Kaua'i beaches for swimming
Written: Nov 29 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Very beautiful
Cons: Very dangerous
The Bottom Line: Beautiful to look at, treacherous to swim
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| Jiahong's Full Review: Kauai |
All the way around the island of Kaua'i are beaches that look very beautiful with white sand, very blue water, and green mountains looming in the background. Depending on the force and direction of the wind, they are excellent for lying on the beach, working on future skin cancer. Most of the beaches present more immediate dangers: submerged rocks on which waves may hurl one and shifting invisible rip-currents from the outlets of streams and rivers.* Because the center of the island (Mount Waiate'ale) has the highest amount of rainfall on the planet (50 feet a year), there is a lot of water to runoff.
My criteria for a good beach for swimming are (1) clean water, (2) a lack of jellyfish, (3) a belt of water between three and six feet in depth (between waves), (4) a low probability of being smashed onto rocks when trying to get out of the water, (5) a low probability of being drowned in undertows or rip currents, (6) a low probability of colliding with other people (swimming, surf-boarding, snorkeling, or wind-surfing). (The prototype, my gold standard of ocean beaches, is Thailand's Similan National Park, in the Andaman Ocean.)
Along with being scenic, every beach on Kaua'i meets the first two criterion. They almost all meet the last one, too. The only two that meet the middle three having higher -- though still acceptable -- density of bodies (and paraphernalia) in the water.
For swimming, Anini Beach Parkis Kauai's best beach. Waves break more than a hundred yards out, and the reef holds in sand, so that there is a large area of water deep enough to swim but in which an adult can stand up. Anini Beach, half a mile further west is rockier than Anini Beach Park and has no facilities. Anini Beach Park has toilets, showers, picnic tables (some of them covered), more parking.
There are still currents at Anini Beach Park, and when not paying attention, I found myself turned around 180 degrees. The extensive relatively shallow and calm waters are shared by novice wind-surfers and snorkelers. I did not see any fish (or other forms of marine life), and it appeared that rather than snorkeling, those with snorkel masks were learning to put their faces in the water and breathe through tubes.
The only other beach on the island that is any good for swimming is Po'ipu Beach Park on the southeast coast, though it is better for snorkeling than for swimming. It has a coral reef in shallow water protected by a sandbar (on a lava flow) on which a monk seal has given birth to and raised its young in recent years. Just swimming about with goggles, some colorful fish are readily visible.
Immediately east of Po'ipu Beach Park is Bennecke Beach which has more sand and more surf. On days of calm seas it is probably swimmable, but in the winter months it is usually occupied by young boogie-boarders.
On other beaches, people go into the water up to their knees or thighs, and may surfboard, but do not swim. There are miles and miles of white sand beaches with no one swimming, and quite a few with no one in the water above their ankles as they walk along the beach.
For scenery, it is hard to go wrong on any Kaua'i beach. The backdrop of verdant mountains is everywhere. For foredrop (shouldn't there be a complementary term? Is there one I don't know?), Kekaha Beach Park is the champion, with a view of the "forbidden island" of Nihau. For fans of the (awful!) 1958 movie "South Pacific," a pilgrimage to Lumahai Beach is in order (though venturing offshore is particularly dangerous because of currents there).
Po'ipu Beach is on Po'ipu Road, just east of where 520 ends. From the west (eastbound 50) 530 cuts across to Koloa and the intersection with 520 (turn right). From the east (westbound 50) turn left onto 520, into "the tunnel of trees."
To reach Anini, take Kalihiwai Road just west of the bridge across the Kalihiwai River bridge (highway 56, between Kilauea and Princeville) then take the left fork a quarter of a mile in. There is a Kalihiwai Road east of the Kalihiwai River, but the bridge across the river on Kalihiwai Road is washed out, so does not reach Anini (road or beach).
* If you are caught in a rip-current, the primary danger is panic and trying to fight the current. That is a doomed struggle in which you may wear yourself out and drown. Hard as it is, this is a time to go with the flow until the current dissipates, then angle toward the shore beyond the current's flow. You can try to get across the current(on the shoreward side if it parallels the shore) or wait until you are not being carried by the current any more.
You should scan the area where you plan to swim before entering the water. Muddy or frothy currents may be visible and may have waves on both sides. You certainly don't want to head into anything looking like that, but not all currents are so visible.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime
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