The ocean has been incredible gentle all week, and the whales were out. Even I can spot them now, without needing Leilani to point them out to me. Friday after work we brought Leilani to our friends for a playdate, took the kayak and paddled straight out into the Wailua bay.
When we returned shortly after sunset we noticed there was another kayak that had just pulled in – getting closer we recognized our friend Randy and his son Ronnie. We started talking and decided to try to go together to Kipu Kai, the forbidden beach, the next day.
We tried to get an early start from Kalapaki beach, but by the time we left it was probably 9:15 or so:
Leilani was exceptionally good and frighteningly quiet. I asked whether she was sleeping and she answered yes. She seemed to really enjoy the gentle waves, but whenever I tried to paddle she protested. I did not get a workout that day, but Andy got a double one. After 45 minutes or so Leilani did really fall asleep, she missed most of the whales we saw.
Unfortunately we did not get closer to a whale than shown in this zoomed and cropped photo, but it was still cool. One of them was obviously young and very playful, and a lot of fun to watch as it breached several times in a row.
Ronnie in the front and his father, Randy, in the back:
We arrived at an almost empty and perfect beach. The surrounding land is privately owned with ridges on all sides and a single private dirt road for access. So, except for with a kayak, there is no legal way to get there, and you have to stay on the beach. Maybe it should be KAPU Kai :-) (Kapu means Taboo in Hawaiian). Andy adds: The people retreated to the house before we saw them up close, they must be members or guests of the family who own the land. I’m not sure if anyone lives in the house permanently or wether it’s just a weekend retreat. The land will revert to the county sometime around 2030, and then it will be opened up to the public in some way. But until then, it is more difficult to access than Kalalau, and nearly as spectacular.
There were sections of the beach that appeared green – from Olivine, a green crystal found in some volcanic rocks that wash down gullies from the ridges:
Leilani really enjoyed the beach, and she was mostly good about putting on sunscreen and covering up against the hot sun.
But she really wanted to go swimming naked, so we let her run around for a little while, which she thought it was great. At one side of this beach, there was an elevated reef that made a nice calm lagoon for her to splash in the water.
Further along, there is a large expanse of flat reef barely covered with water. We walked through carefully, stepping around the sea cucumbers. In the little pools, the corals were untrampled.
Going home was uneventful, Leilani fell asleep even faster and we only saw one whale. The return trip took 2/3 as much time because the wind and currents were with us, although they had picked up and there were some pretty big swells. Leilani sometimes got splashed, but not enough to wake her up. We ended the day with a snack at the Kalapaki park, while Leilani played at the playground.
