Put together American Girl’s 2011 Girl of the Year and the Hawaiian island of Kauai and you pretty much have a match made in paradise.
My daughters and I were invited on a trip to Kauai earlier this year to experience the island through the eyes of Kanani Akina, this year’s Girl of the Year. On our visit to the island where Kanani lives, we participated in activities like those in the Kanani books and learned about Hawaii’s native Monk Seal, an adorable and endangered mammal that likes to haul out to rest on Kauai’s beaches.
What we found is that Kauai, where my husband and I went on our honeymoon, is also a great place for families, with more than enough activities to keep energy-filled kids occupied for weeks – when you’re not relaxing on the beach, of course.
Alaska Airlines’ nonstop flights to Kauai’s Lihue airport are a manageable six hours long, making Kauai as accessible for Seattle families as the larger islands, which have had direct flights from Seattle for far longer.
My 8-year-old daughter adored the stand-up paddleboard lessons, offered by Kayak Kauai, which is just outside of Hanalei on the north side of the island. Lessons take off from a dock on the Hanalei River, a smooth and calm place for beginners to practice balancing on the board and paddling (but not chewing gum) at the same time. While my daughter and her group stuck to the river, the company also gives lessons that go out into Hanalei Bay. Kayak Kauai also offers other types of lessons and activities, including surfing, paddling and snorkeling, hiking and sea kayaking.
On our second day, we were treated to a tour of the Na Aina Kai Botanical Gardens, a 240-acre garden created by California transplants Joyce and Ed Doty and opened to the public in 1999. It is aptly described as a “living mosaic” with a lagoon and “shower tree” park, a spiraling maze made of mock orange hedges, a Wild Forest Garden, and a Children’s Garden that is more play land than botanical garden. A 16-foot statue depicting Jack climbing the beanstalk sits in the middle of the mosaic fountain that greets you as you enter. Inside, there’s a train, a replica of a covered wagon, a tree house in a rubber tree, tunnels, slides and a maze. It’s a perfect place for kids to run off their excess energy.
The other two highlights of our trip were a helicopter tour of the island and a sailing/snorkeling adventure off of Kauai’s towering Na Pali Coast.
Helicopter tours are not cheap, but if you’re not deathly afraid of heights and hovering mechanical things (I am, but I went on the tour for my kids) a ride in a helicopter offers a spectacular view of Kauai’s majesty where there are no roads. We went with Blue Hawaiian Helicopters and were treated to an hour-long air tour of the island that included a close-up view of Mana Waiapuna, commonly referred to as “Jurassic Park Falls,” and journeys inside the valleys along the Na Pali coast. We also were able to hover inside Kauai’s ancient (and dead) volcano, a sacred place for native Hawaiians. Another tour company, Island Helicopters, offers a longer trip that includes a landing at the base of the Mana Waiapuna falls; it’s the only company currently granted permission to do so. Kauai is a favorite filming spot. Jurassic Park was filmed there, along with Raiders of the Lost Ark, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, The Thorn Birds, the remake of King Kong, South Pacific, the Elvis flick Blue Hawaii, and many, many more.
Our sailing trip through Capt. Andy’s Sailing Adventures, took us by catamaran up along the Na Pali coast, with a stop for snorkeling at a remote reef. The trip included lunch and would have been delightful if I hadn’t failed to take my Dramamine. Note to those who think they’ll be fine on a boat because they take the Washington State Ferries all the time: Take your motion sickness meds! The view of the coast from the water is lovely, as is the snorkeling off the catamaran.
Admittedly, we went on a lot of adventures in our action-packed trip to the island, and most families would be unlikely to pack in quite so much activity. But it’s worth picking one splurge (maybe two?) to see a side of the island you just can’t get on the beaten path.
