Tag: Kaya ’i

Besides Waimea Canyon, Kauai is an island where you can explore to your heart’s content and learn about the Hawaiian culture, Whether you want to put your toes in the sand in Hanalei Bay or float in a tube down a mountain, the options are abundant.

Let’s start with the tubing adventure. This is the second time we have joined Kaua’i Backcountry Adventures on their tubing excursion where we travel via open canals and tunnels that were once used to carry water down the mountain for sugar cane irrigation. After, there’s a lunch with the chickens, roosters, and cats close to where you get out of the water.

It’s a fascinating lesson in the history and fun to travel the same path as the sugar cane, dating back to when the tunnels were hand dug around 1870. In fact, sugar cane was big business in the Hawaiian Islands, including Kauai. And it wasn’t all sweet. There are lots of articles about the history of sugar cane in the Hawaiian Islands. Here’s a link to a chronicle from the University of Hawaii’s library that provides a historical timeline and more details from Wikipedia. A couple of interesting facts—the American Civil War gave a boost to Hawaiian sugar cane production when supplies were halted from the south. C&H in C&H Sugar stands for California and Hawaii, and here’s an interesting article from NPR when the last sugar cane mill in Hawaii was closed in 2016.

We wore hard hats with head lamps for the tunnels. While most of the trip is similar to a lazy river, there are times where you pick up speed, float in the dark, and bumper car with your neighbors. It’s “butts up” or “ankles crossed” to ensure safety in the “refreshing” water—which you acclimate to quickly. It helps to wear long sleeve swim gear! At one point they encourage you to swipe some clay from the canal walls for a nutrient rich facial.

The bamboo! The ground are breathtaking and we wouldn’t have seen them if not for this tour.

Our group of 6 had a really fun and unique experience. There were kids in our broader group and you could tell they did as well. Mahalo to Kauai Background Adventures. You can tell they pride themselves on eco tourism, education, and protecting the environment. The guides were outstanding again this second time around. (FYI, tips are appreciated).