A collection of travel and adventure stories

Kalalau-Na Pali Coast Kayaking Trip

Description and Directions >>

Description:
The beautiful Na Pali Coast is located on the island of Kauai. The rugged coast offers beautiful views of mountain cliffs, blue ocean water and waterfalls. The Kalalau Beach landing is about 6 miles from the put in. To land or camp at Kalalau Beach, you must obtain a landing and camping permit from the Hawai'i State Parks Division-Kauai District. For more information, please visit http://www.hawaii.gov/dlnr/dsp/NaPali/na_pali_permits.htm. We suggest you try to obtain your permit about a year in advance.

The end of the kayak trip is a pull out at Polihale Beach, on the western end of the coast. This is about 5 miles further from Kalalau Beach. You will need to arrange a pickup at this location. We used the services of our guide.

Activities:
kayaking, boating, fishing, camping, sightseeing

Directions:
The start of this kayak trip along the Na Pali Coast of Kauai is from Ha'ena Beach, on the eastern side of the island. Ha'ena Beach is located near the end of Kuhio Highway (Highway 56).

Story Date 6/12/2002
Publish Date 4/6/2004

Story Perspectives >>

According to Mikala: Kayaking the Na Pali coast of Kauai was one of the more challenging kayak trips I have been on. We had been to Kalalau Beach by hiking the trail before, and thought it would be a nice change to kayak this time. My husband and I were joined by his two sons (teenagers) on this trip.

Prior to our decision to kayak to Kalalau, I had only been on a couple kayak trips on the Wailua River in Kauai. I was concerned about kayaking on the ocean. We decided to take a kayak class in Monterey Bay prior to our trip, so that we could learn more about taking off and landing in ocean type waters. We also learned better paddling and self-rescue techniques. I was very happy that we took this class, since I didn't have a lot of experience. We also planned on hiring an experienced guide to take us to Kalalau Beach, and return to take us to our final destination at Polihale Beach.

On the day of our trip, we met our guide and headed to Ha'ena Beach for the put in. I was definitely nervous about the waves. Also, I was concerned about the boys and Phil getting seasick. The boys said they would be fine, and Phil had taken prescription seasick medicine. I have never gotten seasick, but I took a Dramamine pill just in case. We took off without incident. Phil was in a double with his youngest son. I was in a double with his oldest son.

The wave action was more than I expected. I had only seen pictures on the web, and they seemed to be in very calm water. The day we were out, the waves swelled to about 3-4 feet. I think this is probably normal. As we kayaked a little further, Phil's youngest son wasn't feeling too well. He became so seasick that he couldn't paddle. Phil continued on by himself. Then, Phil's oldest son started to get sick. At one point, he leaned over the kayak to vomit, and we ended up taking a dump in the ocean. We were able to get back on and continue (thank you to the class we took). Phil starting to get sick as well...I think because of what the boys were going through. He switched places with our guide, who had a single kayak. We continued on...all three of them were so sick. Luckily, I didn't get seasick as well. Unfortunately, we were in no condition to explore along the coast. We finally neared Kalalau Beach. I was scared to land because I had seen how large the waves could get here. However, we were anxious to get on solid ground to recover. I still remember the picture of the boys lying flat on the ground when they got out of the kayaks.

Because of this, we were all a little tired during our stay and anxious about the trip out in a few days. We camped at Kalalau for 4 days. This time, Phil and I did not explore the valley as we had previously. Phil's oldest did go up by himself. We just enjoyed the view and relaxed while we were there. The sunsets were spectacular, the water at the waterfall was refreshing, and the view of the stars at night was unlike anywhere else.

On the day we were to leave, everyone took their seasick medicine...we didn't want a repeat of the trip in! The takeoff in our kayak was a little rough. We didn't paddle fast enough to avoid a large wave that knocked us over. I was trying to swim as hard as I could toward shore...only to discover that I could actually stand and walk in. Our second try was a success.

This time, no one got sick and we were able to enjoy the scenery along the coast. We landed at Miloli'i for a lunch break. Our guide had brought sandwiches and a Hawaiian sugar pineapple. The pineapple was the best I had ever eaten. Of course, after eating camp food for a few days (including SPAM), anything else would be welcome. We took off again for the final stretch to Polihale. Eventually we could see the beach in site, but it seemed to take forever to get to the exact landing spot our guide wanted. Our kayak landed perfectly. Phil's kayak ended up flipping on the way in, but everyone was happy to be in safe.

