Hiking on Kauai has many variations – ridges, beaches, jungle, volcanic cones, sinkholes, pali (cliffs), scrambles, and shoreline walks.   There are hundreds of hiking locations and until you do a hike, you can’t be sure what to expect.   We were pleasantly surprised by a hike at the end of a minor road down to an idyllic area – Moloa’a Bay.   The road drops down through a jungle-like stream valley to the ocean.   Moloa’a Stream comes runs from the Makaleha Mountains down to a sandy crescent beach. A few homes lie at the end of the road, but all beaches in Hawai’i are public, so visitors park where they can and walk down to the beach.

To access the hike around the bay and up to the bluffs, you have to ford Moloa’a Stream which is most easily done at the mouth where the stream and the waves interact to create a shallow area.   Once on the north side, follow the beach to the end.

The trail climbs the bluffs heading north overlooking the ocean.   A number of viewpoints are all worth a stop.   We spotted whales several times.   Wait for a spout and a breach is soon to follow.   On each visit to the bluffs we spotted migrating whales.   We looked for sea turtles and dolphins which we had already seen on the south coast.   The ocean waves crash upon the shores except where there are reefs or shelves.

Seabirds swooped along the coastline.   Shearwater squadrons skirted the cliffs, then dove to skim the ocean.   Albatross parents swooped overhead to watch their nests.   Great frigate birds circled overhead looking menacing.   Petrels skimmed the ocean.  Albatross fledglings nested on grassy nooks.   From the bluff viewpoints it is bird watcher’s dream.

The hike out to the end of the bluffs ends at an albatross sanctuary.   We spotted fledglings, but left them in peace.   The entire hike is not long, but its magic will stay with us for a long time.   The warm winds from the ocean cross the headlands on the way  to the hills and the mountains beyond.   We will return to Moloa’a.