Incredible diversity

What an amazing island! The diversity of the landscape is just incredible.

Today we drove north from our central location just outside Lihue. We saw the Kilauea lighthouse and Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, home to wedge-tailed shearwaters nesting in tunnels right along the path. Molly was great at spotting the babies hidden in the undergrowth, and below is her picture.

Other birds at the refuge were red-footed boobies nesting along the cliffs, and great frigatebirds soaring overhead, hovering in the wind as if posing just for us. And of course no matter where or when, we found the ubiquitous chickens.

After a really yum- yummy lunch at a Mediterranean restaurant in Hanalei, we drove to the end of the road and visited both the Wet Cave and the Dry Cave. At the beaches along the northern coast waves crashed, and some beaches were closed due to dangerous undertows.

And all along the sea, a simple turn inland gave us the mountain vistas, clouds sitting atop jagged peaks. From volcanic cliffs to rainforests to fertile valleys to sand beaches, Kauai's variety of landscape and climates is stunning.

And we've barely begun!