We can look back on this trip now and laugh about it. I am glad that we were able to experience something that not many people get to. At least now, I know what to expect, although I will always be a little nervous about kayaking in the ocean. However, Kalalau will always be a special place and worth the effort to get to.

According to Pilipo: I packed the dry bags about a half dozen times in the two weeks up to the trip. I had hiked there twice before and I was looking forward to enjoying Kalalau Beach without the 22-mile round trip Hike! Unfortunately, I have been sick on the ocean many times. The only time on the ocean I didn't get sick was my 2 years on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72). That was a big sucker and hardly ever rocked and rolled like some of the smaller ships. We're talking 1100+ feet to the paultry 15+ of our Ocean Kayak Zest IIs. So I was prepared with my seasick medicine called Scopace. The dosage read 1-2 pills. It listed dry mouth and blurred vision as side effects if you take too much. I took 1 pill to avoid the dreaded cottonmouth. It was a beautiful morning at Ha'ena. We packed the kayaks and Mike, our guide, launched us without incident about 7:30.

As we passed the waves, the swells never stopped. They were 3+ according to Mike, but I swear they were 6+ (at least they are in most of the stories I tell!) Within fifteen minutes, just after passing the mountain used as Bali Hai in the movie South Pacific, my youngest sitting in front told me he wasn't feeling well. I was fine but I felt terrible for him. He stopped paddling and didn't paddle another stroke that morning. We had never done anything like this before and had only 1 open-deck kayak ocean training class in Monterey a month before. Here we were in the middle of the ocean, bobbing up and down, trying to make headway with 4 days of camping supplies on two kayaks. We were LOADED.

The Na Pali coast was amazingly beautiful. The shear green cliffs were an entirely different world. About an hour into the trip, I looked back to check on Mikala and my oldest son but all I saw was the bottom of the kayak and two bobbing heads in the water! They rescued themselves very well and we were on our way again. It turned out 1 pill was not enough for me. About 3/4 of the way there, I hurled as well. The amazing thing to me was, I kept paddling. I am normally incapacitated when it comes to seasickness, but here I was paddling away. The guilt of having brought my entire family out there, most of whom got sick, coupled with my extreme wish to end this leg of our trip was what made the difference.

At one point, my youngest was over the side having a bit of much needed relief. Right around then was the sighting of the magical baby turtles that swam around for a few minutes. Truly amazing.

The camping at Kalalau was great. We explored the beach areas and hiked up Red Hill on the Kalalau Trail and took pictures. We mostly talked about food. Spam and pancakes in the morning was the usual fare. Always try your meals first before taking them where they will be your only choice! On the third day, I broke out the hidden chocolate. It was a big hit!

At one point, State Police Rangers in bullet-proof vests and helmets ran up into the valley. Later that day, we saw a helicopter lifting a pallet full of camping equipment that the Rangers had confiscated from people who had set up camp up in Kalalau Valley. They had obviously lived there for a while. What a bummer that must be, seeing your campsite lift off into the blue sky while you're hiding in the cliffs trying not to be captured. On the way down, the rangers stopped at our campsite and asked for our permit. I was happy to oblige. I'm extremely glad we were legal!

I enjoyed the sunsets and star gazing the most. If you're patient, you will see shooting stars and even satellites pass overhead.

The last day, some of the State Park maintenance workers who had helicoptered in for a couple days were getting ready to fly back. As I was walking back from the waterfall that evening, one of them called me over and gave me a bucket full of ice and some cold cuts, bread and dried cranberries they didn't want to take back. Of all those things I carried back to camp, the ice was the most valuable. It's hard to keep things cold at Kalalau.

The paddle out to Polihale was long, but a lot better than our trip in. Landing and eating lunch at Miloli'i was great. Mike broght sandwiches and the best damn pineapple I've ever eaten! By the time we approached Polihale, our arms and faces were caked with salt. Mike landed first and waved us in when he thought the waves were right. Just as we got close, I could feel the back end lifting up! We were surfing! I did my best to rudder us straight, but just before the beach the front dug in and over we went. It was cool! We stood up and were happy to be back in civilization!