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Part 8 – The Arch and Cliffs at Honopu
Posted: October 21, 2008
On our last day at Kalalau, Justin Ohara, Pat Rooney and I swam to Honopu — the next valley over from Kalalau — to see the amazing sights at this spectacular hanging valley on the Na Pali Coast of Kauai.
The swim to Honopu is not for the novice. Since the prevailing current flows from Kalalau to Honopu, the swim to Honopu is usually uneventful. The swim back to Kalalau, however, is against the current and can be an ordeal. When wind, current, and tide conditions conspire against swimmers, it may be advisable to turn back to Honopu, remain overnight, and try again the next day when conditions are hopefully more favorable.
Each summer, ocean currents deposit a large expanse of sand on Kalalau beach which is subsequently reclaimed each winter by the surf. As a result, the length of the swim to Honopu varies from a mere tenth of a mile to almost half a mile depending on the amount of sand deposited that summer. This summer the sandy beach at Kalalau Beach was particularly large and extended well beyond the giant rocks along the coast almost all the way to Honopu. This was the largest I have ever seen Kalalau beach which made the swim to Honopu quite short.
Despite the hazards, the swim to Honopu is well worth the effort. Honopu is home to an amazing arch that connects two beaches separated by a massive rocky point. The beach above is the one closest to Kalalau which is reached by swimming around the point in the background.
This photo above is the beach on the far side of the arch. Click here to see an amazing 360 degree panoramic image taken by Pat Rooney which allows you to rotate within the image to explore the space beneath the arch.
Kenji Suzuki advised us to examine the maiden’s hair ferns under the arch because the ferns at Honopu are native and have distinctive square shaped edges. When we examined the vegetation under the arch along the edge of the stream we indeed saw a profuse growth of native maiden’s hair ferns along with kalo (taro).
Honopu is known for an amazing waterfall behind the beach on the far side. The waterfall is fed by gushing springs high in the hanging valley above which has carved a small but deep gorge through the rocks and falls into a shallow pool behind the beach on the far side. So strong is the flow of water under the falls that it is difficult to remain under the waterfall for more than a few seconds. The waterfall then flows from the far beach to the near beach through the arch before flowing into the ocean.
There is a spectacular view from the top of the arch but the climb to reach the top is not for the faint of heart. The ascent entails climbing up a vertical 20 foot rock face. Justin free climbed up the sheer face of the cliff first and installed a rope for Pat and I to use in the ascent. Fortunately there are solid footholds and handholds which makes the climb doable. After the initial 20 foot ascent, the rest of the 400 foot climb to the top of the arch is fairly straight-forward but there are crumbly sections which makes the going scary.
Here is the view from the rocky point on top of the arch I took 5 years ago during my last visit to Honopu. So indelible was this vantage point seared into my mind that I had to return to get a wider semi-panoramic image of the scene. It is rumored that somewhere on this rocky point is a lava tube that was used as a burial site by Hawaiians.
This 180 degree semi-panoramic image above is made from 4 overlapping photos using an ultra-wide angle lens and encompasses more than your entire field of vision from on top the arch. You can look into the hanging valley of Honopu on the right side. Click here to see an amazing 360 degree anoramic image taken by Pat Rooney which allows you to rotate your view of Honopu from the top of the arch.
From the top of the arch we continued onward to the hanging valley where the stream feeds the waterfall previously shown. Pat eats lunch along side the stream as Justin cools-off in the waters of the stream.
This 180 degree semi-panoramic shot is taken 4 overlapping photos using an ultra-wide angle lens and captures how the stream cascades down the narrow gorge into the waterfall behind the beach on the farside of the arch.
After lingering at the top of the waterfall for quite some time, we climbed our way back down the arch and then swam back to Kalalau. Conditions were favorable and the swim back was uneventful. We enjoyed the remainder of our last day at Kalalau and then prepared to backpack out the next morning.
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This is the 8th blog entry in a series of posts about my Kalalau backpacking adventure with 14 HTMC friends over the Labor Day weekend. The previous (7th) entry is here and the next (9th) entry is here.
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Thanks to Pat Rooney for allowing me to link to his amazing 360 panoramic shots which is the next best thing to being there and for letting me use his ultra-wide angle lens. Thanks also to Jason Sunada who took the photo of me climbing up the rock face 5 years ago.
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SOURCES
Native Hawaiian Plants, University of Hawaii, Department of Botany
Northwestern Kaua’i, Recreation Map, Earthwalk Press