Spending a few nights in Kapaʻa allowed me to get the rest of my accommodation organised for my week on Kauai. I did my research before descending on this place and learned that camping was really the only budget accommodation option. And like The Big Island, the state and county (island) parks required you to know exactly where you want to be and when. I spent my first afternoon cruising around to visit the various beach parks to see what the camping was like. After all, the island really isn’t that big.
What I hadn’t anticipated was how much rain this place gets. The rainiest point on top of Mount Waialeale averages more than 40 feet (12+ meters) of rain a year! And I thought Milford Sound in New Zealand was wet! Fortunately, the coastal areas aren’t THAT bad, but they are still very wet on the eastern and northern coasts. My strategy was to camp where it’s wet first so I could use the camping where it’s dry (in the south and west) to dry out my tent before I have to pack it up for another flight.
My first night of camping started out very nice. I found a beautiful spot right on the beach under some pine trees at Anini Beach Park. The swimming was very nice, but as with most of Kauai at this time of the year, the sea was a bit too rough for good clear snorkelling. There was a brief shower after I got my tent set up, but no other precipitation problems until around 6 AM. I wouldn’t have minded a downpour overnight while I stayed nice and dry in my tent, but an 8-hour downpour starting at 6 AM is no fun at all — especially when you are expected to pack up your tent and head to your next destination by 10 AM.
With a nice, lightweight freestanding tent, I worked out a strategy to pull up the stakes holding it in place, carry it into the men’s room, and pack it up out of the rain there. It seemed to work okay, and I got the tent and the rest of my gear back in the car. Good for the time being, but the thought of attempting to set the tent back up in the continuing downpour at a dodgy-looking park didn’t thrill me. I was confined to my driver’s seat, where I tried to read papers and pass the time waiting for the downpour to finish.
And then I remembered something about a YMCA camp being available if it wasn’t hosting any groups. I found the deserted place, knocked on all the doors I could find, and, as I was just about to give up, a woman walked across the lawn (in the rain) with her dog. I saw a big pavilion on the far side of the grass on the edge of a beautiful cove and asked whether she’d mind if I pitched my tent under there. It was cool with her, and it turned out to be one of the best spots I found to camp on this island. I could set up my tent out of the pouring rain, sprawl out on the picnic tables and read the paper, cook my meals, and have lots of privacy, darkness, dryness, and quiet when it came time to sleep. I decided to stay there two nights while I explored the area. It was the perfect spot for the rainy climate.
For my last few days on the northern wet coast, I explored the area around Hanalei, Princeville, Haena (where I camped) and the rainforests of the Na Pali Coast. There was a hike I was hoping to make along the spectacular northern cliffs (known as “Bali Hai” in the movie “South Pacific”), but I was advised by the state park service that it was very slippery, very wet, and closed in many sections due to flash flooding. Instead, I did some short hikes and a bit of snorkelling at Tunnel Beach, which turned out okay.
