We arrived near the airport early and waited for our security briefing and then boarded our ride. We have never experienced this before and we were very excited. Just like the pilot said, “it’s like a rollercoaster in the sky”. Our pilot was friendly, knowledgeable and really took the effort to make sure both sides of the helicopter were able to see the highlights of the scenic views that we experienced.
We specifically choose this tour company because it actually landed us in location of the water falls that is famous from the iconic Jurassic Park Movie as seen HERE.
The flight lasted for roughly an hour and half and we were able to get views that would not be possible any other way. I would definitely recommend if it fits in your budget, as this could be a one in a life time experience.
For those of you wondering about bringing your camera and gear, they do have limits on weight and they don’t allow large bags. For Cameras ,they don’t recommend any camera with a lens longer than 4”, however they did let me bring my Canon 5D Mark IV with a 24-70mm lens.
For you photographers, I will say, do not get your hopes up about getting picture perfect shots, as there will be reflections and if you’re sharing a ride with others, there may be a chance you’re sitting in between two people, so your vantage point may not be ideal. Either way, it will be worth it.
After our air adventure we got some Thai food at a place called Coconut Thai & Chinese located near Lae Nani Beach. Drunken noodles did not disappoint!
After lunch we had a few hours to spare before our big Luau, so we plugged Gypsy Guide back into the car and set out for more history lessons and beaches.
Moloa'a Beach and Anahola Beach Park were two more I would recommend checking out. Moloa'a Beach was another location we would have never found if it weren’t for the use of Gypsy Guide. It was through some random neighborhood where you need to park at the end of a dead end.
This beach was nice and secluded and almost felt like your own private beach.
We continued south from Moloa'a Beach and stopped at Anahola Beach Park. There were a few more people here that were definitely locals. Some were surfing and others just soaking up the sun. I’m not certain, but this beach must have been an old location for a port or something, as there were remains of big cement pillars lined up in the water.
Either way, it made a good scene for a photo. It’s also really impressive how every beach feels so different. I highly recommend to check out multiple locations if you’re visiting this island.
As much as we would have loved to sit and relax along the shore, we needed to get back to shower and get ready for our Luau. We were pretty excited about this. Neither of us had been to a Luau and we honestly had no idea what to expect. All we knew is we would be having dinner and a show.
The Smith Family Garden Luau is a family owned establishment that is four generations strong going on 60 years. It is reservation based, so I would highly suggest to visit their website and look at the schedule. They also have two options to either do a dinner and show or just the show. In my opinion do both. There’s nothing like the home cooked meal of a traditional Hawaiian style family tradition.
When we arrived at the location we entered an overwhelming 30-acre garden park filled with an abundance of different trees, plants, animals and flowers. It was a little hidden oasis that you could walk for hours. They gave us a quick 10 minute trolly ride through the gardens where we were followed by a flock of chickens in addition to a peacock who must have been trained to spread it’s feathers on command because it posed for literally 20 minutes while people took pictures.
After we took our trolly ride, we had roughly 15 minutes till the ceremony of the family digging up the pig from the imu oven. We learned that this is how they cook the pig we were going to eat and they dug a hole in the ground, wrapped the pig in various fruit leaves, stuffed it with rocks and covered it all under sand and let cook for a day. It really is pretty cool to see.
Don’t worry though, the look of the pig that comes out of the hole is nothing like what it looks like when it shows up on your plate! After the ceremony, it was time to be seated and sip on some beverages and listen to live performers as tables got called up for the buffet line.
There was so much food to choose from and an experience I would not pass up. They even had their traditional dish called poi which is made from a taro plant. We learned this dish is a staple of Hawaiian culture and dinner meals. It’s purple in color and has no real taste, but it’s designed to compliment other food with it.
Try it if you get the opportunity and you can decide for yourself if you like it or not. Speaking of poi, you’ll also learn a lot about how taro plants are harvested and made into poi from Dave Pettitt who narrates for the Gypsy Guides. These guides are so good if you’re into that kinda thing!
Our dinner plates were overflowing and we both had full intentions for round two, but we just couldn’t do it. We were completely stuffed. Luckily the night was not over. As dinner came to a closing, we took a quick walk through the garden to the theatre. Here is where we sat in awe as we were entertained by a talented group of individuals who danced, drumed and twirled fire in a way you never thought possible. An event like this is something you do not want to miss if you’re visiting Kauai! The Smith Family Garden Luau exceeded every expectation we had! We highly highly recommend.
