Hawaii Day 11, 7 January 2020

A late start to the day today with a load of washing done and a decent coffee from the local coffee spot.

Our check in time for a sunset cruise with Capt Andy’s was at 2pm so we thought that we would stop somewhere for some lunch as it is an hour and 15 minute drive to Pt Allen.

When we were at the airport in Oahu I grabbed a Lonely Planet style book called ‘The Ultimate Kauai Guide Book’ and it has been our bible, particularly for food. The book recommends a place called the Oasis located at Wailua which is about 40 minutes into the drive to Pt Allen. When we got there we found that the Oasis is located in the Wailua resort which is beach front. What a great spot, the pool area was fantastic with islands and tunnels and the Oasis was named perfectly as it sat right by the beach and was a welcome retreat and perfect for how we wanted to dine that day. 

Lance had been itching for a burger, but when he saw the menu he needed a Philly Cheese Steak. He is a bit of a BBQ buff and subscribes to many youtube channels on the subject and he was pretty excited to find a Philly Cheese Steak in the flesh! Myself, I ordered a fish taco which hit the spot perfectly. I suppose dear reader that you are curious about the Philly Cheese Steak? Tender rib eye steak has been chopped and combined with caramelised onions, garlic butter and is enveloped by a crusty bread roll, but wait there’s more. Gooey provolone cheese is melted over the top. Lance was in heaven!

We waddled out into the sunshine with an hour up our sleeve for the 35 minute drive to Port Allen. Bums began to clench when I checked google maps and it said that the drive would take 55 minutes and we would arrive four minutes before check in.  Now those of you that know us may know that I am a person who is unlikely to be late where as Lance is the person that is never late and will arrive sometimes embarrassingly early.  His mouth was saying all the right things “well we can’t do anything about it’.  But I know that his brain would have been screaming! The reason for the delay is that at Kaapa’a there was slow moving traffic through and just past town. As we crawled along the destination time pushed out to 2:12pm!  Thankfully as we got back to normal speed we reclaimed some time and arrived at Capt Andy’s at 5 minutes to 2pm. Checking in I didn’t even have time for a toilet stop before we were taken about by our Captain, no not Andy but another fine looking young man called Tony.

The vessel was a 65 foot catamaran with 5 crew a chef and Captain Tony. The 49 passengers were a mixture of people older than us down to young couples, and no children. We found a breezy spot at the back and enjoyed the ride around the Na Pali Coast. 

Initially an elderly Indian couple from Kansas were sitting next to us. That is initially from India and not American Indians. Later their daughter moved them up to the bow and part way into the cruise they arrived back aft soaked to the skin.  In fact so soaked that Grandad not only had his shirt removed by his caring daughter but also his trousers! I can see the image that is forming in your head but swipe that away, he was wearing thermals, top and bottom.

The view was great, before we had even left the harbour (or harbor if your are American) we spotted a large sea turtle. Our main desire was to see humpback whales and we did! Not terribly close but enough to see their shiny backs slip out of the water as they breached. And then of course there were dolphins accompanying us alongside the boat.  The water was so clear that you could see them rolling as they swam and one baby was sticking with their mummy. 

The ride was quite bumpy in places and both of us are not prone to sea sickness but I did wear some bands on my wrist that work by pressure points in the right area to avoid nausea of all kinds (hmmm wonder if they work for hangovers). 

A couple of young women who were soaked came aft after a while and one was feeling really unwell so I butted in, passed over my bands and advised to to keep looking at the horizon and not at the floor which is where she was looking.  After about an hour she passed them back and said that she felt much better.  We were sitting talking to her friends, a young couple who are living in Alaska. When I mentioned that I had been to Alaska and was amazed that kids were walking on the streets when there could be bears around she said that they have bears in their yard all of the time. They are generally scared away by humans and their dogs.  She said she was more scared of moose and they had one in their yard once and it kicked in their porch when the dogs started barking at it. After a while her husband who was wearing a patch behind his ear for sea sickness disappeared to the toilet to bring up his dinner and when he arrived back, looking pale, he asked if he could borrow my bands. And he wore them for the rest of the journey.

On the subject of dinner! When we climbed aboard a garlic smell wafted around the boat and Chef Hans was preparing our evening meal. All along the way the crew checked on us for non-alcoholic drinks, helped people as they moved around and were just generally caring. At 4:30 the bar opened and beer, wine and a cocktail were available as part of the deal.  We just had soft drinks as Lance had a long drive home in the dark, on the wrong side of the road with no street lights.

A salad was served first and whilst it was wanting in something other than lettuce and a crumble of feta it was fresh and we gobbled it up. The main was a large steak with delicious potatoes, asparagus and carrot. It was plain but good to eat and while the steak was a bit more cooked than what we like it was a good piece of meat and we enjoyed it. For dessert we had a little key lime pie and it was the nicest that we have had so far on this journey (still not a patch on mine though).

We cruised back into the harbour with the sail up but actually I think it was more for aesthetic reasons as the motor was pushing us along, the sun was setting and everyone seemed happy with the evening. We certainly were happy and would recommend this cruise if you are coming to Kauai. There are two cruises and this is slightly more expensive but well worth it.