Hawaii - Day Eight

Kauai is definitely the island (that I visited) that seemed most like "Hawaii" to me. As we came into port I took pictures and, you can see, it's nothing but green everywhere.

This was the day we'd been looking for, a kayak excursion with a little stroll through the rainforest to see a beautiful "forbidden" waterfall. We were prepared with our sunscreen and old shoes and excitement! I believe there were more than 60 Close to my Heart people who signed up for this excursion. (photo by Noreen Petty)

So, we were brought to the excursion by a bus, we gathered out lunches, waterproof packs and we were given a few kayaking instructions and we were off! (photo by Rachel Ventura)

The scenery was gorgeous the whole way but it took a lot of concentration to stay balanced in the boat and to row upstream against a very strong wind. We were told it was 2 1/4 miles and it felt like it! (photo by Rachel Ventura)

Once we got to the rainforest we were given the news that it had rained over 30 inches in one day before we got there and it would be muddy and we might not actually be able to go all the way to the waterfall depending on the conditions. (photo by Michelle Nist)

So off we went, still happy and excited for the adventure. Then we came to the river. It was pretty much overflowing it's banks and moving very fast. (photo by Noreen Petty)

Here we are, crossing the river using a rope they'd strung across it. I'm about to reach for a friend's hand and I slipped, having nothing but roots and vines to steady me up the muddy bank.
(photo by Michelle Nist)
And here is what I looked like immediately afterwards, wet to the waist and muddy everywhere.
(photo by Michelle Nist)
The actual hike was through deep mud and along what I felt were dangerous banks where one slip would result in someone going down into the rushing river. (photo by Noreen Petty)

We were knee deep in mud. You could try to go around it but we found that going right through resulted in less falling. (photo by Noreen Petty)

We tried to keep a good attitude but it wasn't easy. Our guide was not forthcoming with any information on how long the hike would be. (photo by Noreen Petty)

Some people used makeshift walking sticks to try and stay up while tromping through mud that tried to suck your shoes off your feet. Some people gave up and walked barefoot through the rainforest. (photo by Noreen Petty)

This was the waterfall we waited to see but, honestly, we were too irritated and tired to really enjoy it plus we weren't supposed to go into it because it was so strong from all the rain. Our hike which our guide eventually claimed took only 15 minutes actually took over an hour. (photo by Noreen Petty)

Another thing that kind of ruined the beauty of the waterfall was that we knew we now had to go back the same way. Right before this picture was taken, what I feel was inevitable happened. One of the consultants had someone's foot slip onto her and she dislocated her elbow. She had to be carried down the slippery bank to a kayak and taken to the hospital. Once we were finally back to the kayaks we were hoping for an easy paddle back to the bus but the wind had changed and was blowing against us the whole way. Near the end of the kayak route I was in near tears (and I consider myself pretty adventurous).

Despite everything most of the consultants agree this was the most interesting day of the cruise. We will talk about it for years and we hear they are even making a ribbon for us "survivors" for convention!