Fun Facts

• The chickens of Lihue. So the infamous question, where did they all the chickens come from?!?! Local lore says that the hurricanes of 1982, Iwa, and 1992, Iniki, destroyed the domestic coops. Thus, releasing the numerous chickens into the jungles. The domesticated chickens then mated with the wild red junglefowl, originally brought to the islands by the Polynesian, resulting in the feral chickens on the Island.

• Waimea Canyon - I didn't have a clue as to the magnitude and beauty of this canyon. Waimea Canyon, nicknamed the Grand Canyon of the Pacific, is about ten miles long and up to 3600 feet deep. Above is the view of the scenic gorge. Waimea Canyon boasts an array of colors - reds, browns, and greens - which are complimented by the waterfalls and frequent rainbows. There are two lookouts, the Puu ka Pele and the Puu hinahina which offer majestic views.

• Whale watching in Nā Pali left us speechless. Watching pods of playful dolphins frolicking in the ocean, and whales lobtailing was definitely something on our bucketlist. We were able to witness this, of course, after a long zodiac boat ride into the crystal clear ocean waters of Nā Pali. The Hawaiian word for dolphin is Nai'a, and there are typically two kinds of dolphins in these waters - the Bottlenose Dolphin and the Hawaiian Spinner Dolphin. The Hawaiian word for Humpback Whale is Koholā and it is estimated more than 10,000 of whales migrate to the Hawaiian Islands each year. Although we were not able to witness full breaching, we witnessed numerous lobtailing and blows. This will definitely be staying on our bucket list to do again.