What We Did While We Were Missing Elsa - Part 4

On our last full day of the trip, we went on a safari. Well, that's what the tour company, Outfitters Kauai, called it, anyway. I'm not sure "safari" is an accurate description, but we did really like the tour, which involved kayaking, a zipline, rope swings, and other craziness. The tour started with about 45 minutes of kayaking down the Hule'ia Stream. My arms were burning by the time we were done, so I was glad we didn't sign up for any longer kayaking tours. We kayaked past the Menehune Fish Pond and went as far as you can go by kayak on the stream, then hiked into the jungle. Here's a view of the stream:

While hiking, we stopped at a small pool where we could try going off a rope swing into the water. You had to climb up a little step letter to get on the rope. We were told that this was the "family rope swing," and that there would be another rope swing later in the trip that was ... not. So I decided to try this rope swing, even though the water was freezing and kind of gunky—definitely not the crystal-clear water we'd gotten used to over the course of this trip. It was fun and all, but I decided that the other rope swing (which lets people off 30 feet in the air) probably wasn't going to happen for me. : )

After that, we went on our "hayride" (which was really just a giant tractor pulling a trailer, with no hay to be found anywhere). We stopped along the road so that our guide could pick fresh guavas off a tree, which we all tried, and to see the only wildlife on this safari—wild pigs and peacocks.

Next we had lunch and it was time for the zipline. By doing this zipline, I hoped to set right one of Bob's great vacation regrets. When we were at the Great Wall in China, we came across something called "The Sliding Way." The Sliding Way was actually a rusty zipline that looked like it dated from the Cultural Revolution and was manned by a guy with no teeth. This zipline had to have been at least a mile long, and I don't think there was anybody staffing the other end of it at all. We weren't even sure if there were any brakes on the thing—it appeared to end abruptly at a mat attached to a huge brick wall, which riders would smash into Wile E. Coyote-style. Here's a picture of that spectacular Chinese zipline (it went across such a huge expanse that the zipline itself is not even visible in the picture, so I doctored the photo to show where it starts and stops):

And the craziest thing about the Chinese zipline? Bob actually considered doing it. Fortunately, I talked him out of it, but I didn't think I would hear the last of it until I got him on some other zipline, somewhere in the world. The zipline in Kauai was "designed, built, and operated according to the highest safety standards as set by the Association for Challenge Course Technology." So here's a picture of our Hawaiian zipline—looks kind of wimpy compared to the Chinese one, but I'll take this one any day.

I'm not afraid of heights, so I really didn't expect to have a problem with this. But I guess fear of heights is different than "fear of leaping off a platform 100 feet in the air with nothing but a wire tether to save you." So as we got into our harnesses, helmets, etc., I started really kind of freaking out. I seriously didn't think I could possibly do it. Here I am waiting to go off the platform (that little gate opens and you leap off from there).

You could either take a running start and leap off, or stand at the edge and just fall backwards off the platform. The tour guide recommended going backwards if you were "a little nervous," so Bob and I opted for that method. Turns out, the reason he tells people that is because when you do the backwards method, he just has to yank the rope upwards and you'll go, whether you want to or not. So he told Bob and I to close our eyes and count to three .... and I found myself going on "two". This was both good and bad—good because I don't think I could have made myself fall backwards on three anyway, but bad because I think I spent the first 15 seconds of the ride just trying to figure out what was going on. But after that, it was amazing. Once you get to the end, you actually slide back down to the center, then back again to the end, at which point the tour workers climb up giant 12-foot ladders to haul your butt down.

The last stop on the tour was Kipu Falls, and if I thought the zipline area seemed like the place for daredevils, I was clearly wrong. This was where we could try the big rope swing if we wanted (only a few people from our tour were brave enough). Ellen probably could have done it, but not me. : )

There were a lot of people at the falls that weren't from our tour, and they appeared to be regulars at the spot. They were leaping from 50 foot cliffs, even walking out onto the tree branch the rope swing was hung from like it was a balance beam, and jumping from that. It was insane—but entertaining to watch.

That evening was the last night of our trip, so we went out for a romantic dinner at a restaurant overlooking the ocean. And the next morning was the grand finale of our trip—we decided to splurge on a helicopter ride around the island.

This was our opportunity to see the Napali Coast from another angle, which we had wanted to do since we arrived. It was also interesting to get a birds'-eye view of all the places we'd visited.

And here are some of the sea caves the Napali Coast is famous for:

After the helicopter ride, Bob had to pack up and head for the airport, since he was catching a redeye flight, allowing him to make it into work the next day. But my flight to the mainland didn't leave until 9 p.m., so I got to stay and have some beach relaxation time (Bob hates beach relaxation time—relaxing is not something he does well). I hung out at our resort in Kauai, on my own little stretch of beach, until my flight to Honolulu:

But I wasn't all by myself the whole time—this surprisingly friendly kitty decided I needed some company. I eventually shooed her away. She was taking up too much of my chair.

I had some flight difficulties on my way home, but it all worked out in the end. And I couldn't have been happier to see a certain smiling, dimpled little face at the end of my long journey. We won't leave again any time soon, Elsa, I promise. Thanks for being such a good girl!