Just south of Kilauea on the island of Kauai a backroad bears east down the hills to a parking area about Kahili (Rock Quarry) Beach.   This fine beach is a short hike down to a crescent breach on the northeast corner of the island.   On calm days this is a good place to swim and snorkel.   On our last visit, the day was windy and large waves were better for surfers so we explored the rock ledges below the seacliffs.

We waded through Kilauea Stream to follow the rocky shoreline to the north.

The route follows the base of the cliffs and require some care on slippery rocks.   A bit of scrambling is required near the end but we also have to keep an eye on the incoming waves.

Lots of windward waves crashed onto the rocks, but we stayed high enough to get around the point.

The route is dramatic on a windy day with waves crashing not far from where we hiked.

The Pools of Mokolea are lava tubes that fill with water, surge, and drain.

On a heavy surf day the tube will act like a spout, but on a day of 10 foot waves it filled and drained like a giant breathing maw.

Around the point the waves broke onto rocks sending spray up onto the cliffs.   A couple of spots require traversing a wave-break area, unsafe in windy conditions.   We explored as far as we could then traced our route back to the beach.

Although the “hike” is not long (2 km return), this is a beautiful route for anyone wanting to brave the rocky, wet route, especially when we can return to beautiful Kahili Beach for lunch.