Day 4 on Kauai

On the evening of Day 3 it was still pouring rain most of the night and I was starting to get discouraged listening to the rain all night long.  It did stop before morning though and so we got headed out early, checked out of the hotel and went to do the Kiahuna Plantation train ride.  It was still cloudy, but we went out on the train ride and had a good time.  It toured a historic sugar cane plantation that was now being used to test different tree and fruit crops for future commercial use.  Some of the land was also leased by farmers for growing local vegetables.  

Half way through the ride, they had a pen of wild pigs that the kids could stop and feed.  They thought that was great.  The tour guide said there was a pig overpopulation problem on Kauai and they now have an open season all year for the pigs.  There are no natural predators, so pretty much people are the only thing that reduce their population.

The rain held out just long enough.  Just as the train was approaching the store where we started, it started to rain again.  

Next we headed for the North Shore, our last destination for the trip.  It rained all the way up and again, I was starting to wonder if it would ever stop raining.  But before we got to the Kilauea Lighthouse, the rain quit.  I had told Dan not to even bother to stop if it was pouring rain like it had been on the drive up.  So we had quite a bit of luck today with the rain.

I even got to see some nene (Hawaiian goose) at the lighthouse, the only other place I had seen them was at the zoo.

As we drove towards Hanalei, again it was POURING rain.  We drove down into Hanalei Valley, which is supposed to be a gorgeous drive through taro fields, but it was still raining.  We didn't go all the way down the road since it was a small rural road in a valley and the water was coming up from all the rain.  But here is a shot of the taro fields in the rain.

Again we got lucky and it stopped raining shortly after Hanalei.  We got to stop at the Maniniholo dry cave which is a lava tube that you can walk into by the side of the road.  The kids had fun exploring it. It was not very deep, but once you got past the area lit by the entrance, it was kind of creepy even with a flashlight (but it was a little bitty one without much light).

We drove out to the end of the road and then stopped at Limahuli Gardens.  This was a great find, it was a beautiful garden!  It had a 3/4 mile hike so it was perfect for the kids to do and bonus, it wasn't raining!  I think I read that the terracing is from old rice paddies.  

After touring this, I can see why Kauai is called the garden isle.  By the time we finished this, it was time to head towards the airport.  The sun had come out by the time we stopped back through Hanalei, so I got a chance to stop at the Hanalei Valley Overlook, which some say is the most beautiful spot in Hawaii.  This overlook is looking down over the taro fields we drove by in the rain.  It was a gorgeous view, so I was thankful that we got one last beautiful view before we had to leave.

So it wasn't a total washout, but I certainly would have preferred a lot more dry time!