Isolated Beauty and Danger

Kauai is the northern most island in the Hawaiian chain. The habitable areas are along the coast, because the interior is covered with very steep mountains, and as one of the wettest places on earth, the mountains are heavily covered with vegetation. While not good for everyday living, the edge of the jungle was the perfect place to film scenes for Raiders of the Lost Ark.

The northeast coast of the island is known as the Ni Pali coast. This is where the mountains abut the ocean. The area was in the news last week for a deadly helicopter cash. It took days to identify the crash site and get to it.

The following photos of the Ni Pali Coast were taken from a cruise ship off shore. They highlights the rouged beauty and isolation of the area as well as the associated danger.

With 400 inches of rain per year, it is not unusual for haze to cover the mountains along the Ni Pali coast (as per the photos above) and for fog the roll in as the sun sets (as per the right/west side of the photo below).