm us up for the sight we were about to see, the Napali Coastline.

After passing by the large golf ball shaped radar domes on the edge of the military base the bottom dropped out and we found ourselves suspended off of the edge of a 3000+ft cliff. As I turned and looked north I was greeted with the classic aerial perspective of the Napali Coast. We circled and banked our way through the major valleys in the coastline as we worked our way north towards the picturesque Hanalei Bay. Once we got to Hanalei we made one final circle over the ocean before we turned inland up the Hanalei Valley.

Once we got into the Hanalei Valley we admired all the waterfalls and cliffs untill we eventually got the the Puhi area where we made a turn towards Kapaa. We flew over Kapaa and the Wailua Falls to the Lihue Airport. In just over an hour we basically circled the entire island and saw virtually everything that there is on Kauai from the amazing perspective of a plane. For a seasoned repeat visitor to the Garden Island, or a first time visitor to Kauai a flight on a plane is something you might want to consider doing to acquaint (or reacquaint) yourself with the island.

Click here for more information.


Please follow us on Facebook or Twitter.








Jake Barefoot
Vice President
Tom Barefoot's Tours

I remember the first time I stood up on a wave. It was a sunny day at a break near Oluwalu on Maui. It was in the middle of one of the summertime adventures with my uncle Dennis that were commonplace during my childhood. I was about 5 years old and the surf was a little over waist high on me at the time. I was on an old short board that was probably about 3 inches thick so Dennis had no problem pushing me into the wave. I remember standing up and putting my arms above my head, screaming and feeling so proud of myself as I proceeded to ride the wave strait in all the way onto the shallow reef where I crashed, cutting my arm and ending my session. Too bad I did not have a nice sandy place like Hanalei Bay to learn, or I probably would’ve been able to catch more then one wave and enjoyed a much better first surfing experience (regardless of the cut, that first wave I stood up on was still amazing!).

My Girlfriend and my friend Chris (who was visiting from California) had never really surfed before, and really wanted to do a surf lesson. The waves seemed to be more active in Hanalei then down in Poipu, so we got in touch with Hawaiian Surfing Adventures and arranged for a lesson the following morning. We were told that the days lesson was going to be at the Hanalei Pier and we agreed to meet them there bright and early in the morning.

As we arrived to the Hanalei Pier, I could tell it was going to be a great day for my friends to learn. There was the remains of a large swell that was still bringing consistent (although small) surf into the bay. There was no wind, which left the surface of the ocean as smooth as a sheet of glass. We could see Mitchell Senior and Mitchell Junior unloading boards from their truck, so we made our way over to meet them.

Hawaiian Surfing Adventures is a family owned and operated business. Mitchell Alapa Senior and his son Mitchell Alapa Junior jointly own and operate the business. Mitchell Senior is a delightful older Hawaiian guy that was born and raised in Hawaii. Throughout his youth he supported his family for the most part by doing construction, and surfing on his time off. His Son, Mitchell Junior was lucky enough to grow up surfing the sandy breaks of the north shore of Kauai with his Dad and has developed quite an amazing talent on his stand up paddle board. This winter he’s been busy collecting footage of himself taming some of the largest waves on Kauai with his SUP. Many years ago the father son team decided they would be able to have more time in the water by starting a surf school. Together, the Alapa's have combined their skills, talents and passion to create one of the premiere schools on the north shore of Kauai. How they run their lessons is simple and effective.

Beginning on land, they went over the basics of surfing. They wanted to make sure that everyone had a firm understanding of exactly what they were going to be doing before they got in the water. They went over the basics of positioning yourself, paddling, standing up, steering, crashing and getting back on the board before getting into the water.

Once the land lesson was over the group got into the water and paddled out through the surf. Mitchell Junior did a great job of explaining where the rip current was and how to use it to your advantage to make padding out easier. Once everyone was positioned in the lineup (the best place to catch the waves, right where they break) he huddled everyone together and had a final discussion before he started pushing the students into waves. Mitchell Juniors experience and skill was evident in the results, all 3 of the 3 students in the class stood up and surfed all the way to the shoreline on their first attempt.

Something that I really appreciated about the Alapas operation was their commitment to educate their students enough so they could catch waves on their own. Mitchell Junior repeatedly told the class:

“It’s easy for me to just push you into waves all morning, but my goal is to educate enough so you could go surf out here, catch waves and have fun on your own.”

Mitchell achieved his goal because by the time the lesson was over I saw each student not only catch a wave, but lineup and catch a wave and ride it in completely on their own. Ever since the lesson both Simone and Chris has continued surfing and catching waves which I think had a great deal to do with the amazing introduction to the sport that the Alapa team at Hawaiian Surfing Adventures provided them with.

Thinking about my own early experiences surfing over 20 years ago, I can’t help but wonder how my surfing career would’ve been like been altered, if the first time I had caught a wave had been on the soft sandbar of Hanalei Bay, instead of the sharp reefs of Oluwalu…….


Click here for more information.


Please follow us on Facebook or Twitter.








Jake Barefoot
Vice President
Tom Barefoot's Tours