The Apples in My Orchard

I ran across another photo challenge today and thought I would participate. The challenge, posed by DutchGoesThePhoto, is to post photographs exhibiting what is Exotic to you.

I immediately thought of the most exotic places I have been and the Hawaiian island of Kauai was at the top of the list. Here you will see a series of beach scenes taken on a family vacation to this island in July of 2013. The beach, Hanakapi’ai, is located on the Na Pali coast of Kauai and can only be reached by hiking to it through a rainforest or jungle, as my boys called it. There are no access roads and the hike is somewhat difficult. It also can be very muddy and slippery as you cautiously make your way along a narrow trail perched several hundred feet above the shore. The hike is worth it once you get to this beautiful beach, but one must also take care to heed the warnings of danger along the way.  The photos are from various spots on our hike, getting closer and closer to the water.

The water here is very dangerous, and although you can see, and we did see, people swimming in the surf, it is highly recommended that you do not swim at this beach. In fact, it is prohibited! People have died here. The surf is what the Hawaiian’s refer to as confused. Perhaps, it is the lava formations jutting out into the turquoise waters that form dangerous rip tides and under-toe currents. Or, perhaps it is because the fresh water from the mountains actually meet the sea water of the ocean at this beach. It might also be that there are no reefs at this particular location on Kauai to break the power of the ocean waves. In any case, one can just feel the extraordinary power of nature in this truly exotic location. If one value’s their own life, it is a place to heed the warnings and just appreciate the beauty by looking at the water. But, it is exotic enough to warrant a visit, for sure.