I love the sunset sails on Kauai. I really appreciate that with these sails, there is an actual destination to the whole adventure. You get to sail all the way to the Napali coast while you watch the sun go down. The enjoyed this much more then some of the other sunset sails that just sort of aimlessly travel around in circles watching the sun go down. We saw dolphins and whales along the way were pretty amazing, but the sight of the 3000+ foot tall cliffs is what I've always considered to be the highlight of these trips.
The cliffs of the Napali Coastline extend from sea level to over 3000ft into the sky. They are so rugged, that the state never even considered trying to construct a road here. They make up a stretch of about 17 miles in length that goes from Polihale Beach on the south all the way to Ke'e Beach on the north end of the Napali Coast.
Today we went on Kauai Sea Tours which has been a major player in the Napali Coast Tour industry on Kauai for quite some time. Their boat the "Lucky Lady" is a very stable catamaran that has large motors as well as sails. We checked in at their office in Port Allen. Once everyone had arrived we walked down to the pier and boarded the boat. After a quick safety briefing the crew untied us from the pier, and we motored out of the harbor.
The trip leading up to the cliffs is amazing. The land that we passed was for the most part undeveloped. Most of the land was used during the last century to cultivate sugar cane. This stopped when the mill closed down in 1999. Most of the land now lies unused. We passed the towns of Waimea and Kekaha that were at one point central hubs to the sugar cane industry of the west side of Kauai. Just past Kekaha begins a magnificent stretch of sand that extends about 17 miles from Kekaha Beach Park all the way past the military base to the end of Polihale State Park. It was about half way through this stretch that we began to see the dolphins.
Dolphins have used the waters off of Polihale Beach and the Napali Coast as their feeding grounds since long before the first settlers canoes reached the shores of Kauai. This coastline is abundant with marine wildlife and the dolphins feast on the large fish populations. We saw the smaller Hawaiian Spiner Dolphins and at one point were completely surrounded by them, with the majority of them crowded in the water surrounding the bow of the boat. We also saw the larger Bottle Nose Dolphins. We encountered so many dolphins on this trip that people literally got bored of seeing dolphins before we even got to the Kalalau Valley.
Kalalau Valley is where the boat turned around and began heading back towards the harbor. This valley is where the Napali Coast hiking trail (that begins 11 miles to the north at Ke'e Beach) ends. The Kalalau beach is nestled under one of the most beautiful cliff faces that you will find anywhere on the planet. It is one of the most beautiful spots on Kauai and can only be viewed by air, sea or from the Kalalau Beach. The Napali Coast Trail was rated a 10 out of 10 in difficulty by the Sierra Club.
As soon a we turned the boat around and started to go with the swells of the ocean the ride smoothed out considerably. The crew took advantage of the smooth sailing conditions and set up a delicious buffet dinner. When they were done setting up they took turns manning the open bar that was serving beer, wine and cocktails until we got back to the harbor. Mai Tais were definitely the most popular drink of the night.
We ate dinner and enjoyed the incredible views of the sun going down behind the distant island of Niihau. As I sipped cocktails and made new friends from far off corners of the globe I couldn't help but to catch myself enjoying a moment of sheer bliss as I realized how happy I am to be able to have such incredible experiences in my life.
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