For our first outing on the “Garden Island” of Kauai we chose to do a pleasant kayaking trip on the Hanalei river. Like always we set out late in the afternoon and were therefore in a bit of a rush to get the kayak back before the rental shop closed. There are several river kayak trips available on Kauai but this is by far the longest non oceangoing trip you can take. Some day we will come back in the summer and kayak along the Napali Coast but during the winter months this is impossible due to the strong swells on the North Side of Kauai.
We chose to go up river first, the river meanders upstream until you make a sharp turn and pass under the old Hanalei Bridge and then enter the extremely lush Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge (this is an overlook from the highway above). Be warned if you chose to depart in the afternoon the winds can be fierce making the paddling a lot more difficult. We saw many people struggling with the wind on SUP (Stand Up Paddleboard). It’s a much easier paddle or kayak if you leave before lunch and the afternoon winds pick up. The scenery changes dramatically after passing under the bridge and you engulfed by tall trees and bushes on both sides.
It’s a lovely paddle as the river shrinks in depth and width, the trees begin to creep in and the paddling becomes a bit trickier. We saw numerous turtles sunning themselves on rocks and lots of flowering trees. At some point the river becomes more of a stream and when are paddles started to hit the bottom we decided to turn back. You can paddle approximately 3 miles upriver before we had to turn around.
We made a mad dash down river to make it to the mouth of Hanalei Bay. Hanalei Bay was gorgeous and we stopped to take some pictures at the Bay before hastily jumping back in the kayak to fight the river current upstream. We made it back to the rental shop with just a few minutes to spare our arms tired but very satisfied that we had kayaked 7.3 miles in a stiff wind.
Distance: 7.3 miles