Sunday Walk - March 28, 2004
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We booked for a helicopter trip on Sunday afternoon and explored the south coast of Kauai. We particularily wanted to visit Waimea - where Captain Cook landed in January 1778. Cook's statue is a replica of the one in Whitby, Yorkshire, England. This statue has been been replicated in Anchorage, Alaska and Cookstown, Queensland. It's very impressive that Cook visited all these places - and many more such as Tahiti and New Zealand. One day we'll see his statue in those places as well. Cook's greatest discovery however was "nothing" - he disproved the myth of the great Southern Continent. He did this is in a 10 year period of very thorough and systematic searching of the Pacific. A very single minded, determined man with amazing leadership skills. His sad murder in Hawaii in 1779 in a pointless argument with natives about a pig was a sad end to a great man.
Of course, although Cook "discovered" Hawaii, King Kamehameha "discovered" Britain. When Kamehameha conquered and unified the Hawaiin Islands in the nineteenth century, he put the Union Jack on the flag of Hawaii, along with the stripes of the United States, and the blue of France. It's quite extraordinary that the Union Jack of Great Britain is a major part of a flag of a State of the USA. The annexation of Hawaii in 1899 by the United States and the subsequent granting of statehood in 1959 are of debatable legal authenticity. There's a lot of odd things about Hawaii.
Anyway after we visited Cook, we had a very nice walk to the suspension bridge which marks the start of the Waimea Gorge - the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. We took a helicopter trip later in the day into the Gorge.
Prince Kuhio's Birthplace |
Plaque |
Ali in the park |
The Prince up close |
Prince's Plaque |
Day after his birthday |
Spouting Horn1 |
Spouting Horn2 |
Spouting Horn3 |
Captain Cook |
Plaque to cook |
Da booze shop |
Cook's monument |
Where Cook Landed |
Robin on landing beach |
Ali at cook's plaque |
Another Cook Monument |
Entrance to gorge |
The Menehune Ditch |
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Out of focus whale (from our room) |
Sunset on Sunday |
Whale watchers |
