The adventures in Kauai started off with a tubing excursion with Kauai Backcountry Adventures. They are based out of Lihue but for the tubing they drive you out to the Lihue Sugar Cane Plantation. Their company has exclusive access to 17,000 acres of the plantation. The tubing runs through the old irrigation system, including the tunnels, that once brought water from Mount Wai’ale’ale down to the sugar cane fields. The tour guides were lots of fun and gave us plenty of historical info and general facts on our drive out to the plantation. They also had great recommendations for local beaches to hit and places to eat. We actually ran into one of the guides, Malachi and his family, at Street Burger in Wailea a couple of days later. The food was as good as he said and the portions of fries are Texas-sized so be ready to share. I recommend the joint’s namesake burger–the Street Burger. It’s got cured pork belly, fried egg, arugula, blue cheese, and fizzled onions. Seriously ono!
Back to the tubing, the water was pretty dang cold! But once you were in, it wasn’t a major problem and it was nice and clean. My husband especially liked the fact that there were no lurking gators or snakes–a nice change from tubing in Texas! You’ll see that they give you helmets with headlamps and gloves to wear as precautions. The water level in the tunnels wasn’t a concern for hitting your head, but you do have to be ready to push away from walls at times. Each tunnel was different and some were so long that when you were in them without the lamps on, it was pitch black. One tunnel especially was covered with lichens that glowed irredescently. Gorgeous! After the tubing, they drive you to a quaint little spot for an al fresco lunch and to soak in some sun. All in all, it was a really fun trip and everyone, big and little, agreed.
We ended the day snorkeling near Anini beach. The tubing guides echoed what some other locals said, that Anini beach was perfect for calm waters and snorkeling. We passed by Anini Beach just a bit and drove the pot-holed filled dirt road until it ended and then hung out there. No sea turtles there but lots of fish and it was a good place to try out the new masks.
Here’s the video:
