NaPali Snorkeling

As mentioned in the post about our NaPali boat ride, the far end of the tour stopped for an hour or so to enjoy the snorkeling.  The only way to get to these reefs are by boat.  Because the beach is a preserve area, the boats can only anchor in the bay.  Very few boats, with a small maximum of passengers, are granted permits to dock at the beach.  The snorkeling here was excellent.  For the second time in three days I got to swim with sea turtles.  I was snorkeling with a GoPro Hero2.  The Hero2 (GoPro HD HERO2 Outdoor Edition) is an HD underwater/sports utility camera that takes pictures and does video.  I had it strapped to my chest and the pictures didn't really return much but I put together two videos: of turtles and of other things.

Kalalau Trail

Adjacent to Ke'e Beach is the trail head for the Kalalau Trail.  This is the only way on land to see the NaPali coast; the trail runs for 11 miles and ends on a long beach used for camping.  Along the 11 miles the trail winds through valleys carved out on the coastline; it passes by a few beaches and waterfalls along the way.  Hawaii requires a permit for anyone venturing past mile 4 on the Kalalau Trail.  After snorkeling twice in the morning and early afternoon we weren't up for much, but Elise, Kevin and I decided to start on the trail for 20ish minutes to take in the first couple of viewpoints.  They were breathtaking.  It had rained about an hour before we started so the steep slopes were slippery.  Here are some shots from our short 1 mile round trip hike.

Having this view out of the trees made it hard to focus on the muddy path.

The three hikers. 

That's Ke'e Beach in the background.  The waves right above tallest palm tree
is where my first sea turtle encounter was.

Looking west at the Na Pali Coast.  The trail winds through
valleys and ends before the final point.

The beauty of the coastal mountains, green from constant rain.

The end of our half mile journey on the trail.

Panorama of the Pacific (click to enlarge).