On Wednesday, June 19th, we got up early (stupid roosters crowing at 4 AM! Did I mention that there was a bad hurricane in Kauai in 1992? And that during that storm all the chickens and roosters were liberated? And since then they have run wild and breed twice a year? And the population is out of control? And nothing has been done to help control it? I suggest snakes. Big, nonvenomous snakes.), had breakfast, and then headed out to the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge.
This area is beautiful (like most of the island) and it is pretty cool because there are hundreds, maybe thousands of birds living on the cliffs that overlook the sea.
[The Kilauea Lighthouse]
[The white spots are birds]
[Family shot]
While we were watching the birds and complaining about how they wanted to charge us $5/person to get to the lighthouse (no thanks!), we spotted a seal! See it?!
How about now?! It's that blob towards the center of the frame. I thought it was pretty cool!
Next we headed to a great little hidden gem, The Queen's Bath.
There is a short 10 minute hike down to the lava rocks which was very nice. However it was slippery in some areas. But I wore my FiveFingers so I was good!
After the hike/nature walk, we arrived at the Baths!
[Luke exploring]
[Classic Neilson]
There were turtles EVERYWHERE!
[Missy and her baby bump! I'm so excited for them!]
We went at low tide so that we could go into the pools. This particular pool was blocked off from the ocean at low tide so a lot of people were swimming in it.
We continued walking around and found another shallow pool. The water was warm and the bottom was covered in moss. I was scared there would be eels or something in there but there wasn't! Phew!
Ryan and Luke had gone on and explored without us. I saw them while swimming so I was trying to get their attention.
There they are!
Ryan was being nice and helping my mom out of the pool.
She ended up falling back in! Ooops!
[Hermit crab]
After climbing out of the shallow pool the guys took us to a deeper one.
[Dad, Luke, and Ryan]
[Me and my mom]
Lava rocks are sharp! I knew this so I wore my FiveFingers so that I didn't have to take off my shoes when I got in the water. It was the best decision!
Poor Ryan got a nice battle scar from the rocks!
On our way back to the trailhead we found a nice cliff jumping spot. The guys had no problem jumping right in.
They made it!
Queen's Bath was probably one of my favorite spots on the island. The water is a clear, deep blue and there are tons of turtles! However, like most beaches in Hawaii, it is a dangerous spot. There is a sign showing the number of tourist who have been killed here (I think it was around 30). I think this is likely due to the fact that the tide comes up fast and can wipe unexpecting tourist off the rocks. And instead of letting the tide take you out to sea, people attempt to swim back in and the waves slam them against the rocks. Even the strongest swimmers are no match for a good rip tide. Safety first!
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