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Kauai, Hawaii

© Robert E. Peltz For our 25th wedding anniversary I surprised my wife and took her to the island of Kauai , the most northern and western of the Hawaiian Islands. Kauai is small, (only 36 miles across) has a very low population of people, and is very mountainous and lush. It receives more rain than any other island and has numerous waterfalls and lots of birds. I knew this was our kind of place! Oh yes, it has great beaches too, but not the beach bum kind, we were more interested in what the island had to offer off the beach than on it.

I wanted to travel light so I packed my Lowepro Mini Trekker with a Canon 10D, my 70-200IS Canon lens, a 28-135 and a 19-35mm wide angle. I added a few accessories including polarizing and neutral density filters and a flash unit. For the need-to- be-steady shots, I packed a small tripod in my checked luggage.

Kauai has many beautiful waterfalls, but really only a few that are accessible by car. The only main roads on the island travel to the north along the shore line about 30 miles to Haena State Park (and ends there) and along the southern and western shoreline taking you along a very scenic drive. There are no main roads in the center of that island, so if you want the grand tour you must take a helicopter.

© Robert E. Peltz On our first day we traveled to North Kauai to check out the Kilauea Lighthouse, home to the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge located on a 200-foot-high peninsula. It was built in the 1900's to guide ships traveling between the West Coast and Asia , and contains the world's largest clamshell-shaped lens.

The peninsula provides a spectacular view taking in the wildlife refuge under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Cliffside is home to hundreds of seabirds including frigate birds, red-footed boobies and home to Hawaii 's state bird the "Nene" or the Hawaiian Goose. With no real history of predators of any kind, these birds have no fear of man, so taking pictures was fairly easy.

Driving a little further to the north we stopped to take in the awesome view the Hanalei Scenic Lookout had to offer. Located in this valley is the Hanalei Wildlife Refuge covering 917 acres providing wetlands habitat for Hawaii 's endangered water birds. It was kind of overcast with the sun peeking out every few minutes which made for some interesting picture opportunities. I found it quite interesting to get a picture of a local artist painting the scene in front of him. He too was capturing the essence of the light.

Traveling to Western Kauai took us to Kauai 's "Grand Canyon ". a breathtaking place to visit! At first glance I was amazed how big it really was and the total beauty it had to offer. I was happy to have my 2GB media flash card in the 10D, every turn in the road along its rim offered unbelievable photo opportunities.

© Robert E. Peltz Our last stop along Highway 550 was at the Kalalau Lookout, for me the most spectacular site on the Island . The valley drops down before you about 4000 feet offering one of the best scenic photo opps the island has to offer. At first the fog was obscuring the view from us, but all of a sudden it seemed to lift like magic and reveal its hidden secret making the whole experience even better.

During the stay at our hotel which is located in East Kauai, I couldn't help but notice the birds around the facility. One in particular was the Red-crested Cardinal, a bird I had never seen before. not even in a book! A fairly approachable bird that just looked so cool I just had to get as many pictures of it as I could. A bigger lens than what I had with me would have been handy. perhaps another trip?

Other birds included the Cattle Egret, which occasionally paid visit to our dining table looking for a handout, and the Red Junglefowl (we call them chickens). They were all over the island! No matter where we traveled, we saw them. With no natural predators, they are surviving quite well.

© Robert E. Peltz Noticeable too are the little Zebra Dove's, they are named for the black and white stripes on the sides of their breasts. Being quite bold, they are known to be bit of a pest in open-air restaurants occasionally landing right on your plate for a snack.

The Pacific Golden-Plover caught my eye because it looked familiar, a bird I knew I had seen before in Nome, Alaska . But what was it doing here? My research found that it is one of Hawaii 's most familiar birds. They nest in Alaska and migrate to Hawaii for the winter months. Now that's one smart bird!

Our stay here had come to an end and we had to leave our "Island Paradise". If only we had more time, maybe one more week. that would be nice. We enjoyed the island so much that we vowed to come back to this very place and bring our boys to share it with them. This is a special place, a visit that we will never forget. There are many reasons to return, one would be to do a birding tour. perhaps spend more time on the beach or. catch a sunset. you get the picture.