April 26 – May 1, 2021

By Tim Briese

My wife Teresa and I were invited by our friends Rod and Jeannie to accompany them to Kauai. We would be provided with a week's lodging at no charge at their timeshare at the beautiful Mariott Waiohai Beach Club right on Poipu Beach. That was an offer we couldn’t refuse!

We went on various hikes and adventures while in Kauai but I will focus here on one particularly scenic hike that we did near our resort. The hike goes to the east from Poipu along the Makawehi Cliffs, past the Makauwahi Cave Reserve to Gillin’s Beach and Kawailoa Bay, in about four miles roundtrip. Teresa and I went for an early morning walk every day and did parts of this hike more than once over multiple days.

From the beach parking lot near the Grand Hyatt we strolled down to Shipwreck Beach and followed the trail that heads east and climbs up onto the scenic Makawehi Cliffs, the highlight of this hike. There is a nice viewpoint from a high jagged cliff from which Justin Bieber jumped off in 2013, something I wouldn’t remotely consider. It is at least 50 or 75 feet above the water, although it seemed like a couple of hundred feet from above.

this isn't justin's cliff, but it is a fabulous spot for photos

some jagged pinnacles along the way

The trail winds along the scenic sandstone cliffs for a half mile or so before continuing past the Poipu Bay Golf Course and on to another nice overlook of Gillin’s Beach.

the scenic poipu bay golf course

i wonder how many golf balls end up in the ocean

on the way to gillin's beach

We stopped to see the Makauwahi Cave Reserve and went into the largest limestone cave in Hawaii, a major archeological site.

in the cave

an african tortoise in an adjacent reserve

From there we continued on to Gillin’s Beach and Kawailoa Bay.

on gillin's beach

kawailoa bay

We found this hike so enjoyable that one morning we brought Rod and Jeannie along and showed it to them, before returning to the resort for our daily round of tropical relaxation.