Kauai, February 22
This day we followed a road leading straight west from the hotel, taking us to the entrance of Wai'ale'ale Crater. On our way we passed Opaeka'a Falls.
After a while the paved road ended, followed by a very rough dirt road. Sometimes we passed over streams...
...and sometimes under. This felt a little tricky, since rains tend to be more unpredictable and more heavy the further inland one gets.
Soon the old volcany grew in front of us, as always with a cloud on top.
After 1-2 hours on rough road (We would not have had a chance without a 4x4. Thanks for the upgrade, Alamo!) we could not drive any further, and parked our car. This lizard basked in the sun next to our parking spot.
This is where they drove through the big entrance gate to Jurassic Park in the movie.
The top of Wai'ale'ale is one of the wettest spots on earth, with an average of 350 days of rain per year. As a result, the highest located swamp in the world can be found at the top, according to the guide book.
Bananas!
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After one hour we reached a stream taking the water out of the crater. About 4 million years ago the volcanic activity ended and since then the east side of the crater has opened up, allowing us access. This is how far we walked.
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Time for rest.
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Hans having a great time.
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All of a sudden, when we had lunch, the sky cleared and we could watch the crater in its full glory. A magnificent scenery.
The part of the crater on the left in this picture is usually called the "weeping wall" after all the narrow water falls that appear after a heavy rain.
This is of course a popular path for the numerous helicpoters that tour the island. You can see one of them in the center of the picture.
After a couple of hours we started our descent back to the car.
One last river crossing before we came back onto paved road again.
A very recommended day-trip!
