Totally Tubular

When I started planning out our itinerary, one activity I really wanted to do was mountain tubing. The pics I've seen of friends floating through irrigation ditches looked so fun! The 10:00AM tour was the only thing we had on the schedule for today, so we didn't have to be up too early since it would only take us about 15 minutes to drive to Hanamāʻulu. (Stupid chickens didn't get the memo! Grrr!)

After we checked in with Kauai Backcountry Adventures, we were provided with helmets, head lamps, and gloves. Then we boarded the truck with the rest of our tour group and headed up to the lands of the former Lihue Plantation.

As we drove up to the launch site, our guide entertained us with interesting stories about the island. We stopped at an overlook with a gorgeous view of Mount Waiʻaleʻale...

...and shortly after found ourselves in the "refreshing" (that is, COLD!) water.

For the next hour or so, we travelled downhill through open canals, tunnels, and flumes which were engineered and hand-dug in the 1870s. Our guide even brought a ukulele and serenaded us along the way. Great acoustics in the tunnels!

Aside from having to push away from the sides of the canal (hence the reason for gloves and water shoes), there was not much physical effort expended on our part at all. However, J wasn't happy about being stuck in the back of the flotilla, and I wished that I had a paddle to keep myself facing in one direction. Spinning in the tube felt like riding the teacups at Disneyland. Ugh.

 

After we got out of the water, they provided sandwiches and chips for lunch at a picnic area. Once we got back to their home base, we changed into dry clothes and then discussed how to spend the rest of our day. Since the boys were still hungry, we stopped at a 7-Eleven in Lihue to get some spam musubi (and a Sprite to settle my stomach).

We started listening to the Shaka Guide Wailua Valley and Waterfalls audio tour on our way up to Wailua Falls, but we didn't strictly follow along and stop at the points of interest after that. 

ʻŌpaekaʻa Falls

Wailua River

We finished our scenic tour driving through Wailua Homesteads around the west side of Nounou Mountain and back down into Kapaʻa. We stopped by Snorkel Bob's to pick up our rental gear, then headed back to the house.

Since there was enough daylight left, the guys decided to hike Nounou Mountain (aka Sleeping Giant), while I stayed behind to catch up on some work. 

The east trailhead is just a couple blocks from the house

East side view from the top

West side (and check out the new glasses)

The trail was a little muddy from the rain

Someone fell down and went boom

Once everyone got cleaned up and K got home from work, the five of us went back into Kapaʻa for dinner at Wailua Drive In. Formerly known as Saimin Dojo when it was featured on "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives," the owners changed the name for broader tourist appeal. Too bad saimin is no longer on the menu, but the mac salad here is definitely the bomb!

Loco Moco, Dojo Chicken, Ginger Dojo Chicken, and Meat Jun