Kim Hayes Photography » Seattle Wedding Photographer | Seattle Portrait Photographer

Casey + I recently went on a trip to Kauai.  We had both never been to any Hawaiian Island, and the “Garden Isle” seemed to be calling our name.  The island is unlike any place that I have ever been before.  Most of the island is lush and green (the north, east, and south side), but head 25 miles west and you hit desert!  It’s so amazing to me that the landscapes can be so very different on an island that only measures 33 x 25 miles.

We stayed on the east side of the island, which was nice as far as travel was concerned (conveniently located).  But if we ever head back there, I would definitely stay on the north side of the island.  The town of Hanalei was so sweet, and was just how I had imagined a Hawaiian town!  The Napali Coast was also a must see, and well worth the expensive boat ride.  The photographs that I took of the coast cannot even beginning to describe what you see while it’s in front of you.  I was on a fast boat, it was raining some of the time, and the light was behind the mountains while we were on the boat- not the best conditions for a landscape photograph-but I thought I’d post some just so you had a glimpse of it’s beauty.  The enormity of the mountains are really unexplainable, you have to go check it out for yourself.

* For those of you that want a little more info, see the bottom of this post for exact locations/explanation/ of each photograph.*

1. a bizarre scene on the west side of the island
2. the BEST shave ice on the island!  wishing well shave ice- on the north side-right before you enter the town of Hanalei (right side of road)
3. yum!  i have never had shave ice-ever-until this trip.  my mind was blown!  they even put ice cream at the bottom.  what?
4. north end beach + palm tree in Hanalei
5. north end beach- we went to this beach twice.  yes, the water really is that blue!  it’s freaky, actually.
6. garden on the east side.  smith family garden.
7. happy accident.  yes, the water is that blue!  i wish i was swimming there right now…
8. dog w/ a lei on.  too cute!  owner was bat sh*t crazy though, so I snapped and ran
9. plumeria on the east side.  i love the smell of plumeria!
10. more bizarre scenes on the east side.  we went to the very farthest west part of the island, and had to go down a 5 mile bumpy dirt road to get to the best deserted beach!  no photos there, though.  the sand was gnarly  and i didn’t want it on my gear
11. west side- the back side of Napali Coast + Waimea Canyon- the Grand Canyon of Hawaii.
12. car-scape on the east side.  slow shutter, fast driver.
13. west side- Waimea Canyon
14. west side- desert waterfall on the way up the canyon
15. west side- back side of Napali Coast.  fog was thick, then rolled out
16. Napali Coast from a boat.  we departed from the north side and used Napali Catamaran.  the two guides were super funny-check out the link for some more photos.  the views were incredible but did not photograph well due to rain and light.  go see if for yourself, you won’t be sorry.  these mountains were enormous!
17. Napali Coast
18. Napali Coast
19. Napali Coast
20. the only 2 photos of us together… at the top of the west side of the island