Wai Koa Loop

We've lived on Kauai over 8 years now, and this is a tiny place.  We love to explore and hike, and new places are few and far between.  We knew there was a "cute little rope swing" on the north shore, so we decided to run up and check it out.  

The trail leading to the rope swing is intended to be for bikes, but when we arrived, Zac's brand new tire had a thorn and we were no where close to a place we could fix it.  We decided to walk instead, and we were relieved with that decision when we saw the trail and realized there was no way Kate's training wheels could make it.

 We learned the Wai Koa Loop is all private property that they generously allow the public to use.  Not sure if that is a big secret or not, because we saw almost no one on our five mile trek.  It was well-marked.  These are the grounds for Kilauea Farms, which includes tons of fruit trees and 86,000 mahogany trees.  We stayed on the trail as directed, but we really wanted to shoot through these trees.

 Brady got a chance to play around with his camera.

 There are also a few properties tucked back here.  Wow.  Swimming pools, many acres of land, and meticulous landscaping.

 Nene Birds!  I love seeing these endangered birds up close.

 Irrigation piping turned artwork.

 The kids loved this lily pond.

This is my favorite picture of Zachary in the last year, even though sitting and reflecting is not what I would describe as "his element".

The kids flipped when they saw the bees, which led to a nice discussion about what bees do and how important they are to life.

 Stone Dam (aka the watering hole).  What an idyllic destination!

We found the rope swing and Brady showed us how it was done.  The kids were dying to try.

Zachary loved it his first and second times, and started getting jumpy about the fish in the murky water before his third and final time.

 Kate couldn't get enough and wanted to do it herself--every time.  We had to drag her away from this place after her 6th jump.

I felt really guilty about not getting a shot of Brady on Father's Day, but I think this shot makes up for it.

 The walk back was a little cooler because it was 6pm, and we told the kids we'd get pizza and a soda for them at Brick Oven on the way home.  Kate tasted hers and said, "This Root Berry is so delicious!"  I love these Saturdays and I'm excited we found a little adventure we can do with a new baby, too.  I can't wait to show visitors.